It was definitely the most unique packaging request Bill Armstrong had ever received. “It was a true chance in a lifetime,” said Armstrong, technical development manager for Sealed Air Corp., who led a team of packaging professionals in designing, testing, and implementing a packaging solution to transport a two-ton, irreplaceable artifact across the country.
Uncovering the Past
After spending 77 million years underground, a one-of-a-kind mummified dinosaur was discovered by the Judith River Dinosaur Institute (JRDI) in Malta, MT on July 27, 2000. Dubbed Leonardo, this Brachylophosaurus Canadensis (duck-billed dinosaur) was cited by the Guinness Book of Records as the most complete reticulated dinosaur fossil ever unearthed.
A crew of more than 25 volunteers, including paleontologists and geologists, successfully extracted Leonardo from his cement-like tomb for research in 2001. The dinosaur had been remarkably preserved over the eons, so paleontologists suspected there would be fossilized organs within the creature’s torso. However, to find out for certain, the science team needed to transport the fragile artifact from Malta to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where it could be scanned using state-of-the-art equipment. The entire journey was recorded for a documentary that aired on the Discovery HD television network in September.
Discovering a Protective Packaging Solution
In early 2007, science team member Art Anderson began searching for a protective packaging solution that would safely transport the fossil more than 2,000 miles across the country. Anderson was referred to Sealed Air’s Armstrong, who specializes in creating custom-packaging solutions for the toughest of challenges.
Throughout 2007, Armstrong led a team of packaging experts drawn from Sealed Air, International Safe Transit Association (ISTA), Lansmont Corp., and the U.S. Navy to develop and test the best packaging solution for the situation.
After months of planning, the Sealed Air team finally traveled to Montana in February 2008 to execute the design they had created in Sealed Air’s Danbury Packaging Dynamics Lab. During their three days on-site, the team assembled the base on which the fossil would ride, built the reinforced crate to hold and protect it, and completed the shock isolation system on which the crate would travel.
Leonardo was lifted off its supports in the JRDI Field Station and mounted on the new base for transport. The fossil was shrink-wrapped with Sealed Air’s CorTuff® film to stabilize the fragile surface. Typically used for industrial applications such as carpeting and construction materials, CorTuff® high-abuse shrink film is the strongest shrink film available today – wrapping a wide range of product shapes, weights, and sizes on-site and on-demand.
Once the film was successfully shrink-wrapped around the fossil, the unit was blocked and braced on the base using Sealed Air’s Instapak® foam – a fast, easy, and versatile process for online, on-site production of protective polyurethane foam packaging. Instapak® foam has unique cushioning properties that protect products during shipping, warehousing, and handling. Significantly reducing the costs of storage and handling, Instapak® foam expands up to 200 times its liquid volume in seconds to form custom-fit protective cushions.
The team then carefully moved the assembled crate to the trailer and mounted it atop the shock isolation system layered with 3 inches of Sealed Air’s Stratocell® H polyethylene foam. The Stratocell® H foam was strategically arrayed to support and protect the 4,000 lb fossil. Stratocell® H polyethylene high density foam provides cushioning protection against repeated shock and transport vibrations.
Making History
Armstrong and the Sealed Air team, along with several of the project scientists, eagerly awaited the tractor trailer’s arrival in Houston after its 2,000-mile journey. The crate was carefully removed from the truck into a NASA hangar where it was finally opened.
“Not a grain of sand was out of place,” said one of the head paleontologists on the science team. “Sealed Air exceeded our packaging expectations.”
“Obviously an opportunity like this is rare,” said Armstrong. “Working with a team of experts to transport a 77-million-year-old, irreplaceable item was beyond my wildest dreams.”
Leonardo is one of only four existing brachylophosaurus specimens uncovered to date. The fossil was named Leonardo because of graffiti found on a boulder near the discovery site that read “Leonard Webb and Geneva Jordan, 1917.” Paleontologists believe the dinosaur was about four years old when it died. Learn more about Secrets of the Dinosaur Mummy, the documentary filmed throughout the process.
