Using the Internet and social media to bring dinosaur preparation to a wider audience

Of all the processes of the science of palaeontology, the actual preparation of fossil specimens to a condition suitable for display, research, and education is perhaps the least recognised and understood by the general public. Documentaries and popular books feature the excavation of specimens and their final status but rarely mention the critical, and often long and detailed, intervening work. Recently the authors embarked on a series of posts on the blog of DWEH which narrated the process of preparing a largely complete tyrannosaur specimen by DHT from opening the jack- et to a finished display- and research-quality specimen. Here we review this outreach process and discuss the benefits of such a scheme. While this series has not to date attracted a large audience, it does nevertheless provide a model for future projects and is readily accessible and permanently archived as a source of information online.