Welcome to Dinosaur Expedition 2003, Project Exploration's window onto Dr. Paul Sereno's two-month dinosaur expedition to the Sahara Desert.

Between September 22 and December 1, when you log on to www.projectexploration.org, you will have direct access to discoveries as they happen and to the team of the 2003 Expedition to Niger. Dinosaur Expedition 2003 is a free-access website created by Project Exploration as part of our ongoing mission to make science accessible to the public-especially city kids and girls.

The 2003 Expedition has an ambitious itinerary that will take the team criss-crossing northern Niger - with a small detour to see the Cure Salee, a nomadic festival during which the Wodaabe (Fulani), men dance in lines and the most beautiful of the tribal women decide which of the men are the most handsome.

This expedition will return to fossil-rich areas the team discovered during earlier expeditions – as well as prospect areas in Niger no paleontologists have been to before. The overarching goal! – to uncover Niger’s youngest dinosaurs.

Part of the agreement with the country of Niger includes a mandate to create a survey of sites found in the areas explored. In addition, any fossils that are collected will be loaned to the team to bring to Chicago to clean and prepare. Eventually fossils will be returned to Niger and placed in the collection in the National Museum in the capitol, Niamey.

Project Exploration is a non-profit science education organization co-founded by Dr. Paul Sereno and educator Gabrielle Lyon. We work in three arenas – youth development, services to schools and teachers, and traveling exhibits and online initiatives. Project Exploration is the place where people with curious minds get involved with scientific discovery. Learn more about our programs online at www.projectexploration.org