Have you ever been to a museum and wondered how those prehistoric skeletons go from lying in the dirt for millions of years to looking neat and presentable for their audience?

Well, paleontologist and filmmaker Nathan Ong took his camera to his work at the Fossil Preparation Lab at The Natural History Museum of Utah to show us how. Along with some beautiful timelapse footage of the fine and messy work, Ong also talks about the “peaceful bliss” that comes with his job. "It's just me, my tools, and a discovery waiting to be found," the would-be zen master says.

Ong also explains his different perspective in the video: “Visiting a museum through the eyes of a preparator is a little bit different of an experience than visiting as just a regular person," he says. "When most people see tyrannosaurs or hadrosaurs, I tend to see the product of millions of hours of dedication.”

Check out his video below (with the sound on, the music's great).

[H/: Atlas Obscura]