The
Clapp Family
Mastodon
Discovered in West Michigan by a crew working on a drainage project, this remarkably 70% intact juvenile Mastodon was generously donated to the GRPM by the Clapp Family.
Opening on September 11, 2025.
Discovery and Preservation
On August 11, 2022, the Busscher Construction crew uncovered bones just northeast of Kent City, in Newaygo County, and reached out to the GRPM and the University of Michigan for confirmation on the find. Shortly thereafter, the mastodon bones were excavated by a team of GRPM and University of Michigan staff led by the GRPM’s Science Curator, Dr. Cory Redman.
For a year and a half, the bones dried in the Museum’s Collections. With partners at the University of Michigan, the Museum has studied and conserved the bones. A team from Research Casting International was brought in to scan each bone individually with incredible detail for 3-D printing. The 3-D printed bones will be arranged into a complete, articulated skeleton, leaving the real bones protected for further study.
About the Mastodon
The Clapp Family Mastodon (species name: Mammut americanum) is remarkably complete, with around 130 bones recovered. We can tell it was a young male, around 10 years old, when it died 13,210 years ago. Based on the pollen and sediments found with the bones, we also know that the surrounding vegetation was a spruce-oak dominated forest with abundant sedge wetlands that were growing on the margin of a glacial lake.
The American Mastodons were 7-10 feet tall, weighing 8,000-12,000 pounds, and were only found in North America. These herbivores went extinct around 12,000 years ago.
About the Clapp Family
The Clapp Family Mastodon gets its name from donors/landowners Courtney and Michael Clapp, who generously donated the skeleton to the Museum, so it can be enjoyed by as many West Michiganers as possible, preserved for study, and still stay close to home.
