Dinosaurs rumble … and flap … into downtown Museum
Opening day of new exhibit features Jurassic Park lecture
October 16, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Science, Features, Education Editors
Contact: Jonathan.Pishney@ncmail.net; 919.733.7450, ext. 304
(RALEIGH) – Prepare to take a journey of discovery into the exciting world of modern paleontology. "Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries," is a groundbreaking exhibition that presents the most up-to-date look at how scientists are reinterpreting many of the most persistent and puzzling mysteries of dinosaurs: what they looked like, how they behaved and how they moved. The exhibition also details the complex and hotly debated theories of why they became extinct and how they are linked to present day birds. "Dinosaurs" opens at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, October 27 and runs through March 2, 2008.
As an added bonus for opening day, Dr. Pete Makovicky will present "Beyond Jurassic Park: New Insights into Sickle-clawed Dinosaurs." Makovicky, Assistant Curator of Dinosaurs for the Field Museum in Chicago, will cover several topics related to feeding, appearance and behavior in animals like velociraptors and their kin. The free presentation takes place Saturday, October 27 at 12:30 p.m. in the Museum auditorium.
Ever since the first dinosaur fossil was identified almost 200 years ago, people have wondered how these fascinating animals lived. While traditional dinosaur hunter tools such as a keen eye, shovels and compasses are still in play, advanced technology now allows scientists to locate new dinosaur fossils faster than ever before and to look at these fossils in fresh ways. Museum paleontologist Mary Schweitzer, for example, recently used a newly developed mass spectrometry technique to successfully identify the amino acid sequence of a 68 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex protein.
Specific features of the exhibition include:
- A stunning 60-foot-long model of an Apatosaurus skeleton.
- A full-size cast skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex.
- A robotic six-foot-long T. rex skeleton walking in place that is the most accurate three-dimensional representation of a dinosaur in motion ever created.
- A life-size model of a newly identified primitive tyrannosaur, Dilong paradoxus, covered with branched protofeathers — precursors to the feathers found on living birds.
- One of the largest re-creations of a prehistoric environment ever built. The 700-square-foot diorama is a scientifically accurate representation of life as it was 130 million years ago in one of the most important locations for fossil discovery, the Liaoning Province of China.
- A large "trophy wall" of mounted dinosaur skulls, ranging from the three-horned Triceratops to the dome-headed Pachycephalosaurus, which illustrates the latest theories on the purposes of the unusual horns, frills, crests and domes found on many dinosaur skulls.
- A 15-by-10-foot recreation of the famous Davenport Ranch Trackway, a collection of sauropod and theropod dinosaur prints unearthed in Texas in the 1930s and ‘40s. Recent analysis of the tracks has revealed new ideas on the herding behavior of these dinosaurs.
- A newly collected sedimentary slab, which clearly shows a thin layer of iridium. Scientists believe this layer represents the remnants of a massive meteoroid that vaporized upon impact and contributed to the extinction of more than half of all species on Earth.
To complement "Dinosaurs," the Museum is planning a wide range of lectures, workshops and other programs and activities for all audiences. This exhibition is organized by the American Museum of Natural History (New York), in collaboration with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Houston Museum of Natural Science; California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco) and The Field Museum (Chicago). This exhibition is locally sponsored by the Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC, The News & Observer and UNC-TV with support from Ralph L. Falls Jr., George House and Gregory Poole Equipment Co.
Exhibit hours are Monday–Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m.–5 p.m. with last tickets sold at 4 p.m. every day. Tickets are $8 for Adults, $6 for Seniors (60+) and Students, $5 for children (5–11). [Museum hours are Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday noon–5 p.m. General admission is free.] For more information, visit www.naturalsciences.org.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 am to 5 pm, and Sun., noon to 5 pm. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the Web at naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.
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