In 1971, Wade moved to the Queensland Museum as curator of geology, and worked her way up to becoming Deputy Director in 1980. She studied the Cambrian and Ordovician nautiloids from north Western Queensland. She also studied vertebrate fossils arranging for the preparation for display of a Cretaceous ichthyosaur, which had first come to the museum in 1935. She developed a network of contacts around Winton, and with Dr Tony Thulborn, they organized and supervised the excavation of 3000 dinosaur footprints in the Tully Ranges from 1976-1977. This site, known as Lark Quarry, is now a major tourist destination, and is on the National Heritage list for the quality of the dinosaur footprints, evidence of a dinosaur stampede.