Despite closures and safety procedures in place due to the novel coronavirus, visitation to Morden's Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre has remained steady.

 "It was a surprise," says Executive Director Adolfo Cuetara," We're were expecting things to slow down because of the restrictions. Still, it seemed since people in Winnipeg because they couldn't travel out of province, decided to visit us."

This translated to more people visiting the museum in June, July, and August than last year. He adds, financial assistance from the federal government also has gone a long way.

There were many positive additions to the museum, with Cuetara noting one of the most significant was welcoming Kirstin Brink, from the University of Manitoba, as the new Adjunct Vertebrate Curator.

Brink advises the CFDC on curatorial and research-oriented initiatives on the collection and field sites and connects the museum's fossils and collection with the students, researchers, and educational resources.

The museum recently added a Plate Platonic exhibit that gives information about geology and introduces the first part of the CFDC Galleries. The exhibit provides an explanation about the Plate Tectonics, also known as Continental Drift.

One thing visitors may have noticed is the absence of dig tours.

"We cancelled the dig tours for the whole year, and not only because of COVID-19. We have to do some work on the dig tours, as we want to do them better and are developing some new ideas for next year."

As visiting usually slows down after summer, Cuetara says they will take the fall and winter to continue enhancing the museum, creating new exhibits, and improving visitors' experiences.