Published on Tuesday, June 16, 2015
For this year’s Dew Days celebration, we’re proud to announce the grand opening of DinoLand, Farmington’s newest park! Packed with entertaining and educational zoological exhibits with REAL LIVE DINOSAURS, this park promises the most thrilling experience in the last 65 million years! Well, it will be really great when it opens. If it opens. There’s just one small problem…
We’re missing our lead dinosaur expert, as well as our star dinosaur! Our dinosaur expert was just called away to help out at another dinosaur park near Costa Rica (apparently they’re having some problems too!) We desperately need his help, but he’s off the grid and we have no way to contact him. That’s where you come in. We need your help!
You see, we’ve been expecting a new baby Raptor for the opening weekend of DinoLand. Our lead scientist was looking after Stella, the expecting mother Raptor. He’s been taking notes and gathering data about Raptor biology and nesting habits, but now he’s away for work and we’ve lost track of Stella and her egg! Stella has likely picked a nesting location, laid her egg, and is now staying close to her nest and egg. We need you to help us find that raptor egg so we can successfully open DinoLand this weekend! We’ll look around the research lab for whatever clues we can find that might help you in your search. But for now, start by searching Farmington’s public parks. You’re looking for an egg— bigger than a chicken egg but smaller than a basketball. It’s white with gold spots.
Please help us find Stella’s egg! If you have a Dew Days button and find the egg, you will be awarded with $150 and we’ll name the new baby Raptor after you! If you find the egg but you don’t have a Dew Days button, you will receive $50 and the Raptor’s name will be Steve.
Thanks for your help, and good luck!
-Farmington Department of Paleontology and Recreation
Explanation:
The first clue introduces medallion hunters to the theme of this year’s hunt—DinoLand, a fictional park in Farmington similar to the park featured in the new film, Jurassic World. Hunters learn that they are in search of a dinosaur egg, much like last year’s search for the robot.
Published on Wednesday, June 17, 2015
The lost dinosaur egg is still out there! I said I'd look around to see if our raptor expert left any clues about the location of the egg, but all we could find so far is this poem he wrote in his field notebook. If you find the gold-spotted egg, please call Zack at 651-206-8298 or email at zmohlis@gmail.com. Thanks!
Like a little Oheyawahi,
This landmark guides your quest.
The crescent moon sits high above
A peaceful raptor nest.
If you plan to venture into this park,
Visitors beware,
Of the ice age winter chill,
And cave men with nice hair.
Like a little Oheyawahi,
This landmark guides your quest.
The crescent moon sits high above
A peaceful raptor nest.
If you plan to venture into this park,
Visitors beware,
Of the ice age winter chill,
And cave men with nice hair.
Explanation:
Oheyawahi is the name of Pilot Knob in the Dakota language. Pilot Knob is more than a street in Farmington; the street is named after a very important landmark in Minnesota history. Oheyawahi is a significant cultural and spiritual site for the Dakota. The Dakota and other American Indian groups have used Oheyawahi for centuries for gatherings, ceremonies, and burials. 19th century steamboat captains used the prominent hill as a wayfinding landmark; thus it’s English name of Pilot Knob. The sacred hill cemented it’s place in Minnesota history when it hosted the signing of the Treaty of 1851, which ceded millions of acres of Dakota land to the United States. Pilot Knob was also an important landmark in the events surrounding the US–Dakota War of 1862.
Oheyawahi literally means “the hill much visited.” In addition to implying that the egg was located in the area of Farmington near Pilot Knob, this clue also suggested that a small hill would be an important landmark—the sledding hill at Hillview Park.
On top of the sledding hill, there are 6 park benches arranged in a half circle—“the crescent moon sits high above.” The egg was hidden near some Cedar trees at the bottom of the sledding hill.
Hillview Park was adopted by the Chill & Man Cave Salon through the Adopt-A-Park Program. A sign at the front entrance to the park announces this act of civic involvement to any park visitors. The sign is the key to solving the last 2 lines of clue 2. The “ice age winter chill” is also a reference to the park’s primary use as a sledding hill in the winter.
Hillview Park has been around for a while, but has only recently begun its development into something more than a natural space. Check out the master plan for the park on the city’s website to see what new developments are coming to Hillview, and be sure to stop by this winter and check out the sledding hill!
