In 2005, truck mechanic Roger Castillo discovered the fossil of a baby mammoth, which has since been nicknamed Lupe, in San Jose. Three years later, Lupe will return from UC Berkeley to be displayed at the Children’s Discovery Museum in an exhibition being created by scientists from UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and San Jose State University.

San Jose Mercury News reports:

After three years of undergoing scientific scrutiny at the University of California-Berkeley, the juvenile mammoth fossil nicknamed "Lupe,'' found near San Jose's Guadalupe River, is returning to San Jose. It will be the centerpiece of a new permanent display at the Children's Discovery Museum, officials told the Mercury News on Wednesday.

The exhibit, called "Lupe's Story," won't be open until 2011 — seemingly forever for curious children but just the blink of an eye for a creature who slept in stone for 12,500 years. A model of Lupe will be built, based on her salvaged bones. The real bones will also be on display, but protected in a glass case. In addition, the new exhibit will feature the process of scientific discovery — and encourage youngsters to explore their own back yards.

"We've very excited,'' said museum Executive Director Marilee Jennings, who is working with scientists from San Jose State University, UC-Berkeley and UC-Santa Cruz to build the exhibit, funded by a $2.2 million National Science Foundation grant. "It is a big, big project.''

Lupe is a thrilling acquisition for the museum, the equivalent of a beer funnel for a fraternity or a collection of original Virginia Woolf letters for an English department. Until 2011, it will be a waiting game, kind of like waiting for final exam scores.