tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49668878035378270992024-03-17T02:14:20.947-07:00BONE ROOMSBone Rooms is a guide to the world's natural history museums and fossil sites.
From Canberra to Berlin, the call of long dead critters has been a passion of mine since I first watched the dinosaurs in Fantasia. Recently I have been lucky enough to visit many of the planets greatest museums...(DONG DONG)...and this is their story.Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-16985749484620931232020-12-27T19:06:00.006-08:002020-12-28T07:19:57.807-08:00Bone rooms reviews the Ray Harryhausen Ultimate Collection<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">and now for something completely different...</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEica92wvb1P_7mpf7Kj_H5vGyB2EEDXTpfW2atQO9pOhu_uSLr-TzHbdGlMNW_8y0T6l129JlYTKGRjf49-iw5AtohnK8wHVbW6v3XPHTEAQNlEJ2L75B4OL2ydrLcWFztye8gQDozRZj0/s1200/img.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEica92wvb1P_7mpf7Kj_H5vGyB2EEDXTpfW2atQO9pOhu_uSLr-TzHbdGlMNW_8y0T6l129JlYTKGRjf49-iw5AtohnK8wHVbW6v3XPHTEAQNlEJ2L75B4OL2ydrLcWFztye8gQDozRZj0/w640-h320/img.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When it comes to sci-fi films released before the 80s new wave hits like The Terminator, The Thing and Back to the Future made famous creators like Stan Winston, James Cameron, Robert Zemeckis and Rob Bottin, there was one man who seemingly created all the films we loved as kids.</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EYPjIpWntig1vIVd_fzrw8WdGaR0EctnyXcCKzSK2olRzy07pCKXHOcOOJE4x7e05LUBLBQQBLOZKCiNUf6Q48pSdC08BKsPq3lnUbfemUIsWmImdGgMz8pyiGfkW7FE25pimoYzY1U/s600/cache_800_600_0_0_100_16777215_VVE2329+Ray+Harryhausen+-+Expanded+Pack+Shot-min.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EYPjIpWntig1vIVd_fzrw8WdGaR0EctnyXcCKzSK2olRzy07pCKXHOcOOJE4x7e05LUBLBQQBLOZKCiNUf6Q48pSdC08BKsPq3lnUbfemUIsWmImdGgMz8pyiGfkW7FE25pimoYzY1U/w400-h400/cache_800_600_0_0_100_16777215_VVE2329+Ray+Harryhausen+-+Expanded+Pack+Shot-min.png" width="400" /></a></span></span></div><p style="text-indent: 37.7953px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0px;">Via Vision Entertainment has just released the Ray Harryhausen Ultimate Collection - a boxed set of blurays, containing arguably 7 of the best movies the special effects wizard helped create.</span><span style="font-family: georgia; mso-spacerun: yes; text-indent: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 0px;">There is something here for everyone, be it fantasy, sci-fi, monster or prehistoric critter lover. The set also highlights a crime that has been perpetrated in Hollywood around these movies, but more on that later.</span></span></p><p style="text-indent: 37.7953px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-indent: 37.7953px;">I was first introduced to these films - often using a technique of stop motion animation Ray dubbed Dynamation - in the 70s when they either played over school holidays or were late night films on the single commercial tv station we had in Canberra. At a time when there were no local museums to see fossils or ancient artifacts from civilizations long gone, Ray’s films were a window into a much larger and older world.</span></p><div style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxWtpLuOEZYmy89dL4FwbHQiZfjtcu8kLclV1kHZBeRegxlwNn_HzIGG7VfNRrPg7eURzj8CtBYu3o4XjtpUiMvA9JTNNRyoadf0EhmPTdByJKFUdmeEPFISTM_LVUdGeTR8X6rjrCSk/s547/Ray+Harryhausen_37ae9f90b1068cc0dd108f1a780bc208.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="547" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxWtpLuOEZYmy89dL4FwbHQiZfjtcu8kLclV1kHZBeRegxlwNn_HzIGG7VfNRrPg7eURzj8CtBYu3o4XjtpUiMvA9JTNNRyoadf0EhmPTdByJKFUdmeEPFISTM_LVUdGeTR8X6rjrCSk/w640-h408/Ray+Harryhausen_37ae9f90b1068cc0dd108f1a780bc208.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Ray's dinosaur work was a haven during a time when there were very few movies containing dinosaurs that did not include living lizards with bits stuck on them.</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 1cm;">My love of prehistoric animals
began when my kindergarten class was shown a short 16mm clip called ‘A WORLD IS
BORN’ (which turned out to be the Rite of Spring sequence from Fantasia), and I
recall running home and telling my parents all about these weird things called
dinosaurs. Though my love of prehistory began with Disney, it was cemented
watching the fantastical films of Ray Harryhausen.</span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vKz4Olo-ErQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="vKz4Olo-ErQ"></iframe></span></span></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Collectors like to collect, and despite how famous Ray is in fantasy circles, there has been very little of his to own other than a few books, hand-signed prints or original posters. This has always struck me as strange as the artefact of stop motion is something that cannot be overlooked when it comes to our love of these films. Computer animation is amazing, but it’s not a physical medium. You cannot hold the dinosaur or alien that you see on the screen, but with stop motion the models were physical entities, and many of them still exist. I was lucky enough to see one of Ray’s original models when I visited The Hollywood Museum in LA (which I will be reviewing soon in Bone Rooms). </span></p><div><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikNyYDsz4FhQGKgzao070JVHfjY-j07stRR7WLYkBnaMUqDCXgWEW-VpbVB2OtQqh_2q-ZoJxJ44AMT2NMvOgJvwApA99f3gIu38IWpBI3w169AVkY7qaOKAL2hTxiMr04sCMPP65YvIQ/s2048/DSCN2891.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikNyYDsz4FhQGKgzao070JVHfjY-j07stRR7WLYkBnaMUqDCXgWEW-VpbVB2OtQqh_2q-ZoJxJ44AMT2NMvOgJvwApA99f3gIu38IWpBI3w169AVkY7qaOKAL2hTxiMr04sCMPP65YvIQ/w640-h480/DSCN2891.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span><b>The Hollywood Museum in LA has many prehistoric items on display and I will cover my visit there soon. </b></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Maybe that’s why so many of us seem to have connected with Ray’s
creatures (he never called them monsters) so much, they are art, just like any
sculpture or painting hanging in a museum. One of the documentaries explains
how Ray’s warehouse was opened after his death and all the amazing items he had
held onto were discovered and catalogued. These have been the basis of a Ray
Harryhausen exhibition that has recently been shown in various locations around
the world.</span></div><div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKhnDfeTsXPnjk5INh9REvmdgjjalim5IZAPpcOwRKCh0mW133GyKp3psCji2x4yf-F_yUXKVKDIJioDh9ekFvqlWsqrCg11thyn5jA9JfHRcEZuaGpCrVHl1h9_UhHqtxYbtmQ02zUgc/s600/Ray+Harryhausen+exhibition+poster.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKhnDfeTsXPnjk5INh9REvmdgjjalim5IZAPpcOwRKCh0mW133GyKp3psCji2x4yf-F_yUXKVKDIJioDh9ekFvqlWsqrCg11thyn5jA9JfHRcEZuaGpCrVHl1h9_UhHqtxYbtmQ02zUgc/w640-h640/Ray+Harryhausen+exhibition+poster.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 37.7953px;">Titans of Cinema is currently on display at the National Galleries Scotland </span><a href="https://www.nationalgalleries.org/" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 37.7953px;">https://www.nationalgalleries.org/</a><span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 37.7953px;">) and you can even buy a poster of the exhibit at</span></b><br />https://www.nationalgalleries.org/shop/prints-and-posters/exhibition-posters/ray-harryhausen-exhibition-poster<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><o:p><span> </span></o:p></span><span style="text-indent: 1cm;">Well, with this box set, Via Vision Entertainment have created something
you will want to possess. Before we get into what the set contains, I’d like to
give a recommendation to the set itself. Via Vision Entertainment has created a
unique box the disks come in. Prominently displaying the cyclops from Sinbad,
as well as the now world-famous skeletons from Jason and the argonauts, the box
has a pull-away lid, giving it a solid feel and an odd enjoyment to open. </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 1cm;">The films have been colourised under Ray’s supervision. In one
commentary he admits he’d intended them to be colour, but often when making these
films all they could afford was black and white film stock. For all you purists
out there, don’t be disheartened as the movies have a remarkable feature I have
never seen on a bluray before. During playback you can actually toggle from
colour to the original black and white – and the switch is almost instantaneous.</span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 1cm;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-indent: 1cm;">For those who love film and like to compare
sequences and quality, this is a lot of fun.</span><b style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;"> </b></span></p><p style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOCgbdn8czrRJ3nzkbxxEfIVJvNiocmcFZjJ8NtG_nXTHB2bRDiFcaPzBfZ8myb8YGnj6TTtPlkj9cEw87ziKd2eHfdDZAKJ5rdDOLjnRvyijIIpFigL2EHgoAxL6svVKuVHIUzQMl-Q/s800/jasonandtheargonauts1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="800" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOCgbdn8czrRJ3nzkbxxEfIVJvNiocmcFZjJ8NtG_nXTHB2bRDiFcaPzBfZ8myb8YGnj6TTtPlkj9cEw87ziKd2eHfdDZAKJ5rdDOLjnRvyijIIpFigL2EHgoAxL6svVKuVHIUzQMl-Q/w640-h454/jasonandtheargonauts1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;"><br /></b></span><p></p><p style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;"><b style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Special effects</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The bonus material you receive on these disks runs from extensive to sparse depending on the individual film, but I will point out you won’t be disappointed as there is a literal who’s who of special effects technicians and film directors geeking out over their love for all things Harryhausen. There are well crafted documentaries galore about the making of these films and the work Ray accomplished in his time and what it meant to so many of these film makers. Names like Stan Winston, John Landis, Phil Tippet, Leonard Nimoy, Joe Dante, Dennis Muren, Rick Baker, John Dykstra, Kevin Kutchaver, Forrest J Ackerman, Ken Ralston, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Tim Burton all appear.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUrErbFDWkHNd_wz1Pq_xwVcGL6sEAu3gLR6jhyrKgf9oP9KAVDl7B_nyobtocxtjtO_FnriLYw3F-rTJONSA4zG56l4tU24KmOg5g18Jf-x9b76Nx06ZcTMlsFr6lEb-dZMR9NLfHOA/s263/download+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="263" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUrErbFDWkHNd_wz1Pq_xwVcGL6sEAu3gLR6jhyrKgf9oP9KAVDl7B_nyobtocxtjtO_FnriLYw3F-rTJONSA4zG56l4tU24KmOg5g18Jf-x9b76Nx06ZcTMlsFr6lEb-dZMR9NLfHOA/w640-h467/download+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Ray with two fan-boys, John Landis and Phil Tippet</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">These Ray-minacs are either interviewed, commentate a film or host an interview
with Ray; and the delight on these giants of cinema as they get to ask their long-time
idol about his films - that clearly mean so much to them - alone makes grabbing
a copy of these disks a must for any Harryhausen fan. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzyRpjPn7rtkiBNkbHGKwOHSrM97qFileBMfMYgMc1mbdKNxN_pNQ2GUaBTldBYor_Qt9rQE_57n3cjUCPy0uuKOo5qz577NB4peb_zixtYzoXVPgBFvEFSUD4Rct5jKjnZAsHwv-7tc/s685/2722926fdab6648ddba8ad5ea33075c7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzyRpjPn7rtkiBNkbHGKwOHSrM97qFileBMfMYgMc1mbdKNxN_pNQ2GUaBTldBYor_Qt9rQE_57n3cjUCPy0uuKOo5qz577NB4peb_zixtYzoXVPgBFvEFSUD4Rct5jKjnZAsHwv-7tc/w263-h400/2722926fdab6648ddba8ad5ea33075c7.jpg" width="263" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">One comment I found fascinating was when Ray began talking about
his own influences. Obviously, Willis O’Brian’s work on King Kong was important
– but Ray then talks about the art of Zdenek Burien, who he calls his “1<sup>st</sup>
art director”. The famed paleo-artist has been highlighted for several issues in
The Prehistoric Times Magazine over the last few years, and to see ancient
creatures Burien helped highlight, such as the terror bird <i>Phorusrhacos</i>,
come to life under Ray’s manipulations is a real pleasure for those of us who
grew up looking at his art. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lXu0QLppumSe2W2cUA6_4L7P1pj0D0pcDEOFYA1XP08s3Z-OFqYxDHdorruSdN9w1KQxsag2RK62iQOcaj5ysrFF3t5VyTZePiPUuIdhWjgtYE8NY_tzDqarN0GBuJP4SI_7huJMErk/s1161/3d9dc43b7f49d308a5812c03d873b1dc.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="1161" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lXu0QLppumSe2W2cUA6_4L7P1pj0D0pcDEOFYA1XP08s3Z-OFqYxDHdorruSdN9w1KQxsag2RK62iQOcaj5ysrFF3t5VyTZePiPUuIdhWjgtYE8NY_tzDqarN0GBuJP4SI_7huJMErk/w640-h351/3d9dc43b7f49d308a5812c03d873b1dc.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span>The Phorusrhacos appeared in Mysterious Island (1961), an adaptation of the novel by Jules Verne</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table></span><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-indent: 1cm;">Burien’s influence can be seen in Ray’s own pencil
work, which he drew to give his producers and directors an idea of what he was
going to create. Ray’s work is not only highly detailed, its full of life,
emotion and often tells a story, just the way Burien’s work does. I personally feel
Ray’s drawings are an unappreciated resource and show the true talent of the
man.</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcUdx7GI6l3lK1Z5zabZ3-TvYBeSsSg_474gO6azyei3H99g5xrUmfGutMUy3bkAz8d7t46iqWu_v9m7C8zCLgBcWvT0r3hePT-NJ4vN7yZRjC-mZH9L0ZzJvUfKDUv12MmjoqbzYY3o/s976/jason-and-the-argonauts-vs-the-skeleton-warriors.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcUdx7GI6l3lK1Z5zabZ3-TvYBeSsSg_474gO6azyei3H99g5xrUmfGutMUy3bkAz8d7t46iqWu_v9m7C8zCLgBcWvT0r3hePT-NJ4vN7yZRjC-mZH9L0ZzJvUfKDUv12MmjoqbzYY3o/s16000/jason-and-the-argonauts-vs-the-skeleton-warriors.jpg" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Though this set does not carry the more famous Harryhausen prehistoric films
like the Valley of Gwangi, it still contains enough prehistoric and mythological
critters to make any fantasy or sci-fi fan happy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Be warned, the following contains 70-year-old spoilers…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><u>It Came from Beneath the Sea - 1955</u></b></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfLGdKxCq1t63U_I7ZBxoYId9fZd0LFy6SVFlsBqyUUpfBLCUIu8I1U0vdMnnkT_ATiBk1Ok1-rO1ROEqKvURdJcoi7CZU3eJJ4TqxsCGhMgzQkuAAZrrGJm8NwdweOP-cTXGj6Rb6LI/s1190/It-Came-From-Beneath-The-Sea-%25281955%2529-Storyboard-1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="Ray's Storyboards for IT Came from Beneath the Sea" border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1190" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfLGdKxCq1t63U_I7ZBxoYId9fZd0LFy6SVFlsBqyUUpfBLCUIu8I1U0vdMnnkT_ATiBk1Ok1-rO1ROEqKvURdJcoi7CZU3eJJ4TqxsCGhMgzQkuAAZrrGJm8NwdweOP-cTXGj6Rb6LI/w640-h450/It-Came-From-Beneath-The-Sea-%25281955%2529-Storyboard-1.jpg" title="Ray's Storyboards for IT Came from Beneath the Sea" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Ray's Storyboards for IT Came from Beneath the Sea</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Part of a glut of radiation-paranoia sci-fi movies that swarmed out of
the 1950s, this one was a little different, a little more clever, by explaining
the giant octopus star was not created by atomic bombs but driven out of its Pacific
home because of them. In a way you could consider this a prehistoric movie as
Ray’s creature was an ancient one living happily at the bottom of the sea until
disturbed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<b>fun fact</b> the “sixtopus” did not have 8 arms because ray had very limited
funds and could only afford to animate 6 of them.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1c8qfhs-RMihxGcBHrPuqw5gH0QDtfxRx6qhSyoDPAYlTHFNYQVyPw2ren9Ut2iJMkMgbBdKO08Ypo3W_5HzD-W92tBCS4w_NpUU2lTI-7Tc1mNsf2eK0Lu0pMNyQQJeZdDM1QUU07_A/s1190/It-Came-From-Beneath-The-Sea-%25281955%2529-Storyboard-2+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1190" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1c8qfhs-RMihxGcBHrPuqw5gH0QDtfxRx6qhSyoDPAYlTHFNYQVyPw2ren9Ut2iJMkMgbBdKO08Ypo3W_5HzD-W92tBCS4w_NpUU2lTI-7Tc1mNsf2eK0Lu0pMNyQQJeZdDM1QUU07_A/w640-h450/It-Came-From-Beneath-The-Sea-%25281955%2529-Storyboard-2+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><u>Earth vs. the Flying Saucers – 1956</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">If imitation is the highest form of flattery, than all you need to know
about Earth Vs the Flying Saucers can be learnt in Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks. Not
only does Burton use many of the most famous shots Ray created in his film 40 years
earlier - especially the iconic attack on Washington DC – he had intended to
stop-motion animate all the Martians but gave up on the idea for budget
reasons. Its weird to think that stop-motion had once been the cost-saving
medium for cinema, and todays its one of the most expensive.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqb1fHs_lQ5c5BkLd3T5lIVC7yKky59apHRSb2ua66_AfI1DOwAivAra2a-C9wcUT4W3hTR0Ql01sbHwhclq-k-3tyJrMehlF5idDP7KpCo-uMWaEBfT1uITT4O3zT5DDRznF9OhfUgSM/s781/Earth_vs_flying.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="781" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqb1fHs_lQ5c5BkLd3T5lIVC7yKky59apHRSb2ua66_AfI1DOwAivAra2a-C9wcUT4W3hTR0Ql01sbHwhclq-k-3tyJrMehlF5idDP7KpCo-uMWaEBfT1uITT4O3zT5DDRznF9OhfUgSM/w640-h440/Earth_vs_flying.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><u>The 7th Voyage of Sinbad – 1958</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"<i>Jason is one of my favourites because it incorporates creatures
that one designs in a natural way. All mythology is a blessing for three-
dimensional animation. That's one reason why I wanted to get away from the
dinosaurs years ago. The medium had been used so much for gorillas and
dinosaurs. I wanted to explore the field of fairy tales and Sinbad the Sailor
stories. I found that the latter was a very useful way to break the mold of the
dinosaur</i>."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSW-fel6A-2AdCiLVDsbY07GDHENn-kWYa_ogqKZCrWjoyH-0dPnITaSC1iNk8x1V6U8XOKDvG6m2eu4dvnbJmhbUbrviXNmZNv8V8YfVGuI4EP7wgIL0Eb3IMxki5CTsY_dq6hKBkeJg/s350/ray_harryhausen_8968.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="350" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSW-fel6A-2AdCiLVDsbY07GDHENn-kWYa_ogqKZCrWjoyH-0dPnITaSC1iNk8x1V6U8XOKDvG6m2eu4dvnbJmhbUbrviXNmZNv8V8YfVGuI4EP7wgIL0Eb3IMxki5CTsY_dq6hKBkeJg/w640-h446/ray_harryhausen_8968.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />What Ray achieved with these films is nothing short of stunning. Creatures
we only knew as static images or statues in a museum came to life under his
creative fingers in such a way they are still influencing modern cinema. Did anyone
else notice Ray’s cyclops in Spielberg’s Ready Player One? If you are reading
this, I’m sure you did!</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><u>The 3 Worlds of Gulliver – 1960</u></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">For once Ray’s work did not include prehistoric or mythical beasts,
instead he worked on creatures known to many of us. In many ways this highlights
his technical achievements even more as he was required to make these animals
move in a very specific way, otherwise the effect would not ring true to our
eye.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;"><b>Fun Fact</b>: If you follow Swift's directions, Gulliver was on his way to Tasmania when he was blown off course. Australia and Tasmania were alien sounding landscapes at the time and Lilliput would be positioned just north of Adelaide in South Australia!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDwSxbi89W3_bwln51ckhyphenhyphenkJD9Cygwa9jz13_32WMr-LewKDwc4MPllbUqt-BlTT45Oor8zaxIuepzbRMQUXpQSVotcxLZbVPEbvRhHNk1_005ESW3hIyVxS6kr8NUeQfOdmhD9V5eUY/s1280/3-Worlds-of-Gulliver-1960-8.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDwSxbi89W3_bwln51ckhyphenhyphenkJD9Cygwa9jz13_32WMr-LewKDwc4MPllbUqt-BlTT45Oor8zaxIuepzbRMQUXpQSVotcxLZbVPEbvRhHNk1_005ESW3hIyVxS6kr8NUeQfOdmhD9V5eUY/w640-h360/3-Worlds-of-Gulliver-1960-8.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><u>Jason and the Argonauts – 1963</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEavkMx3K226mED7syn-gPpldMFlc8LEgWkVKv0yQCITR2q7QZ_sPAF4VbqMpoGa7j8o8JU7uyShNmt2_I1oaViOrrsISFPIkc9QFHIWtp6-cy7U_Ib32AYjWVPTB4LFELPosxp3bVjDI/s712/3891e9f5ca9bfbbd2d9edd26e3c49dab.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="712" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEavkMx3K226mED7syn-gPpldMFlc8LEgWkVKv0yQCITR2q7QZ_sPAF4VbqMpoGa7j8o8JU7uyShNmt2_I1oaViOrrsISFPIkc9QFHIWtp6-cy7U_Ib32AYjWVPTB4LFELPosxp3bVjDI/w640-h364/3891e9f5ca9bfbbd2d9edd26e3c49dab.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: left;">Skeletons…is there anything more that needs to be said? Possibly the most
important special effect sequence put on film since King Kong, the technical
work Ray put into this skeleton fight alone earnt him the right to be named one
of the most important technicians ever. Think about the skill involved of
animating a large number of small figures in stop motion and matching them to
the movement of the live action actors…amazing.</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PiTSyZbIjAg" width="320" youtube-src-id="PiTSyZbIjAg"></iframe></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Fun Fact:</b> Ray had wanted to do the skeleton attack at night but believed
the censors would deem that far to scary for children. Now that would have been
something to see.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>The Golden Voyage of Sinbad – 1973</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCyxPFMHy-MrS3cqekATD6-aRs3jrGCGWAJo3IZX7tBB55FZ-PTWc-_ZGS1POghwPJhSINGB89XtevAYmjYGnHI9IsW5tqhREpmPymGVk6vbs-EIWdfjm02anzuGI4JVF1wfL_NIjQD0/s606/nla.news-page000012220535-nla.news-article110792299-L5-91eba605c759ca7c12dce68b2fc8c3a3-0007+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCyxPFMHy-MrS3cqekATD6-aRs3jrGCGWAJo3IZX7tBB55FZ-PTWc-_ZGS1POghwPJhSINGB89XtevAYmjYGnHI9IsW5tqhREpmPymGVk6vbs-EIWdfjm02anzuGI4JVF1wfL_NIjQD0/s16000/nla.news-page000012220535-nla.news-article110792299-L5-91eba605c759ca7c12dce68b2fc8c3a3-0007+%25282%2529.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Canberra Times ad for Golden Voyage of Sinbad - a big release for Canberra back in the 1970s.</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />Returning to his Sinbad series, here we get one of the very few cinema representations
of a Griffin. This was lucky as early sketches from Ray reveal he had
originally intended the films centaur to fight a Neanderthal.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5Yy-ZYNrmCZtRWL45zIUQzYACureyrp1eYcKit5cfJwBiPVVanPcMfMGVM4u3N4gxDbCWzbfE4t3jaTwUoNzvfshjFz-2yZe6Rub86Xk1Lc7-haeZj5_5Ii78cS8BQj5SWSxEeGyzHI/s1470/MV5BMjIzMTY5ODU4M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzcyODYyNA%2540%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C1470%252C1000_AL_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1470" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5Yy-ZYNrmCZtRWL45zIUQzYACureyrp1eYcKit5cfJwBiPVVanPcMfMGVM4u3N4gxDbCWzbfE4t3jaTwUoNzvfshjFz-2yZe6Rub86Xk1Lc7-haeZj5_5Ii78cS8BQj5SWSxEeGyzHI/w640-h436/MV5BMjIzMTY5ODU4M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzcyODYyNA%2540%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C1470%252C1000_AL_.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger - 1977</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Golden Voyage was still in the theatres and doing a great trade when it
was decided a third film was needed to cash in. This time, though, few mythological
creatures would be featured, instead Ray was asked to return to his roots and
add some prehistoric animals. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This is a special film for cinephiles/sci-fi fans as the cast includes Patrick
Wayne (John Wayne’s son) a Dr Who (Patrick Thortoun), a Star Wars mainstream,
the enormous Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and of course Jane Seymour. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Fun Fact:</b> the Neanderthal/Troglodyte figurine was later cannibalized to
make Calibos in Clash of the Titans.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWU4a5W6y5PDB7V8NIMOlJgB7xMxTwuVai4_6CloAPqBg-yqesyzM3qOoPEZTb9qRYEiVne00-gA31oTAsNg_RJuiqvVxhx-Q4dcym67ud6PpSvqtwkKPZxYZu7Pu6LOrfAXpM2ClVDx0/s1280/tumblr_ovxpbrsmb71sqf5tdo1_1280.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWU4a5W6y5PDB7V8NIMOlJgB7xMxTwuVai4_6CloAPqBg-yqesyzM3qOoPEZTb9qRYEiVne00-gA31oTAsNg_RJuiqvVxhx-Q4dcym67ud6PpSvqtwkKPZxYZu7Pu6LOrfAXpM2ClVDx0/w640-h480/tumblr_ovxpbrsmb71sqf5tdo1_1280.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /> <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And what was the crime mentioned earlier? Ray Harryhausen, the man who
created some of the most memorable moments during the golden and silver age of Hollywood,
never received an oscar for his special effects work. In 1992 the Academy did
award him the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, given to "an individual in the
motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit
to the industry", but that’s it! The man who inspired so many special
effects artists and helped create modern sci-fi fantasy cinema as we know it
has never received any real recognition from the industry he helped create. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his adopted home of England though, Ray did
receive an honorary BAFTA in 2010 at the British Film Institute. The award was
presented to him by Peter Jackson.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigHt6pTX33eLLO1MYHdeAA52BySrBMacIxP8zvXkciE6PAOYzTIH6W6mpBsRLUw3oSJt8aZUyeaOjnyoQiABJ786i597QyT4t7vwZgUvQsnR82-IgPoM4-Nh6j3xPRYZzNAgVkTwBKrMs/s460/Ray-Harryhausen-at-the-BF-006.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="460" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigHt6pTX33eLLO1MYHdeAA52BySrBMacIxP8zvXkciE6PAOYzTIH6W6mpBsRLUw3oSJt8aZUyeaOjnyoQiABJ786i597QyT4t7vwZgUvQsnR82-IgPoM4-Nh6j3xPRYZzNAgVkTwBKrMs/w640-h384/Ray-Harryhausen-at-the-BF-006.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So, there you go, a new box set highlighting one of the most important
men in cinema, containing some amazing films, most of which include a huge
amount of interesting extras – often by some of the world’s most important film
makers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The set is available wherever blurays and DVDs can be purchased or click the link below<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">https://viavision.com.au/shop/ray-harryhaussen-ultimate-blu-ray-collection/<br /></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4X794jbdYtguaH1RLcGCCNaOKm235XWXfHWacMnfJwd2UwHuz2OR23pRzDpar4w7k-hGgVXffrSZ2Ma9bwEQYwrfDUyR2OeP4DbKY8486lgQebVzwjYgKdtF7nSz0ix5mE8EpI3utUi8/s1099/2003-ray-harryhausen-hollywood-walk_1_b495275986b9ac858416e8df6382621c.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1099" height="629" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4X794jbdYtguaH1RLcGCCNaOKm235XWXfHWacMnfJwd2UwHuz2OR23pRzDpar4w7k-hGgVXffrSZ2Ma9bwEQYwrfDUyR2OeP4DbKY8486lgQebVzwjYgKdtF7nSz0ix5mE8EpI3utUi8/w640-h629/2003-ray-harryhausen-hollywood-walk_1_b495275986b9ac858416e8df6382621c.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<br /></div>Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-37215472206932789892019-12-30T22:28:00.000-08:002019-12-30T22:28:15.826-08:00Johnny Morris' Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium Part One<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mVj1qkzU-HZ0_d_F0u_2gGDVgsu5uQosvSVLkYa2A-t1U-f847AE_phj5tPHGFR9O1wFMlexyJh8XdiGqRduZnYrGGiDZj9bXf2-VZDkiLSBkE3TeuwIdXjTu_FfRq9Iiq6kMNCK6g8/s1600/DSCN9474+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1600" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mVj1qkzU-HZ0_d_F0u_2gGDVgsu5uQosvSVLkYa2A-t1U-f847AE_phj5tPHGFR9O1wFMlexyJh8XdiGqRduZnYrGGiDZj9bXf2-VZDkiLSBkE3TeuwIdXjTu_FfRq9Iiq6kMNCK6g8/s640/DSCN9474+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 70.9pt; text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It
was Thanksgiving and we were on the road and looking for something to do on one
of the few days that America shuts down. Luckily there is one place in Springfield,
Missouri that was open – the WOW - or for those of you who have never heard of
it, the Johnny Morris' Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjEbDa-xCI8DtQ88Op48jUOvTd6-eVEiCeL-kB3mF-NnKosp07Ha41wNMC-IUQwKntKA42f4D6cfyWL73bGp-9HG0XFPcQ3PEg_PwG2knjMIZiYxlcnpb6AztdZFa7i4Esz48EPdP5mA/s1600/DSCN9000+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1600" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjEbDa-xCI8DtQ88Op48jUOvTd6-eVEiCeL-kB3mF-NnKosp07Ha41wNMC-IUQwKntKA42f4D6cfyWL73bGp-9HG0XFPcQ3PEg_PwG2knjMIZiYxlcnpb6AztdZFa7i4Esz48EPdP5mA/s320/DSCN9000+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Wikipedia notes:
“<i>It is located adjacent to the Bass Pro Shops National headquarters, and is
named for the Bass Pro Shops' founder. The 350,000 square foot facility
consists of two major sections. The Wildlife Museum presents a series of
immersive wildlife galleries containing taxidermied animals from around the
world displayed in elaborate and detailed dioramas representing a variety of
natural habitats, as well as historic artifacts, artwork, films, and special
exhibits, including the Boone and C</i></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>rockett Club's North American Heads and
Horns Collection of big game mounts</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOi_kKTdEv8ig2S2JAxJL1AB460A2mPvN4UKDPmWLky_YIJPDiYeAetX1nPn6vKFnZfaIhNFJQYQmsHXYQc-gaO9po_JMJF0sSymZOb2AUbio2QpvYH-eIR_t0FecOa7GDyXAt88-WXHI/s1600/DSCN9001+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOi_kKTdEv8ig2S2JAxJL1AB460A2mPvN4UKDPmWLky_YIJPDiYeAetX1nPn6vKFnZfaIhNFJQYQmsHXYQc-gaO9po_JMJF0sSymZOb2AUbio2QpvYH-eIR_t0FecOa7GDyXAt88-WXHI/s640/DSCN9001+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Now at the start
I will say this Bone Rooms is going to seem a little schizophrenic as there are
two very distinct and different issues with the WOW, and I would like to make
sure everyone understands the nature of my confusion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">To begin…I loved
it. I think the WOW is one of the most incredible institutions I have ever
visited…and as readers of this series would know, I’ve visited a few. I cannot
think of another institution that has spent this kind of money on its displays
– and the amount must have been enormous as it’s all there for everyone to see.
Seriously, the displays are of the highest quality and jaw dropping.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeKJVmsoLQI1YEwGxNLgvVzXZU2wF7bgpfX-qQLNFbGd6PPurnW0noaJhyphenhyphenu1s9ovezCPYXOM8CNY4FLn1cBsf6lim5f5A5enSExAGa1zv4My4cSZhLu9dIC56eaqFvEJhctoItS0hyphenhyphenQs/s1600/DSCN9410+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeKJVmsoLQI1YEwGxNLgvVzXZU2wF7bgpfX-qQLNFbGd6PPurnW0noaJhyphenhyphenu1s9ovezCPYXOM8CNY4FLn1cBsf6lim5f5A5enSExAGa1zv4My4cSZhLu9dIC56eaqFvEJhctoItS0hyphenhyphenQs/s320/DSCN9410+%25282%2529.JPG" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Even the stairs are amazing</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The best of the
world’s museums might contain 4 or 5 amazing displays – well the thing about
the WOW is it’s hard to pick a display that isn’t of the highest quality. There
is so much – soooo much – I simply cannot do the place justice in a single
post…so we’ll be splitting this into two – the first being the aquarium as it
was the first part I visited.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The second will
be the museum part of the institution. This will also hold the more
controversial side of the WOW – which I am sorry to say is substantial in my
eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBT1TUizEhD2qhyphenhyphenJYf0QmuqlWwgZhyphenhyphenmActDFfuQH6J4psdO2y9e4mI-M_thVwvKbyLlYSlOke4HroaLDRyIOmqzl_p_-c3bOhElsR9gfQXMzLF6ZbF2u51aGOKs8lsvU8odP5wWB0V1ik/s1600/DSCN9408+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBT1TUizEhD2qhyphenhyphenJYf0QmuqlWwgZhyphenhyphenmActDFfuQH6J4psdO2y9e4mI-M_thVwvKbyLlYSlOke4HroaLDRyIOmqzl_p_-c3bOhElsR9gfQXMzLF6ZbF2u51aGOKs8lsvU8odP5wWB0V1ik/s640/DSCN9408+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 37.7953px;">History</span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The WOW first
opened in 2001 with far fewer displays and only a few hundred live animals.
This original design closed in 2007 as the owners felt it was somewhat
underwhelming and decided to put some serious money behind a new revamped exhibition.
At first the expansion was budgeted at $25 million and doubling the size of the
WOW – but again the owners baulked at what they were seeing, deciding to up the
money and size again. This new updated museum was opened in 2017 at a cost
around $80 million – an incredible sum for a museum of any sort - though doing
my research I think that’s the lowest estimate. Some suggest the total was
closer to $300 million.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A 300-million-dollar
museum that almost no one has ever heard of...amazing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Aquarium
Adventure – The Great Ocean Hall<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NMQR1_OFAEV2ZVZ-QsjoM3_ECvSm7DGVer2hqd5K4FzgP62J824u8FYM_a1_NE_JzWZse4Fdfh2g-fst4IDk0g4YA4wt3rKT69PKRTdDSp6Q1WUWZY44y_SJRlIFugKvJsA4JLzvRDA/s1600/DSCN9399+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="1600" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NMQR1_OFAEV2ZVZ-QsjoM3_ECvSm7DGVer2hqd5K4FzgP62J824u8FYM_a1_NE_JzWZse4Fdfh2g-fst4IDk0g4YA4wt3rKT69PKRTdDSp6Q1WUWZY44y_SJRlIFugKvJsA4JLzvRDA/s640/DSCN9399+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This is not your
usual natural history museum. The immense size of it is unfathomable and the
images attached here simply won’t do it justice…I mean the main central foyer
has not one, not two but numerous life-sized whales soaring above your head.
This includes a stunning exhibit of a sperm whale fighting a Kraken-like giant
squid.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_1Ws464przIlDfZZP3Z-EIj8XGMg3y5Vqb_e8C4dNzTmu60P10QFKsNNguUlvMg2S3vR-iXAs2jh4_Nw4C08HjLyaXWgvZDWf0xvHqrllOhnuvUQnZLfxIub7ReRiTk-fqIRsRDbv9s/s1600/DSCN8993+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="1600" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_1Ws464przIlDfZZP3Z-EIj8XGMg3y5Vqb_e8C4dNzTmu60P10QFKsNNguUlvMg2S3vR-iXAs2jh4_Nw4C08HjLyaXWgvZDWf0xvHqrllOhnuvUQnZLfxIub7ReRiTk-fqIRsRDbv9s/s640/DSCN8993+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As if this wasn’t
impressive enough, there are several vessels hanging from the roof or sitting
in their own pool – and these are not just any boats. The first is the Avalon,
the fishing vessel made in New Zealand for famed western author Zane Grey.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-uuBjl1d8wCBOiAl3mGjskD82Ym2JFgsAllC0VqcT8PvRZrDcKLqT3SwX8JOq5eqwlLs1B3Kk-HiXexXnhbUbhZlBoO9UWFSGukt25abhYwfVMsOvx6frERZK69WprQ-3_-yqiZvLhg/s1600/DSCN8994+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1035" data-original-width="1600" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-uuBjl1d8wCBOiAl3mGjskD82Ym2JFgsAllC0VqcT8PvRZrDcKLqT3SwX8JOq5eqwlLs1B3Kk-HiXexXnhbUbhZlBoO9UWFSGukt25abhYwfVMsOvx6frERZK69WprQ-3_-yqiZvLhg/s640/DSCN8994+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">With this vessel Grey
sailed much of the South Pacific, fishing in waters off Tahiti, New Zealand and
even NSW – bizarrely at a place called Bermagui, which I have just returned
from after going on a little fossicking venture to find Devonian plant fossils from
just inland of this beach. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrgk15ZI4jiMq4cLZFyjgDOo_oAlG5L-Y8Y02KPJ2jSc-8pupyI0rtP98IknNyCpCQaq95VABcXB1Ba5-lX7gLX8jHJNyxOMUQx4WdTRlh1B9o2ga9O1NKnw89E6t-qCidpA0uBazuWI/s1600/DSCN9405+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="1600" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrgk15ZI4jiMq4cLZFyjgDOo_oAlG5L-Y8Y02KPJ2jSc-8pupyI0rtP98IknNyCpCQaq95VABcXB1Ba5-lX7gLX8jHJNyxOMUQx4WdTRlh1B9o2ga9O1NKnw89E6t-qCidpA0uBazuWI/s640/DSCN9405+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The other boat of
interest is a large schooner that’s the sister-ship to the Pilar, a vessel Ernest
Hemingway caught so many of his prize-winning fish from. The entire lay out is
incredible, with the enormous vessel suspended one story off the ground….and
all this is just in the foyer leading into the aquarium.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-D9qs8h-CFsYz_b6AoUV71VQ3lbUq0OrzBu_17Yq1uRpkrVITAVky90e-1g8ZxCJ9-I_qDZqylz8fbELCGKePXsYGk4E4AKFumh_BpSkl-1QDu2vHQikPCs6AUSSS8KTkFufQD96A7JM/s1600/DSCN9401+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1079" data-original-width="1600" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-D9qs8h-CFsYz_b6AoUV71VQ3lbUq0OrzBu_17Yq1uRpkrVITAVky90e-1g8ZxCJ9-I_qDZqylz8fbELCGKePXsYGk4E4AKFumh_BpSkl-1QDu2vHQikPCs6AUSSS8KTkFufQD96A7JM/s640/DSCN9401+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">To enter you pass
under/through the enormous donut-like tank dominating the middle of this space,
and then on to the other half of the Great Ocean Hall. This 360-degree display
is listed as bring the depths of the ocean to the middle of America, and it’s
an impressive tank. Full of windows and light that can be viewed from both
sides, along the bottom you can get close to living reef systems and the marine
life that occupies them. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLHwR1kCtgfzKvHQfMjFuj7piTji5GQpxDrl0_j0E-EJmjjTB6SxXGl_o-S3WDE4aPcQQlyXhkBJBo32kbeMWil7-pikwOD6RfnwrwBMcqyeWj3NuCFGx-DvlyRGkJ6nF7F2BpHePPJE/s1600/DSCN9414+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="1600" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLHwR1kCtgfzKvHQfMjFuj7piTji5GQpxDrl0_j0E-EJmjjTB6SxXGl_o-S3WDE4aPcQQlyXhkBJBo32kbeMWil7-pikwOD6RfnwrwBMcqyeWj3NuCFGx-DvlyRGkJ6nF7F2BpHePPJE/s640/DSCN9414+%25283%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg376k8Rz5AXTehiHavQJnEseBvdi6RtDtFoFMrZCKe0OgpoeYRRyQZmqdX7i1NTjEkS4Uo5jN-8vy3DCeMhhV9qH6O529fT7AS-4cs9fHAQEoExVHHcZ1UKBNKMYVmWPkv3uUP8voF8bI/s1600/DSCN9412+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1600" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg376k8Rz5AXTehiHavQJnEseBvdi6RtDtFoFMrZCKe0OgpoeYRRyQZmqdX7i1NTjEkS4Uo5jN-8vy3DCeMhhV9qH6O529fT7AS-4cs9fHAQEoExVHHcZ1UKBNKMYVmWPkv3uUP8voF8bI/s320/DSCN9412+%25283%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Above swim schools of large fish, essentially doing
laps about the circular tank. Some of these zoom along, while others seem to
just be slowly patrolling. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy2mNRTyk0E6aZiJVwDTfpl3F9Mg08Cy-pJZxYsR5XtRZAtTh63CiAqBub8tlDMoNpWUxs_7y6y7QJxXwbtvg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">Exiting the tank
you encounter the hypnotic ‘bait-ball’, a circular tank filled with a tornado
of schooling herring spinning about dizzily in a column-like aquarium that’s
not only lit well, but can be viewed from various angles as you move about the
multi-story building.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: 37.7953px;">NOTE: This is one of the most striking things about this aquarium, the access you get to the tanks. A lot of great design work has gone into how a visitor interacts with these enormous aquariums, with multi-viewing windows created at every conceivable angle. As you move about the numerous levels you will view the same tank at a different height, giving you a brand-new perspective. It’s very clever and extremely effective to create the idea you are seeing far more exhibits than you actually are.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;"><br /></span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxXdp8b4SFPtYBBeMKe5v_P2fxChCPo2fUR0_Z7TpSqdWfsF8HqKFBmgsEkIJ4c2g3orF-vI9W4-PqbyXjL-Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 1cm;">Passing through
the other side of the donut you enter the second half of the Great Ocean Hall.
Here you’re confronted by the life-size figures of a humpback whale and calf
hanging from the roof … I told you this hall is big… there are numerous whales
hanging from the roof!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOLAsrOJvWuHC_mFelfele0kqKI6IJXbOu-vfNgMCs2hz7mrW2D5UqJDIwPmSh7ZGtVIUEt6dYmOBIjtpI5Z8D1xrCJZGSCHYyREKMlC_FCNYhxOcdDk_mTJfGJU8oJ0C0k0eHefdEvI/s1600/DSCN9422+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1600" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOLAsrOJvWuHC_mFelfele0kqKI6IJXbOu-vfNgMCs2hz7mrW2D5UqJDIwPmSh7ZGtVIUEt6dYmOBIjtpI5Z8D1xrCJZGSCHYyREKMlC_FCNYhxOcdDk_mTJfGJU8oJ0C0k0eHefdEvI/s640/DSCN9422+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Multi-levelled, a
visitor wanders up and through several curious displays – such as the Hall of
Fishing Presidents – a section dedicated to the American presidents who were
fond of dropping a line in the stream. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ol8-efKDz7xAzzFPfOXxZCk78jXh1qbO07QIpRlKAsa25L-9rJXGX2ZuPm7UPDfYT9nN9aeqegiDzm-JxUGaCml-v9Xaoy2RtM5bbSu7G7X6iVnPBLJroyg2BblaHHNbWXfyPfhc4h4/s1600/DSCN9445+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ol8-efKDz7xAzzFPfOXxZCk78jXh1qbO07QIpRlKAsa25L-9rJXGX2ZuPm7UPDfYT9nN9aeqegiDzm-JxUGaCml-v9Xaoy2RtM5bbSu7G7X6iVnPBLJroyg2BblaHHNbWXfyPfhc4h4/s640/DSCN9445+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As you will see
in part two, this will be a theme running throughout the entire museum – highlight
the US Presidents the designers felt helped create or enjoyed the modern
American wilderness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75Ghgnssf3YeozpdiAUCtkxd1UIS0U6NFtGnJAuJGuN7peBi_sJHfcfy0sv9rq7Urhk-gJqqz-LM4n-DclSBHr_JbTMt7Ch2EjJxapetHM7huv2UTK0FlVKS2y6pC6j9RCnK3ZHO6ynY/s1600/DSCN9436+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75Ghgnssf3YeozpdiAUCtkxd1UIS0U6NFtGnJAuJGuN7peBi_sJHfcfy0sv9rq7Urhk-gJqqz-LM4n-DclSBHr_JbTMt7Ch2EjJxapetHM7huv2UTK0FlVKS2y6pC6j9RCnK3ZHO6ynY/s640/DSCN9436+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Every nook and
cranny has been filled in this hall, with the walls festooned with huge numbers
of large fish like tuna, sailfish and sharks swimming across their surfaces.
Meanwhile the stairs leading down hide a great display of an enormous hunting
Great White stalking seals. There are even a pair of tiger sharks, showing everyone
just how enormous those predators can become. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6W4tYwcs302keIdjCLimFkV6UT9r9rAYKrH_2qj_DxAke2o41WnohYghtplo9ZCGaOkERxR1AJphBhM1nqx0fhoGUj4N4dCzuEOHfJcvuWOVZNhOdM07qM5lFpZE9yW1Zg1EtV0JLZI/s1600/DSCN9439+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1600" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6W4tYwcs302keIdjCLimFkV6UT9r9rAYKrH_2qj_DxAke2o41WnohYghtplo9ZCGaOkERxR1AJphBhM1nqx0fhoGUj4N4dCzuEOHfJcvuWOVZNhOdM07qM5lFpZE9yW1Zg1EtV0JLZI/s640/DSCN9439+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Scratching my
head, I checked out the most prominent display in this room, a fishing boat
riding a rough ocean swell…I mean it takes up the far end of the hall, arguably
the most prominent space in the room. On closer look, this display has an
insane amount of detail in it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSO39NwIfOomiKEhkXiljrQ2eRzSOGNvhhy1-Rh8nnvl_cJoecGrq_qSecxc_QP0AuEADXGRXnhxbWau6llNcexTrBhc2lYPO16dHbBhM0ADWQAjirDZUVnmctjIZ43trderEZuEKy1k/s1600/DSCN9433+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSO39NwIfOomiKEhkXiljrQ2eRzSOGNvhhy1-Rh8nnvl_cJoecGrq_qSecxc_QP0AuEADXGRXnhxbWau6llNcexTrBhc2lYPO16dHbBhM0ADWQAjirDZUVnmctjIZ43trderEZuEKy1k/s640/DSCN9433+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU95OdeDKiufuDYOAV0r1NavCpk5FiXbU6TS-G7POBwtHOXbS21JErVo-_f_ANlQkQR8A5g-0Eh85METCQfQGJSWGf_0UX5k1LVqCI1_IY9Y46Z8PxzsK7D_fcHmtgS4mi7LxfWkyWtmo/s1600/DSCN9428+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="1600" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU95OdeDKiufuDYOAV0r1NavCpk5FiXbU6TS-G7POBwtHOXbS21JErVo-_f_ANlQkQR8A5g-0Eh85METCQfQGJSWGf_0UX5k1LVqCI1_IY9Y46Z8PxzsK7D_fcHmtgS4mi7LxfWkyWtmo/s320/DSCN9428+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The vessel has a
stormy sky high above, filled with seabirds of every type wheeling about
looking for a free meal. The ocean itself is amazingly done, and swimming
underneath the boat is not only a school of tuna but dolphins as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgE1laFOIpPQe8PwgBVTFAXcrvpZ-VNLXfQn61dofDLoSrMKJkJMZ4d5UJjSp7joIgTunN-_wTDz9dSHS4ENFXGccLRNhS5GftnEBBPQrfgeBTcBN1qIFHNhwNpuUNgj0j-5iNDtXZ9A/s1600/DSCN9444+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1569" data-original-width="1600" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgE1laFOIpPQe8PwgBVTFAXcrvpZ-VNLXfQn61dofDLoSrMKJkJMZ4d5UJjSp7joIgTunN-_wTDz9dSHS4ENFXGccLRNhS5GftnEBBPQrfgeBTcBN1qIFHNhwNpuUNgj0j-5iNDtXZ9A/s640/DSCN9444+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSJn-3trVRyPemBDGhfNtVm-oxLfkio8dcrn-g0iCLsymh7Ge7m9JtjBiZ2IWlIxIxe-u6d6A0R36KXGBYHwQO7GjAbu08dsT5Mw8YeEBmZGLGEhqURBGevFmBBaIRP9_pIke4Of3cW0/s1600/DSCN9441+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1329" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSJn-3trVRyPemBDGhfNtVm-oxLfkio8dcrn-g0iCLsymh7Ge7m9JtjBiZ2IWlIxIxe-u6d6A0R36KXGBYHwQO7GjAbu08dsT5Mw8YeEBmZGLGEhqURBGevFmBBaIRP9_pIke4Of3cW0/s400/DSCN9441+%25282%2529.JPG" width="330" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For me the most
astonishing exhibit in this room was the enormous saltwater tank that sits
opposite the fishing boat. Here you will find a single window, perhaps three
stories tall, containing the Great Barrier Reef. Patrolling the various forms
of coral - that help form the world's biggest single structure made by a living
organism - are enormous potato cod, groupers and undulating moray eels.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 37.7953px;">You get a serious idea of how intelligent some fish are as some take a real interest in you looking at them, leaving you wondering just who in on display here?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxufxi_SFNIKIymXG3Kf0ERYAhfxNx9HLFfXLxgI23BlKIMZgfm1w7Cwsk3PYr4eeKoZT6x_6teTjoCeujyaA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Phew…first
display done!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Shipwreck Reef<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy8XCSpUCUd2RM4RsxWmsOKxNHzj2Ol0vT1liNLnQ8WHuc3-_KrRz29XsLvUCSMfF5-f9KBQ-G0VqZYf_7N_g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Passing through a
pair of glass retractable doors you enter a second, possibly even more creative
display. Though overall the area is smaller than the Great Hall, there are more
individual tanks and it’s no less impressive. The theme is an old shipwreck that
has been colonised by the denizens of the deep, and throughout the various
tanks you can see bits and pieces of the wreck, creating a great look to the
area.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizty6GvqQbJPOHWyGDtMsJngMzlYTnYAAl8LFYFXwWSKom5zrFRQ5fB2moOgnqfNxBQtUCNjUAqPdS6eL4hOoe0H7sZpqb5y9HnLnJreRt-RbSh_Je225497A7HhaXe3oQlzW6Mdh-tt8/s1600/DSCN9447+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1253" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizty6GvqQbJPOHWyGDtMsJngMzlYTnYAAl8LFYFXwWSKom5zrFRQ5fB2moOgnqfNxBQtUCNjUAqPdS6eL4hOoe0H7sZpqb5y9HnLnJreRt-RbSh_Je225497A7HhaXe3oQlzW6Mdh-tt8/s320/DSCN9447+%25282%2529.JPG" width="250" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The first of
these tanks holds a replica mast of “<i>the boat that Johnny Morris
intentionally sunk off the Ft. Lauderdale coast to build an artificial habitat
for ocean life, known as the Offshore Angler. Morris’ goal was to show how
humans can have a positive impact</i> (Lauren Barnas – Ozarksfirst.com)”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwuaX0Y-b3dhwojD7TbYvCLdbiQTPt54A84DK5pp7ykIBQooMTySaQtLHORL9eVhMbBD-molKeVX5XlJtRk1A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Again, every
available space is utilised, with models of numerous shark species darting
about the roof and the tops of these tall tanks chasing fish, creating the
illusion you’re walking along the reef floor. Even the buildings infrastructure
seems to be left exposed, adding to the idea the shipwreck is all about you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFDU8vn9XZOJO7lLArUZa2uXUZdNrg7hlwxyqOKOmU66dTBlqzea85j-DvdmT_uf58qzJXzWreUY0t6dB26GKY8o3mS7uOkuT4P5DkgVClib6XIj2rSZrDTfDQOtDbjVNwTnSqjp9qsg/s1600/DSCN9448+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFDU8vn9XZOJO7lLArUZa2uXUZdNrg7hlwxyqOKOmU66dTBlqzea85j-DvdmT_uf58qzJXzWreUY0t6dB26GKY8o3mS7uOkuT4P5DkgVClib6XIj2rSZrDTfDQOtDbjVNwTnSqjp9qsg/s640/DSCN9448+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Swamp at Night<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hvvyixpRVtIwjSXdCAM_DCe-Z4ExmDTWz2bxYJg-Kkn-TGj7oBJlaZucUXQ03RPxIURSTXaRKnN19TamTjuALiui0z3NSAcXmLKn4jhzH7owpnEE9sFLgYjN118m9S7X0xnJ1WgTrpk/s1600/DSCN9450+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1597" data-original-width="1600" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hvvyixpRVtIwjSXdCAM_DCe-Z4ExmDTWz2bxYJg-Kkn-TGj7oBJlaZucUXQ03RPxIURSTXaRKnN19TamTjuALiui0z3NSAcXmLKn4jhzH7owpnEE9sFLgYjN118m9S7X0xnJ1WgTrpk/s320/DSCN9450+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Do I have a
favourite section? Yes…but that comes later…though I will say a very close
second is the swamp/river/ display. You begin by walking into a southern bijou,
crossing wooden planking and gator skull sporting signposts, with huge mossy cypress
trees lining the path. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvdr62lKoLmgN_IcLPdk3q9t5aLqr4tc2E2nDfM9S3SMuG29W44i3wIwRSXd4iMC3LN1bDyikt7DRBrc3P6ObbROqEpn_euCbGaLluwrmBzu_iU5CMFqw7AA5eTo_ScZtSuL6uZNZmnk/s1600/DSCN9456+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1600" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvdr62lKoLmgN_IcLPdk3q9t5aLqr4tc2E2nDfM9S3SMuG29W44i3wIwRSXd4iMC3LN1bDyikt7DRBrc3P6ObbROqEpn_euCbGaLluwrmBzu_iU5CMFqw7AA5eTo_ScZtSuL6uZNZmnk/s640/DSCN9456+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This feels very
Disneyland to me, and I do not mean that in a derogatory way. Disney theme
parks have a fantastic and fun eye for detail, and that’s very much on exhibit
here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ewWU9Jo23HmypNMoo4pvH6cEdbAAUj_4AbOIZxNKum1iF2-OeWhAQjz_4aq210-1sV8fkQhLBLKG8FFPl_2RXvq6zr94pXdvtmwr-__OpnbhiCE2LBUBvguCtpS63H-u45AnmTdOpHc/s1600/20181122_123532+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ewWU9Jo23HmypNMoo4pvH6cEdbAAUj_4AbOIZxNKum1iF2-OeWhAQjz_4aq210-1sV8fkQhLBLKG8FFPl_2RXvq6zr94pXdvtmwr-__OpnbhiCE2LBUBvguCtpS63H-u45AnmTdOpHc/s320/20181122_123532+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Again, this is a
multi-level display that you walk through, around, over and under. You pass and
enter buildings, from hunting shacks to bait shops and, as this is a nocturnal
area, the lighting is dark and intimate. This helps highlight the numerous living
animals, including owls, bears and alligators on display. There is even a swing
bridge over numerous alligator pens including some real monsters. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Its again full of
nice little touched, like a fallen log that actually houses a terrarium filled
with denizens like salamanders. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUK_HtNaLzdPGDoVw57VX1Vvuxzb4XXDsLXgkj0c1577QT3hin_OUuASJHHbFYIYH4qMigph5j0XoKGDzjXdgLPD3VJvJf7k26wKANUENQ8hg5lgpsmFz0lY3w3SYqDDaocCvB5ZAWuk/s1600/20181122_125912+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1600" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUK_HtNaLzdPGDoVw57VX1Vvuxzb4XXDsLXgkj0c1577QT3hin_OUuASJHHbFYIYH4qMigph5j0XoKGDzjXdgLPD3VJvJf7k26wKANUENQ8hg5lgpsmFz0lY3w3SYqDDaocCvB5ZAWuk/s640/20181122_125912+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Jewel of the
crown is the rare albino alligator and yes – for all you palaeontology fans out
there who follow this series – a <i>Sarcosuchus</i> skull. The giant Gondwana
croc from the Mesozoic is not the only prehistoric critter on display here
though, but it’s a ice touch to show a fossils crocodilian next to living
specimens…again, where would you see that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXcx4ZzLwwFhpsClc78Qhopv8VDcFPnQu8Ehtu515rk11C1sZJ4Gel4T9e00YpoJpx1pm0lKpGnfjEeeFr0yGLsLH0ffEvaYnrjlZjPstQOSE3glia8uXRsISsfldfKS_HvKPfhyHcUM/s1600/20181122_130021+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="983" data-original-width="1600" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXcx4ZzLwwFhpsClc78Qhopv8VDcFPnQu8Ehtu515rk11C1sZJ4Gel4T9e00YpoJpx1pm0lKpGnfjEeeFr0yGLsLH0ffEvaYnrjlZjPstQOSE3glia8uXRsISsfldfKS_HvKPfhyHcUM/s640/20181122_130021+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">You travel down
through the winding display, visiting the local streams and rivers of the
nearby Ozarks, and a mangrove shoreline, filled with fish, water birds (even a
pelican) and swimming otters. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxjDDsJnkFRkjqhBLSRaU5MESNRA81AyM0Iw9acO7CCaCoO8BMR7GSo4ISSbEQsfsLW9eh8t-s1FK2V8hiZtg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">One of the fish
on display is the paddlefish (<i>Polyodon spathula</i>), a species under
serious threat and whose fossils go right back to the late Cretaceous. The
fossils show these fish have remained unchanged in all of that time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvRQri70F7ajMcX8mh0Z3AShj0DYbAq2EiwR5bPh4HNY4_vx7VtKhs7F1Acn0kH7jjiMAK8w9TwVbLVDVXFbGOxYqc2w81gmyotlXUpsavt4LkqGwszh1jJ3_Bvi94st5b0-0WcpiMFk/s1600/DSCN9465+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="941" data-original-width="1600" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvRQri70F7ajMcX8mh0Z3AShj0DYbAq2EiwR5bPh4HNY4_vx7VtKhs7F1Acn0kH7jjiMAK8w9TwVbLVDVXFbGOxYqc2w81gmyotlXUpsavt4LkqGwszh1jJ3_Bvi94st5b0-0WcpiMFk/s640/DSCN9465+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As you move
further down, spiraling around, though and under the numerous fish tanks, one of
these is a large aquarium with a tunnel you can walk though. The River Monsters
display contains some of the world’s biggest freshwater fish, including
sturgeon, alligator gar and arapaima from the amazon. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZSnXKF3GLu66AWHPEXO3Lr8D2-NSuw_XdSVXwbr05DJVYyvaDT4P2ZoFHWhEzbjDjoD1ZUw3msEptb-5QCcpeHuh-yloZwSbiZnuMGygsE_twRE08zGH9frgzuqUlsJ2bo51hM1IjpY/s1600/DSCN9461+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZSnXKF3GLu66AWHPEXO3Lr8D2-NSuw_XdSVXwbr05DJVYyvaDT4P2ZoFHWhEzbjDjoD1ZUw3msEptb-5QCcpeHuh-yloZwSbiZnuMGygsE_twRE08zGH9frgzuqUlsJ2bo51hM1IjpY/s640/DSCN9461+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Living fossils that
you can get right up to…amazing. With all the ancient species on display here, I
would suggest the aquarium rename this section Prehistoric rivers, or something
like that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTya0v4bnlTIdVOzwuGHGgRJWvq6Xm599Ga4HqxY-jJC9VBX4OvUdvcdEex4oGHlZlBtOjKW6eYqM_s8TkUJhHlPkkYh4QlejBvQ2-z6ROSPdMtZfXpdTCk2ezeyfcFGfZ3Sktx5Y3OZE/s1600/DSCN9468+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="1600" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTya0v4bnlTIdVOzwuGHGgRJWvq6Xm599Ga4HqxY-jJC9VBX4OvUdvcdEex4oGHlZlBtOjKW6eYqM_s8TkUJhHlPkkYh4QlejBvQ2-z6ROSPdMtZfXpdTCk2ezeyfcFGfZ3Sktx5Y3OZE/s640/DSCN9468+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Throughout these
tanks are small tunnels for kids and more adventurous adults to climb into.
These end in a bubble-like viewing platform within the tank, making you part of
the display as fish swim all about you. This part of the aquarium ends in an
enormous room with glass walls and a glass ceiling under the largest tank in
this area. There are fish on all sides and above, making you feel like you’re on
display. It’s a great effect.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Amazon<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3mYpTe0a1_sjJWVKdSISjSY3CQsiPF0LgBo0i9tkRpj_tQFY22YcdBRd6TBQ5g9ae1A6hyphenhyphennI0iUyDJ7brSLN9pr9-stp_GR6vqnNmuegay_hcT8Vmw1xZ8bq5RKsvhQ1ILsclAA-cGY/s1600/20181122_124155+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3mYpTe0a1_sjJWVKdSISjSY3CQsiPF0LgBo0i9tkRpj_tQFY22YcdBRd6TBQ5g9ae1A6hyphenhyphennI0iUyDJ7brSLN9pr9-stp_GR6vqnNmuegay_hcT8Vmw1xZ8bq5RKsvhQ1ILsclAA-cGY/s320/20181122_124155+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The final region
to explore on this level is the great southern rainforest in the amazon. Not
only are there piranhas of various types swimming through the eye-level tanks,
there are also electric eels, freshwater stingrays and more arapaima. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSei2hRUAcb0yn8T7F9IgqNF4SdPI3PjRuWmSy0DlUEEwYdd-0pjwoHMbkEDEl-56x5gQYxF5yhEA8zCUYjwjREhJpTrkNlFsc0gUlgtXXBQfQDAsVRlhPn4aMJ5gR12VP5K2YfViP4cg/s1600/20181122_124056+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSei2hRUAcb0yn8T7F9IgqNF4SdPI3PjRuWmSy0DlUEEwYdd-0pjwoHMbkEDEl-56x5gQYxF5yhEA8zCUYjwjREhJpTrkNlFsc0gUlgtXXBQfQDAsVRlhPn4aMJ5gR12VP5K2YfViP4cg/s640/20181122_124056+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Next to
the tanks are terrariums full of poison dart frogs, anacondas, tarantulas,
toucans and even a sloth. This is all situated around a huge interior waterfall
that not only sounds amazing, I dare say helps aerate and give some momentum to
the water flowing through the aquariums.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwMG-ORQoqU6-pTfgk3fonlPyyG9vxsXCbCoGuXHcp6pmQdK1L1gmL7aiFQwlisxuBpKsaswbsMaFaQQ7Y8IA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I believe you are
now at the very lowest level of the entire museum, and there are several
tunnels here under the aquariums above, giving you a unique view of how these ecosystems
work. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsDvFCcHsMotAIKOG8Zuok-Wl0bt7VKEeEjvtcdXAZK2jKFofzQT2ZnaR-H1O6EZlF2JMxIgjM7hUHT9wANGsChRcNpIaPCUCOFeT8UPVzw37CFegkEyYi00joQkyUpffVLA3svaXE-w/s1600/20181122_124343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsDvFCcHsMotAIKOG8Zuok-Wl0bt7VKEeEjvtcdXAZK2jKFofzQT2ZnaR-H1O6EZlF2JMxIgjM7hUHT9wANGsChRcNpIaPCUCOFeT8UPVzw37CFegkEyYi00joQkyUpffVLA3svaXE-w/s320/20181122_124343.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This is a world of snake-like tree roots and deep-water predators lurking
in the shadows, watching life above swim by, searching for a potential victim. It’s
well done and I could have stayed and explored this area for hours – but as
always time was short and there was so much more to see.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Marvels of the Deep<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This level also
contains the deep-sea displays. Large tanks again dominate the area, full of
things like octopus, seahorses, giant spider crabs, and not just the standard
medusa jellyfish you see at most aquariums – here they do things bigger. One
tank contains large jellyfish, their heart-like pumping bells trailing lengthy
tendrils of tentacle armed with nematocysts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw1CztpEdriQBGzF86vm11hLx_WHve3llDHK5xfqTTNpiYt0f0IxW7Erx1JEQfoY3Qnq9h5RqZGcO-Ir8SykA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhc0b_8puXLrDXEH276DWt2sEabK-bet02tJoxbi2gYRPECJCeU-qHkrhyphenhyphen2otByJ6RbkqO-a62uRPFQ554jbQBffaeTLX0ZePB_ID3tNTHvNtpr6Io5SOlGQTIGkU1x0noKvVLfE8J2M/s1600/20181122_125231+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhc0b_8puXLrDXEH276DWt2sEabK-bet02tJoxbi2gYRPECJCeU-qHkrhyphenhyphen2otByJ6RbkqO-a62uRPFQ554jbQBffaeTLX0ZePB_ID3tNTHvNtpr6Io5SOlGQTIGkU1x0noKvVLfE8J2M/s320/20181122_125231+%25282%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Here is another
stop for paleo-fans. One section opens into an exhibition of various shells
from all over the world. Among these are fossil ammonites, trilobites and a
display of nautilus shells. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9K1a6HMWpBV2LZH46cj4FOXHygwcU-rpi2OcHooujW1gzpJWkKc6IZNaiQCQyT3BZQDnvmlLi1tK6uJ72LhlMUqdRXuVkSnGUwFL8j3prqiKH0xqLftRpEGgqpJES57NeNdbUXq0bZA/s1600/20181122_125204+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9K1a6HMWpBV2LZH46cj4FOXHygwcU-rpi2OcHooujW1gzpJWkKc6IZNaiQCQyT3BZQDnvmlLi1tK6uJ72LhlMUqdRXuVkSnGUwFL8j3prqiKH0xqLftRpEGgqpJES57NeNdbUXq0bZA/s640/20181122_125204+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There’s also an
enormous gallery for the bass fishing hall of fame – which I did not enter as I
really did need to move on, but the thing looked enormous, full of plaques and
displays of famous bass-fishing folks. Apparently, that’s a big thing in the South. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQ2Q2UAYHqw4jK-5t4fATy6X8CDvYuobR_txIvj86ZvzQ4hvxAL8Wfgm22CTNb1g0xbeBEcY-rjYxoErSSyUgNnMWxNEFZivJeI7W6Duh0ghLhb38VLOYXAST6vPvSf-XW4O1K609Lnw/s1600/DSCN8998+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQ2Q2UAYHqw4jK-5t4fATy6X8CDvYuobR_txIvj86ZvzQ4hvxAL8Wfgm22CTNb1g0xbeBEcY-rjYxoErSSyUgNnMWxNEFZivJeI7W6Duh0ghLhb38VLOYXAST6vPvSf-XW4O1K609Lnw/s320/DSCN8998+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I have seen images in my research and apparently ends in a three-story tall log
cabin. Kind of wish I had spent the time walking down that passage, but alas I
didn’t. There’s also a NASCAR /motorsport display full of vehicles I assume the
company behind the museum sponsored. Again, I got nowhere near it as there was
simply no time and as an Australian, I’m not exactly a NASCAR fan so it held no
interest to me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCBy-lo9iyATQ3H_-65MhRLhe1eWRjGWoOKhfG4c5dX0qLIq0CLx7I9Ll9xxuDPShfQzMrlWSEsSF40fJhcIgaLUR_rg-BXQAbVyGQyKyawmuqr456iWwdX8Hxhee36q_XE3MdIJPaCg/s1600/DSCN9470+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="935" data-original-width="1600" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCBy-lo9iyATQ3H_-65MhRLhe1eWRjGWoOKhfG4c5dX0qLIq0CLx7I9Ll9xxuDPShfQzMrlWSEsSF40fJhcIgaLUR_rg-BXQAbVyGQyKyawmuqr456iWwdX8Hxhee36q_XE3MdIJPaCg/s640/DSCN9470+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Finally, this
part of the museum ends in the depths of the Ozarks. Purpose built caves with
dark passages and sounds of dripping water (as well as real dripping water) assault
your ears as you snake thought the gloom past stalactites and – well what I can
only call a bat-tank. Just like the aquariums, this is an elongated display,
allowing the numerous living bats inside the space they need to fly about and
perch.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwos5GTCJGZiFzolXmStB7r4ofetr3F49hHOvItluC_b8R3wUO6KVIjzJvkN06kNPOEOCxcMCjYDpoFSBoAcQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizsyOJNyssPN61cVut3u2kSrcPI0z-ZueKApIiLOsR5z69iG4_Cu93MMU6f59SM5Kj7Ql2QVccUilFIkymhF9JN3ikyZgwtMzwmJhmNl5VoJXz86_9SZENGJ8cfti-iK1rajMq1o5IxhM/s1600/DSCN9472+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizsyOJNyssPN61cVut3u2kSrcPI0z-ZueKApIiLOsR5z69iG4_Cu93MMU6f59SM5Kj7Ql2QVccUilFIkymhF9JN3ikyZgwtMzwmJhmNl5VoJXz86_9SZENGJ8cfti-iK1rajMq1o5IxhM/s320/DSCN9472+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Though dark, there are a few little spots of illumination, often lined
with a bit of fruit to encourage what’s normally only dark shadows flitting
through your vision to land, eat and allow a more detailed glimpse of these
mammals. This passage also ends with yet another tank filled with fish that
prefer dark waters and you get an underside view of the beaver den seen way
back up at the swamp – with live beavers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuG8_MTINoiq8eZ8sYgeQIfBnVSI5ApAZ4-UQnjgkEdNz9uANrPpu7sEhd_6MjfTmjUWBUsgxeJAbw9uwq99QmvWhrKpOqOXDT341Od-1C7TBLz3S-koMPMjz02LuaxpIiRaqn2AOe7Bc/s1600/20181122_125742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuG8_MTINoiq8eZ8sYgeQIfBnVSI5ApAZ4-UQnjgkEdNz9uANrPpu7sEhd_6MjfTmjUWBUsgxeJAbw9uwq99QmvWhrKpOqOXDT341Od-1C7TBLz3S-koMPMjz02LuaxpIiRaqn2AOe7Bc/s640/20181122_125742.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Features that
deserves attention for the fact that it doesn’t really draw attention to itself
are the lighting within these displays and the glass. Subtle, bright when its
needed, dark when the idea is to create atmosphere or claustrophobia – or better
yet, mimic the environment being created (such as the swamp), the lighting
gives you the feeling you’re really exploring these displays, not just walking
through it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglWgQwJK8h5xYsE12kx8q6AtspDbngafArQMta1dibMYqtyRhBFgcOAOyT83D_r1qZbplG5-3blP6E7dczqIgg8G8uLJq-HtEUH0MkuASug6-f_dZb8QJr08kyndMeIUsZ5VwYMHN7ng/s1600/DSCN9464+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1006" data-original-width="1600" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglWgQwJK8h5xYsE12kx8q6AtspDbngafArQMta1dibMYqtyRhBFgcOAOyT83D_r1qZbplG5-3blP6E7dczqIgg8G8uLJq-HtEUH0MkuASug6-f_dZb8QJr08kyndMeIUsZ5VwYMHN7ng/s640/DSCN9464+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The tanks
themselves use crystal clear glass, giving you an unrestricted view of every
animal living within them. Only once did I find myself wishing someone would
come along and clean some grime from within or without the tank, and along with
the lighting you receive an almost miraculous view of the animals within. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjZfhfDxQSU6d3CAL6yKUyLEfLO1pzF2mQ3Hn9wEZNREk1lW__Ap7Cda28v__GydvLBIoQgDSMEYLNpBtYvwVoAh_TLicKd3aNdkk-W7UyhU7VOli_EisVD8zdOCAsZc_IYsw7r-9ifw/s1600/DSCN9415+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1600" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjZfhfDxQSU6d3CAL6yKUyLEfLO1pzF2mQ3Hn9wEZNREk1lW__Ap7Cda28v__GydvLBIoQgDSMEYLNpBtYvwVoAh_TLicKd3aNdkk-W7UyhU7VOli_EisVD8zdOCAsZc_IYsw7r-9ifw/s640/DSCN9415+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I
also applaud not only the life-like environments of the tanks but the way they
are structured. Very few are small and box-like, trapping the animals in a
sterile, restricted environment. Most are filled with branches, logs or clever
hidey holes, and the tanks themselves are usually in a ring format, allowing
fish and other animals to really swim in at least two directions without ever
reaching a barrier. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwjjVDuI_wMat_0Aqt6N9JBbB64qa4911ofg54KjfXLARp4oP2Z6fEIO6XMBi6Tr01xSeuqLw1l6ZhBS2RTxQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Thinking about it
– these two articles will be separated into the living side of the institution
and the dead … err… static displays.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So, with the
living done, it’s on to the recently deceased part of the museum.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxM5NuFkdc1NR4GanjgcpXNcMsYGOWeyFkOdtUSO00bwBqkxlDfKUUuY1maNZYsO-wVd_BDCpmhKuZejzR5xCNQ8W-5X05U1KPWEdtAufOF2ojZO8BKa-pbA9nCWA0tsPvZTKFlkSKI9A/s1600/DSCN9435+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1289" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxM5NuFkdc1NR4GanjgcpXNcMsYGOWeyFkOdtUSO00bwBqkxlDfKUUuY1maNZYsO-wVd_BDCpmhKuZejzR5xCNQ8W-5X05U1KPWEdtAufOF2ojZO8BKa-pbA9nCWA0tsPvZTKFlkSKI9A/s640/DSCN9435+%25282%2529.JPG" width="515" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com1500 W Sunshine St, Springfield, MO 65807, USA37.181707900000013 -93.2961738000000211.659673400000013 -134.60476780000002 62.70374240000001 -51.98757980000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-17245125072382313152019-10-13T02:16:00.002-07:002019-10-13T02:16:19.472-07:00Central Queensland - Mount Morgan Part One - The Mount Morgan Historical Museum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9pzHdtD588e4HTJ1LfnCqudGyxpmgND8wauKVQXg6aDcJ5Mte7812s2BatgHRFsf-m4rFo-hWu7AAmEADs0FnZNRCZpI5_ALD-gLjC3vXlfUl53KBirrQxdI9X-g1OZjGC4k1j7KUvc/s1600/DSCN4101+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="1600" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9pzHdtD588e4HTJ1LfnCqudGyxpmgND8wauKVQXg6aDcJ5Mte7812s2BatgHRFsf-m4rFo-hWu7AAmEADs0FnZNRCZpI5_ALD-gLjC3vXlfUl53KBirrQxdI9X-g1OZjGC4k1j7KUvc/s640/DSCN4101+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I was recently lucky enough to head into Central Queensland –
a region long connected to Australian palaeontology. From the fossil rich and award-winning
Capricorn Caves (more on them later) to the world famous Winton fossil fields,
this region has a lot on offer for a paleo fans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuAC1R-k0TimGEU42JbhxGq2shI__IBM_h2UJimyp9PcR2h3Z3labDuCL2_enx9lP799yLaU-U514SaDYVtVDTcrnHZHLMfk4ISOKXyVSm0qibVbrUP2bgOHtvni7MEwZVNA-KCJYAfs/s1600/DSCN4038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="1600" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuAC1R-k0TimGEU42JbhxGq2shI__IBM_h2UJimyp9PcR2h3Z3labDuCL2_enx9lP799yLaU-U514SaDYVtVDTcrnHZHLMfk4ISOKXyVSm0qibVbrUP2bgOHtvni7MEwZVNA-KCJYAfs/s640/DSCN4038.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A nice view heading towards Mount Morgan from Rockhampton.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Just outside the city of Rockhampton is Mount Morgan – a remote
village sitting along the Dee River with a very interesting secret (though not a secret to the locals). Though once prosperous thanks to the local Mount Morgan mine –
which produced among other minerals gold and copper – the closing off the mine
hindered the town, which is now looking to use its history to draw in tourists,
and the jewel of the town is The Mount Morgan Historical Museum.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7tJONAUnx6vumGEO9s29ZnV9QEN0vZdXP-DbwwosARARQLjPhnXb1Rmt3uXWuSEB2af3J_xJXP8KpqeOgfr1CK9Ay3v7b0_dA4zGARVLO1OSAJN97Y635T0Jf9E9da-Otw6E_B2ukzU/s1600/DSCN4073+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="1600" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7tJONAUnx6vumGEO9s29ZnV9QEN0vZdXP-DbwwosARARQLjPhnXb1Rmt3uXWuSEB2af3J_xJXP8KpqeOgfr1CK9Ay3v7b0_dA4zGARVLO1OSAJN97Y635T0Jf9E9da-Otw6E_B2ukzU/s640/DSCN4073+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“<i>Housing an impressive collection of relics from the town's
earliest years to the present, the Mount Morgan Historical Museum delves into
the captivating history of Mount Morgan. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmH_gOx4tsJvvaqfJpV50Brg-STzoSE5XKiSZlnNitW4WLygAJ4O6-P7XAnMaAYrlFnK0mG5Iyb6Bi8malAONRlVmAu_k71fJnE5J8ZPavEZVDrqGfnFbFomxy0ZehshWXs1u3sFIl48/s1600/DSCN4088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmH_gOx4tsJvvaqfJpV50Brg-STzoSE5XKiSZlnNitW4WLygAJ4O6-P7XAnMaAYrlFnK0mG5Iyb6Bi8malAONRlVmAu_k71fJnE5J8ZPavEZVDrqGfnFbFomxy0ZehshWXs1u3sFIl48/s400/DSCN4088.JPG" width="300" /></i></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Among the extensive range, displays include mining
equipment, historic household and business objects, and an extensive
photographic display; taking you through the years of Mount Morgan life, and
presenting the faces and stories of some of the town’s most prominent
individuals.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The fascination continues with the Museum’s fine collection
of horse-drawn buggies and wagons, along with the first motor hearse in Mount
Morgan (a 1921 Buick) and a 1942 International Fire Engine.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_6p2-LEZ4542ZsJ7Hd4Llzo-6s6IYNXAlRVzWOKqikZaKn-IHY_LP1IWIhZgzfO_qDVMZ3PchPl31KivzCYMGo7IJehWtFtvDq9CphSGkHm_r82SqfGw4YRMSaHKQYVHUIe8uiVF67Y/s1600/DSCN4099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_6p2-LEZ4542ZsJ7Hd4Llzo-6s6IYNXAlRVzWOKqikZaKn-IHY_LP1IWIhZgzfO_qDVMZ3PchPl31KivzCYMGo7IJehWtFtvDq9CphSGkHm_r82SqfGw4YRMSaHKQYVHUIe8uiVF67Y/s640/DSCN4099.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Part of the unique display also includes the Museum and
Gallery Achievement Award winning exhibit Mount Morgan Murri. Telling a fine
example of the history of the local Indigenous community, Mount Morgan Murri
features a variety of artefacts, interpretation panels, stories and photographs
recovered from around the local area. </i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-uypRymj7tUxe92j0KAalRZY0Vw0pbVujtekphr13PecS9mMwImZKnNUE8XRqhWAZq_qu4uPcjAUCe8HfBudHRMylE1mjoBCJaGGqjV-S15Pu9E_AVrSMbttGCS5CsSwYL3e0eXPiYo/s1600/DSCN4070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-uypRymj7tUxe92j0KAalRZY0Vw0pbVujtekphr13PecS9mMwImZKnNUE8XRqhWAZq_qu4uPcjAUCe8HfBudHRMylE1mjoBCJaGGqjV-S15Pu9E_AVrSMbttGCS5CsSwYL3e0eXPiYo/s640/DSCN4070.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The collection also includes local
Indigenous artwork and an audio visual display of photographs and voiceovers -
presented by members of the Mount Morgan community</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPyB2mhw8tW9_iK8DboxdyihEakqyOfXINUacKfwFIndYUg_ogGRFhsxAS_sz6xkQboGt0nW_sDaSiP8r8sAyWJSPDZ_OBzUytHJFMSRj4N3YrIbrlDWLIsT0dWU9iS3Hoemv3E97tbgQ/s1600/DSCN4079+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1112" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPyB2mhw8tW9_iK8DboxdyihEakqyOfXINUacKfwFIndYUg_ogGRFhsxAS_sz6xkQboGt0nW_sDaSiP8r8sAyWJSPDZ_OBzUytHJFMSRj4N3YrIbrlDWLIsT0dWU9iS3Hoemv3E97tbgQ/s320/DSCN4079+%25282%2529.JPG" width="222" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There is a lot on display here, from everyday implements
used over the last century or so to specimens of the minerals once dug out of
the ground there. What was of great interest though was the palaeontology specimens.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">It turns out the mine produced a lot more than gold and
copper. The mine is mostly situated in Jurassic age rocks, and these have
produced several fossils, both marine and terrestrial – and many of these are
on display at the museum. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJBYTRX7NK3l0IbcoyeypSd1UvipH-RKZMoJtQvWH1yFLdvUOsgJJypAEfv7SzhaGxT8i4TJ8j7CxkDwE0m1mo50fRIwdc8vpp21ABDjmT_cwmjvaE2nmUgxVK3QnAGYu9d4g9TT0g68/s1600/DSCN4047+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1297" data-original-width="1600" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJBYTRX7NK3l0IbcoyeypSd1UvipH-RKZMoJtQvWH1yFLdvUOsgJJypAEfv7SzhaGxT8i4TJ8j7CxkDwE0m1mo50fRIwdc8vpp21ABDjmT_cwmjvaE2nmUgxVK3QnAGYu9d4g9TT0g68/s640/DSCN4047+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVWr4Bjn9mpFbdiPizfjcPnu3t0-MFllg3jk-PEyoIHjBgGnqGBGivmhrsNM0TgTzTWcvGMDkPLy8_od5ZNfvQFo8koCNCe3weUI0aeYQm34M4HKvt_FGTAPx2hfryXcs6e8CjycmT_iA/s1600/DSCN4048+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="1600" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVWr4Bjn9mpFbdiPizfjcPnu3t0-MFllg3jk-PEyoIHjBgGnqGBGivmhrsNM0TgTzTWcvGMDkPLy8_od5ZNfvQFo8koCNCe3weUI0aeYQm34M4HKvt_FGTAPx2hfryXcs6e8CjycmT_iA/s320/DSCN4048+%25283%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There are a number of plant fossils on display, but the real
jewels are the plesiosaur fossils. These marine reptiles with strangely long
necks have been found elsewhere in Australia, but their appearance in dusty Queensland
is a stark reminder that this part of the world used to site alongside a large
interior sea.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eFrfbfF70BEnSPtQS_8N5rcpKns1MGutEj2ppC0RIcOpTV7sQuUdBBs5EdHuHGKJ4PERa7aKAqZEnFXxfEMtZQFJ2N_3QTBcwjsSFCnnraoOsUFQTQodxyBgOVKqR7WWfwm27BnE2T0/s1600/DSCN4056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eFrfbfF70BEnSPtQS_8N5rcpKns1MGutEj2ppC0RIcOpTV7sQuUdBBs5EdHuHGKJ4PERa7aKAqZEnFXxfEMtZQFJ2N_3QTBcwjsSFCnnraoOsUFQTQodxyBgOVKqR7WWfwm27BnE2T0/s640/DSCN4056.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now the plesiosaur fossils are replicas as the real ones are
part of the Queensland Museum collection and helping palaeontologist unravel
the bizarre history for the country, but I loved seeing them as they were an unusual
find in a museum where I was not expecting to see anything so cool.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9k31eGI-azmS9Reg1fVdGzAfksItR4b49Ke1EcFafxBFr8pA9E-NFvY6OCQegzrsFJu-veX3dTLhyphenhyphenT8X1xFkvy6vSuzlltXtTMMIrirG-J5PeloNXSsh2vNlMdml2LX6YHWNCoVDougQ/s1600/DSCN4052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9k31eGI-azmS9Reg1fVdGzAfksItR4b49Ke1EcFafxBFr8pA9E-NFvY6OCQegzrsFJu-veX3dTLhyphenhyphenT8X1xFkvy6vSuzlltXtTMMIrirG-J5PeloNXSsh2vNlMdml2LX6YHWNCoVDougQ/s640/DSCN4052.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">BUT – what came next was shocking. It would seem the Mount
Morgan mine contains a treasure potentially far more valuable than gold or copper.
Running along the roof of the mine are over 300 dinosaur footprints – revealing
what sort of creatures once walked alongside this ancient sea. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dating back to the early Jurassic – a time
there are very few fossils from anywhere in the world – these trackways are one
of the most important dinosaurs finds on the continent – and I had never heard
of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivVkm037waj-5PEGgtDy8_lj-qTP_I0C54U2OyERywWs8BVZj30m0q2kLpqdzVUAvdqYQtWPRWiXSyfKdvr1xiGtY1wUJsQDWI5T4A3rtIXJKq8GybDRBVQ3wQEubbLDNgPVV8a9lL3Mo/s1600/DSCN4041+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivVkm037waj-5PEGgtDy8_lj-qTP_I0C54U2OyERywWs8BVZj30m0q2kLpqdzVUAvdqYQtWPRWiXSyfKdvr1xiGtY1wUJsQDWI5T4A3rtIXJKq8GybDRBVQ3wQEubbLDNgPVV8a9lL3Mo/s640/DSCN4041+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One reason for this was the closure of the mine. Though the footprints
were famous in the region and locals ran tours into the caverns to see these prints
– a collapse meant the tunnels became too dangerous and the mine was closed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhWfs6dTKdft9i-nx4RM9i6CYLkRfo17Q8Gp93xKgzk6PMmR37XKdqgeGnv6HT0UomxewMWnm7tIxwKaenasMoZyj4pZ56V91UHnXxDdogWK7MOknxhWKObuvOgWr08NQY_RbtgauzvA/s1600/DSCN4045+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1600" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhWfs6dTKdft9i-nx4RM9i6CYLkRfo17Q8Gp93xKgzk6PMmR37XKdqgeGnv6HT0UomxewMWnm7tIxwKaenasMoZyj4pZ56V91UHnXxDdogWK7MOknxhWKObuvOgWr08NQY_RbtgauzvA/s640/DSCN4045+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Recently there has been a push by local governments to have
surveys done of the mine and for any safety measures needed to keep visitors
safe to be installed, but for some reason the state government has shied away
from agreeing to this – creating some political unrest in the region. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2XfO-P7nO7WPIcpKfUGn75Y70jPRTHi8StZkIow3w-KbrRSJQK1BBL8suQpcc81cknjNimA9c0Wxoem6C3V4ZHI2O60wtIDo1D-lRffMu1BhV93rPmQ0m41jch_o_VjAEP3Z2M5WUzE/s1600/DSCN4044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2XfO-P7nO7WPIcpKfUGn75Y70jPRTHi8StZkIow3w-KbrRSJQK1BBL8suQpcc81cknjNimA9c0Wxoem6C3V4ZHI2O60wtIDo1D-lRffMu1BhV93rPmQ0m41jch_o_VjAEP3Z2M5WUzE/s640/DSCN4044.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hopefully the collapse has not occurred to the fossil roof,
parts of which hang 8m above the tunnel floor, and access can so be granted to
this treasure again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is why I have called this part one – as I am hoping one
day to get a tour of these footprints and will cover them in a future article –
but for now you can see casts of some of these prints at the Mount Morgan
Historical Museum.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"></span></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3n6_HGPAxghZfZsQemcaBnXnhvv518c384QYI9t8FtQ2Ubx3jPF5qDEFfu38wjNe_PPXbSVS4hViD2Hl3ku5eXDG1Zkur8t5ApDGFPKhumk-7R31OQnwhKTPn8o_V9d4cPz61QRHvro/s1600/DSCN4051+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1600" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3n6_HGPAxghZfZsQemcaBnXnhvv518c384QYI9t8FtQ2Ubx3jPF5qDEFfu38wjNe_PPXbSVS4hViD2Hl3ku5eXDG1Zkur8t5ApDGFPKhumk-7R31OQnwhKTPn8o_V9d4cPz61QRHvro/s640/DSCN4051+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Recognised species amongst the footprints are <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Anomoepus: First recognised in the Connecticut River Valley,
Massachusetts, in 1802. E.B. Hitchcock described the footprints as evidence of
ancient birds, thought today they are identified as <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>belonging to a dinosaur – most likely an
ornithischian. Similar prints have been found in West Australia, Poland and the
Czech Republic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Grallator: these three toed prints have been found across
the globe, and likely belonged to a small predatory dinosaur like Coelophysis.
These too were originally named by Hitchcock. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFSqDr7L7Eq3MgLeekxzEr-5wo1ZyBv8tQPIMKNxJ5lEEBfO106YJbcmQYexgR5qQN_PCGp644wlYhx2NEzOqU-pnlcGgnK6ohhKLK8UZKA3y6F6mtbYgs0JbNsZqZ5O_TSOT-DZFUv4/s1600/DSCN4046+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1293" data-original-width="1600" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFSqDr7L7Eq3MgLeekxzEr-5wo1ZyBv8tQPIMKNxJ5lEEBfO106YJbcmQYexgR5qQN_PCGp644wlYhx2NEzOqU-pnlcGgnK6ohhKLK8UZKA3y6F6mtbYgs0JbNsZqZ5O_TSOT-DZFUv4/s400/DSCN4046+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Eubrontes: Hitchcock looked at the sheer size of these much
large prints and felt they came from a truly enormous animal that must have
shaken the ground as it stopped around – thus he named the ‘true thunderer’. These
likely belonged to the largest land animals of their day – the herbivorous prosauropods
or perhaps even early sauropods. The prosauropod is more likely though as there
was a prosauropod found in northern Queensland – though the true origins of this
specimen are still being hotly debated (and an article for another time). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJs9h_KgLA7FVdzaT0b-vv34FcWr5ZGYAFBrFGobRHuoLW7ZXr30SdClD-muUh8xGdCFvdwQ9SOV875_tXj7bCG5z40m3TLOuh6aOdAN3JnR8aAhf61NaNo5SUs7foLW2CCOpIt6gHR0/s1600/DSCN4042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJs9h_KgLA7FVdzaT0b-vv34FcWr5ZGYAFBrFGobRHuoLW7ZXr30SdClD-muUh8xGdCFvdwQ9SOV875_tXj7bCG5z40m3TLOuh6aOdAN3JnR8aAhf61NaNo5SUs7foLW2CCOpIt6gHR0/s640/DSCN4042.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Skartopus: known from the world famous trackway at Lark
Quarry, the Age of Dinosaurs website noted: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<i>They are typically described as being
longer than they are wide, symmetrical and sharp toed. They are small three
toed theropod footprints about 2–5cm long, representing dinosaurs 13–22cm tall
at the hips…</i> <i>Mt Morgan has produced a single Skartopus footprint which, at
5cm long, likely represents a theropod 22cm tall (brush turkey-sized)</i>.”</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWpc3ScrfzU6E-jkADMuW4zAdlmhdZY7IboiDEa0Z84KPqYr9oySzfz3qpdaKoO8YJ_geUB3wQBn5J2Ysuu5EcTsiHqi7-eHaRDCEzcXeT6QHLMqboBg8YZMfVvVYEglA4pBlKsyVazs/s1600/DSCN4078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWpc3ScrfzU6E-jkADMuW4zAdlmhdZY7IboiDEa0Z84KPqYr9oySzfz3qpdaKoO8YJ_geUB3wQBn5J2Ysuu5EcTsiHqi7-eHaRDCEzcXeT6QHLMqboBg8YZMfVvVYEglA4pBlKsyVazs/s640/DSCN4078.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />So in summary - I enjoyed my visit to the <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Mount Morgan Historical Museum - it had some great exhibits and it was a joy to find a paleontology display in a place I was not expecting to see one...ohhh....and there's a dinosaur on the roof!</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcQm2UV07UVHnsawO_5U9yzj7qVmlqRdkdl4k2B7BMH6W-IZupBkahTHOWeLGoMKvYLe2PDy4BjRz5rccwPWk1lE873w1OfHhUtkBaZFUSCYxfEkMwhAdWM6zvojKW1zJHi9wt9Blscc/s1600/DSCN4102+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="1600" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcQm2UV07UVHnsawO_5U9yzj7qVmlqRdkdl4k2B7BMH6W-IZupBkahTHOWeLGoMKvYLe2PDy4BjRz5rccwPWk1lE873w1OfHhUtkBaZFUSCYxfEkMwhAdWM6zvojKW1zJHi9wt9Blscc/s640/DSCN4102+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The Mount Morgan </span><span style="font-size: large;">Historical Museum is closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good
Friday and New Year's Day</span></div>
</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Open 7 days from 10:00am – 4:00pm.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Adults- $6, Students/pensioners - $4, children (5-15yrs) $2.
PHONE 07 4938 2122</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">87 Morgan Street.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQ60ZdluJBO-uiTyf-yZvKhB7vkoGAscWbig4v9jpdyL7ByvyRctfMURxxTSa58iO2-MdOD21oiB-F74f-f1jOWodtGTsSBHOBKGoqmkStOwYRLCZKvvmxog6XgUgun9UYKMAayd2CMU/s1600/DSCN4102+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQ60ZdluJBO-uiTyf-yZvKhB7vkoGAscWbig4v9jpdyL7ByvyRctfMURxxTSa58iO2-MdOD21oiB-F74f-f1jOWodtGTsSBHOBKGoqmkStOwYRLCZKvvmxog6XgUgun9UYKMAayd2CMU/s1600/DSCN4102+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQ60ZdluJBO-uiTyf-yZvKhB7vkoGAscWbig4v9jpdyL7ByvyRctfMURxxTSa58iO2-MdOD21oiB-F74f-f1jOWodtGTsSBHOBKGoqmkStOwYRLCZKvvmxog6XgUgun9UYKMAayd2CMU/s1600/DSCN4102+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com087 Morgan St, Mount Morgan QLD 4714, Australia-23.6449322 150.3893246-49.1669667 109.08073060000001 1.8771023000000007 -168.30208140000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-26300152061547098662018-12-19T11:22:00.000-08:002018-12-20T12:29:59.822-08:00Sue has a new home - part one about some new dinosaur displays<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMYNmOlJvCp9Y2OmNfwW5us13_PIZTjlXZgNoasp9rqABofo2nBsr3EaVrrv19ShDawPGsAWQexKo3C9HKDjPTipnwGqaknL5kFpedxAf3UraHecBT5Lel84fMqVOLIQEL47S667evws/s1600/DSCN0533+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1039" data-original-width="1600" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMYNmOlJvCp9Y2OmNfwW5us13_PIZTjlXZgNoasp9rqABofo2nBsr3EaVrrv19ShDawPGsAWQexKo3C9HKDjPTipnwGqaknL5kFpedxAf3UraHecBT5Lel84fMqVOLIQEL47S667evws/s640/DSCN0533+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The world’s most famous
tyrannosaur has a new home…well, maybe not a new home per-say as the fossils are
still housed at Chicago’s Field Museum (FM), but it is now part of a new exhibition
– one the designers were determined would reunite all the dinosaurs remains, as
previously they were displayed in various locations throughout the FM. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMNOPvlW49RN3Icn6p9JpuWphCb9a3_h3-kK-cYhSIwqTxcHl1qLSQcTIc6zgHFadS84nQabND3eSdI76vl6Jr4ZOFoH3lUzCLL-5giikAEfKEc8hVp5-2ImeOMb_coNgoBjFoN3oswM/s1600/DSCN0491+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="1600" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMNOPvlW49RN3Icn6p9JpuWphCb9a3_h3-kK-cYhSIwqTxcHl1qLSQcTIc6zgHFadS84nQabND3eSdI76vl6Jr4ZOFoH3lUzCLL-5giikAEfKEc8hVp5-2ImeOMb_coNgoBjFoN3oswM/s400/DSCN0491+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was
lucky enough to be part of the FM’s staff event, were the new display was
explained to us in detail (and why I believe I’m providing a lot more background
information) and the recent Sue media event, when the world’s media got an
early look and the chance to film and report on the display before its opening
to the public.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFM6SAH3mxUsMVKQaC7ZovDDJ8ZNBIBbL6kF_SyFhy6Yiu5K8d9Oh2Mn2wGr-DU7nIUZ5xTCmQdNp9b36j_1D-v4VYA3pVyQOeGgx5BC2EC4oBXadu3_kxO25sbvbyhoWZgI5hvUNwpdY/s1600/DSCN0507+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFM6SAH3mxUsMVKQaC7ZovDDJ8ZNBIBbL6kF_SyFhy6Yiu5K8d9Oh2Mn2wGr-DU7nIUZ5xTCmQdNp9b36j_1D-v4VYA3pVyQOeGgx5BC2EC4oBXadu3_kxO25sbvbyhoWZgI5hvUNwpdY/s640/DSCN0507+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<o:p></o:p></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhddYRYcToskKOKF9O7j1ch-sjzL0567OgugYSVUqpWcTz6tRaQhBH2glMmggNuYa_bxa-5XTS9mT99zabMC_vPkc3h_uE2k1WMTQmww0T7dd93YiPNLcS6H8ARw6dApyhaSZwx44eA5QQ/s1600/DSCN8197+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhddYRYcToskKOKF9O7j1ch-sjzL0567OgugYSVUqpWcTz6tRaQhBH2glMmggNuYa_bxa-5XTS9mT99zabMC_vPkc3h_uE2k1WMTQmww0T7dd93YiPNLcS6H8ARw6dApyhaSZwx44eA5QQ/s400/DSCN8197+%25282%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sue vs the Field Museum's massive foyer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">After receiving a substantial
donation from the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund, the FM set about renovating
its prehistoric displays. The first part was moving Sue from the museums’ cathedral
like foyer, then replacing the tyrannosaur with a dinosaur that would fit
inside this space. Enter Maximo, the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-indent: 27pt;">Patagotitan</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">
replacement for Sue that now dominates this hall.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmKh0Vg2luqdHRT0xf_qSYDoUtGixywtILoTQyu0FuuvbtHP7rSre1vY0Gi7gGFYfi0hJ4c3M1ADYpiWPbcq1V_gt-Mkz8hqqTZWheUZmOIDq_KQ3ubkGN9A-djZUcoxZFt_xoexISpQ/s1600/DSCN8013+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1600" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmKh0Vg2luqdHRT0xf_qSYDoUtGixywtILoTQyu0FuuvbtHP7rSre1vY0Gi7gGFYfi0hJ4c3M1ADYpiWPbcq1V_gt-Mkz8hqqTZWheUZmOIDq_KQ3ubkGN9A-djZUcoxZFt_xoexISpQ/s640/DSCN8013+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup, Maximo will fit nicely here!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next, after decades of work looking
for fossils in Antarctica, the FM used part of this donation to create the Antarctica
Dinosaur display that is about to finish its short-term run-in Chicago and head
out to museums across the world.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMWiIq72SJzsEWRpOYkgXU_C4YLlJ8Al3SFnxmZpylg4EL4jLUq1vobkhFQRT8H9j84rA8eNJVBR_kzWCMxqtP7wJb5SGBwXAGFryv9Mn27V9rQYYJiUNASXcKt9ywU60ClH_LyGaXaA/s1600/DSCN7870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMWiIq72SJzsEWRpOYkgXU_C4YLlJ8Al3SFnxmZpylg4EL4jLUq1vobkhFQRT8H9j84rA8eNJVBR_kzWCMxqtP7wJb5SGBwXAGFryv9Mn27V9rQYYJiUNASXcKt9ywU60ClH_LyGaXaA/s640/DSCN7870.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And now one of the last parts has
been completed (and well ahead of schedule I should point out) with the new Sue
exhibition being opened to the public this Friday (the 21<sup>st</sup> of
December).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsDndlgAavZ6-W8bCUHb74ATBoStuIrZ8ASPyLvww-tdFWj4AfyvVAmgnXuMs8uL6gcNUy9TzaiP9M24fORWnKqIPtjrAoELXtU21h81k6Tu9NL1ne7miGmIh3RI2q8klRGcO_T5GsbQ/s1600/DSCN0551+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1281" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsDndlgAavZ6-W8bCUHb74ATBoStuIrZ8ASPyLvww-tdFWj4AfyvVAmgnXuMs8uL6gcNUy9TzaiP9M24fORWnKqIPtjrAoELXtU21h81k6Tu9NL1ne7miGmIh3RI2q8klRGcO_T5GsbQ/s320/DSCN0551+%25282%2529.JPG" width="256" /></a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The display is terrific, with a visitor
entering through a Cretaceous forest into the exhibition proper, which has been
laid out in a strange chronological order. The first fossils you see are containers
filled with the tiny pieces of bones that Sue Hendrickson first saw lying on
the ground back in 1990. It was by following the trail of these tiny pieces into
the nearby cliff-face that led Sue to discovering more bones weathering out of
the South Dakota soil.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47BkhP5gOsTd6J5OWRjVsdGvH_BYqEl67l67AxoVvrDGxGLQUjjbkJlNRnk3chaWsMSC-PAi2Iq2DqMisGPDpbI-uHlk09T3KQ1yiAoWrMQPX_Rm2QJnd71Rg_t_knGAMFKIdWxQisbI/s1600/DSCN0553+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1600" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47BkhP5gOsTd6J5OWRjVsdGvH_BYqEl67l67AxoVvrDGxGLQUjjbkJlNRnk3chaWsMSC-PAi2Iq2DqMisGPDpbI-uHlk09T3KQ1yiAoWrMQPX_Rm2QJnd71Rg_t_knGAMFKIdWxQisbI/s640/DSCN0553+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the wall following has been reprinted
the actual charts of how the tyrannosaur was mapped as it lay in the ground. These
have not just been reprinted but slightly enhanced as many of the original pencil
lines were faint and had faded with age. Not only are they interesting and part
of the story, they are also artworks in their own right and deserve their place
within the exhibit.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4iY6KRv67FocEcPGr0me3Q9n00h6WXe_JqTUOAA1Ik2n7gMFWk2_MhDRppY1ogFMqBiC_sumbDiafCx7vVZpCrpiCDdfHkrkD69pY2-7ULF7K8sfiKdx9kcIhPs5etX-HUrSVxjCmgc/s1600/DSCN0615+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1600" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4iY6KRv67FocEcPGr0me3Q9n00h6WXe_JqTUOAA1Ik2n7gMFWk2_MhDRppY1ogFMqBiC_sumbDiafCx7vVZpCrpiCDdfHkrkD69pY2-7ULF7K8sfiKdx9kcIhPs5etX-HUrSVxjCmgc/s640/DSCN0615+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEaV1jDAXq9zZVQQqZXrVVJktwRKltf6b8eSrfmP94jnMUOXhp-4yExxiEf-LpnKYS-JaQdbCTfCngFCCH7pu_Jvqq2InkYfWuMLYPW-COEtUM12XTEeVTWYIsWJ2xsabYtS4LI8wWpY/s1600/DSCN0616+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1600" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEaV1jDAXq9zZVQQqZXrVVJktwRKltf6b8eSrfmP94jnMUOXhp-4yExxiEf-LpnKYS-JaQdbCTfCngFCCH7pu_Jvqq2InkYfWuMLYPW-COEtUM12XTEeVTWYIsWJ2xsabYtS4LI8wWpY/s320/DSCN0616+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is also a great place to
check out something that one might not notice during your first visit…the carpet.
To show you the clever way the designers have approached this new display, they
had even looked at the flooring and designed it to resemble the sort of lichen
that would be found on the rocks of the region…Lichen carpet…amazing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrncbR2rYAbOdm_6TIXCHE186POEWdj30Rvq3I7uir6oTIe47FdunucAZwa88vC-p_7jN7b0npTeNAY0T3PZAx8sObYW4DFYwMLRXbBShzqm8uZQj7qK-9Vsc5EpkwfY1ut5T0dX-kM0/s1600/DSCN0565+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1183" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrncbR2rYAbOdm_6TIXCHE186POEWdj30Rvq3I7uir6oTIe47FdunucAZwa88vC-p_7jN7b0npTeNAY0T3PZAx8sObYW4DFYwMLRXbBShzqm8uZQj7qK-9Vsc5EpkwfY1ut5T0dX-kM0/s400/DSCN0565+%25282%2529.JPG" width="295" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This ‘room’
also contains Sue’s original skull. As this is one of the most studied fossils
in the world (as well as being large and fragile), it was decided early on the
skull would be placed in a cabinet where visiting paleontologists can always
have access to it, rather than mounting it on the rest of the skeleton. With
the skull are several loose tyrannosaur teeth, and one clever little feature, a
mirrored floor to the cabinet. This allows visitors to see inside the skull at
the various features that are almost always hidden from sight with other
similar displays.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpC-IkiDzkTbnnWvxkX3sOAEKz7MY8hG6Vfmt8HMXdfc7hXHrozLQoPecYjdVOQRHJVfqpyNrYgaTYJ9V-_sA8fnIlDRzBV1o8xftIaSx1Nob6ihK5uJQlx1aC2hcfEM1YPIVvaReq4k/s1600/DSCN0569+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1496" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpC-IkiDzkTbnnWvxkX3sOAEKz7MY8hG6Vfmt8HMXdfc7hXHrozLQoPecYjdVOQRHJVfqpyNrYgaTYJ9V-_sA8fnIlDRzBV1o8xftIaSx1Nob6ihK5uJQlx1aC2hcfEM1YPIVvaReq4k/s640/DSCN0569+%25282%2529.JPG" width="598" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<o:p></o:p></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRoyDLAXIStijOuZ9QjM6Xb9zHeNN2QshxohU_3xWD_WTz5C7GPMyANdm1_pWn6-RIjAkb1pu0RU43cR5gYYRAdoTOsTn576VoURiYfxEpmm6LJoFSuc2viIjZHqiyKbOImIRZdStzhM/s1600/DSCN0561+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="967" data-original-width="1600" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRoyDLAXIStijOuZ9QjM6Xb9zHeNN2QshxohU_3xWD_WTz5C7GPMyANdm1_pWn6-RIjAkb1pu0RU43cR5gYYRAdoTOsTn576VoURiYfxEpmm6LJoFSuc2viIjZHqiyKbOImIRZdStzhM/s640/DSCN0561+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What looks like a wall with a mural
is actually a print that, on closer inspection is see through. This means if
the lighting is right you can see the Sue skeleton shining through the print
and matches up perfectly with the T. rex art work (which I believe was created
by Velizar Simeonovski – though I will change this if I’m wrong).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi36zSO4YLz38VDzUf1Lx2tJLlxhcz7WeUC9hVKPW-gK-zvJqobRr9oJGZaVBau7NRPy-U30dKM1mWcKdYrJDunrWq_12Uh995PBgNR2SDiAwfXylapx-W-icfVxj843WGjITYNcc-vXf0/s1600/DSCN0526+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi36zSO4YLz38VDzUf1Lx2tJLlxhcz7WeUC9hVKPW-gK-zvJqobRr9oJGZaVBau7NRPy-U30dKM1mWcKdYrJDunrWq_12Uh995PBgNR2SDiAwfXylapx-W-icfVxj843WGjITYNcc-vXf0/s640/DSCN0526+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNOUyHFc3Cyhni8T1Pbh7pMnZFliij5UTmm9j2UQ2kNNVrBlebple9xgU6DfFfCiF71jAWZYdRpYwpRNRChv5v_VZXZw-T2ZMStXG4k4hQulsrIpIYxpReU0CEAavEklOn2t2Y10uNn4/s1600/DSCN0530+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1175" data-original-width="1600" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNOUyHFc3Cyhni8T1Pbh7pMnZFliij5UTmm9j2UQ2kNNVrBlebple9xgU6DfFfCiF71jAWZYdRpYwpRNRChv5v_VZXZw-T2ZMStXG4k4hQulsrIpIYxpReU0CEAavEklOn2t2Y10uNn4/s400/DSCN0530+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the other side of the screen
is the rest of Sue, remounted and looking fabulous. Listed below are the many
changes to the dinosaur’s stance since its move:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gastralia. These ‘belly-ribs’ are not actually part of the ribcage but are
more like the bottom armour seen on turtles. These are rarely displayed, and
Sue’s have never been associated with the actual skeleton (previously they were
in their own display case one floor above the old exhibit). </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Right leg. The original display had Sue stepping up onto a
ledge, which looked somewhat dramatic but actually meant the right leg was out
of position (the knee would have been dislocated when alive). The move meant
this issue could be fixed, and Sue’s right leg is now in a far more life-like
position.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYYzcrTKYPCPEhGlxLePgU0vxHn1Vo4JDxuuW2WI6qk2dNW4lZQesLFm3oszrYbPXtlo6aDW3eUoK-WmVolNAED5fZ_DBtJBFVv9LC2heNBjWxMt4JUP63B6RY3wVQ-yNt4LvCBQ0u0Y/s1600/DSCN0533+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1543" data-original-width="1183" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYYzcrTKYPCPEhGlxLePgU0vxHn1Vo4JDxuuW2WI6qk2dNW4lZQesLFm3oszrYbPXtlo6aDW3eUoK-WmVolNAED5fZ_DBtJBFVv9LC2heNBjWxMt4JUP63B6RY3wVQ-yNt4LvCBQ0u0Y/s400/DSCN0533+%25283%2529.JPG" width="306" /></a></div>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wishbone. Sue was famous for being one of the first <i>T. rex’s</i> to have an identified wishbone,
yet recently the opinion has grown that this bone was actually a stray rib from
further back near the legs. Wishbones on other specimens have been found since
Sue was put together, and this led to another bone being identified as the
correct fossil.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jaw. Though originally not hung incorrectly, the lower jaw
has been slung a lot lower. This has given Sue a much larger gape, creating a
far more fearsome visage.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Shoulders. Both shoulder blades were brought forward and lowered,
(jokingly) this means Sue could clap (note- this is not my joke but paleontologist
Pete Makovicky’s during our training….so blame him :P ) .</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ribcage. The rearrangement of the shoulders meant many other
things were changed, including the ribs, which were hung with a greater angle. Previously
they were hung horizontally.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyf1z3PmMLxD6_QI3bnZu2FfTM_GiqWjW5J5gnIDkfj4rmit9-hbuLcpzWoxmXGKY_u2wc7Lwk4bd1HIsjH8MsReDn8iMOmgrT4eqSFQ6fDgoU9xY-QSM68_DalXMvWWg9iuyQIaBX-RY/s1600/DSCN0610+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1154" data-original-width="1600" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyf1z3PmMLxD6_QI3bnZu2FfTM_GiqWjW5J5gnIDkfj4rmit9-hbuLcpzWoxmXGKY_u2wc7Lwk4bd1HIsjH8MsReDn8iMOmgrT4eqSFQ6fDgoU9xY-QSM68_DalXMvWWg9iuyQIaBX-RY/s640/DSCN0610+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The new jewel of this exhibit however is the light and sound
show that triggers roughly every 15 minutes or so. The lights in the entire
room fall, a spot light hits Sue’s skull, creating a Jurassic Park logo like
image, which then comes alive.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwBYoeaWqzjtxE865HPFut6HI9_RrdlMA9qvG0U62rhAlWxSPgkE_9Du-3mIZQPSlJtGB64m3PrCJRdMb2r7Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The narrator then goes on to explain a lot about
the biology of Sue and many of the visible features, and as it does the
specific items mentioned (healed ribs, eye sight etc) are highlighted in one of
the cleverest fossil shows I have ever seen. There are similar displays for
other dinosaurs (such as the mummified Leonardo at the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis),
but nothing this well done.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxOOR1DQ0kAbJ2iTmi9EWx6cLpOZ6k-PUO5jZypgRf_fXwwXcpRaXwJOejY-NZEfOwsZJl1FQIO6qd8zsn8D9fwFrYtPM_YLLxLvwkScN3LTGCCott16SZXaNjrBGk_jYMR_g24GPgRgg/s1600/DSCN0606.MOV" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxOOR1DQ0kAbJ2iTmi9EWx6cLpOZ6k-PUO5jZypgRf_fXwwXcpRaXwJOejY-NZEfOwsZJl1FQIO6qd8zsn8D9fwFrYtPM_YLLxLvwkScN3LTGCCott16SZXaNjrBGk_jYMR_g24GPgRgg/s640/DSCN0606.MOV" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">https://www.facebook.com/phil.hore/videos/10217168250495154/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Around Sue are a number of stations with touch screen displays
and many of the dinosaur’s fossils cast in bronze for visitors to touch.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7TTi0m-IRDdFupNfIGMuVz2w8THhkTiRZEJ_nzoiTaXRRfOO8wW9vee-8SOJ_uUVA4X4-IWblaj6pszT0jkA4KeAdX-__Qh4IGTXZVH9Rk_Nbes3LT5AtXTa3xjA2WrTAYx56Bk2dxc/s1600/DSCN0576+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1035" data-original-width="1600" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7TTi0m-IRDdFupNfIGMuVz2w8THhkTiRZEJ_nzoiTaXRRfOO8wW9vee-8SOJ_uUVA4X4-IWblaj6pszT0jkA4KeAdX-__Qh4IGTXZVH9Rk_Nbes3LT5AtXTa3xjA2WrTAYx56Bk2dxc/s640/DSCN0576+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Behind
the tyrannosaur hang a number of panels, roughly 10ft apart that, when you
stand in a certain spot line up to create a solid wall. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6fjvip2zEP9SButwZlzeBgJ4GPfjDjbsJHbVBJNMpem-U6q6ZWKebhcNf2pACLnW7CCOpe-5ZHNaCAHUNvDskqkY4C_vwO8im4RKlQWztr7FLS28KNMZambIF55JjYsLqPPVXBiTtb4/s1600/DSCN0512+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="1600" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6fjvip2zEP9SButwZlzeBgJ4GPfjDjbsJHbVBJNMpem-U6q6ZWKebhcNf2pACLnW7CCOpe-5ZHNaCAHUNvDskqkY4C_vwO8im4RKlQWztr7FLS28KNMZambIF55JjYsLqPPVXBiTtb4/s640/DSCN0512+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is the video part
of the display, where three different mini-movies play revealing much of Sue’s
life story. One is Sue hunting a herd of hadrosaurs, with the actual eating
done conveniently off-screen so as not to disturb younger visitors. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHxx4yoLUSNTxLmnSoxS01Tay9RGc5W_Fid5XOwi41w1KSP8ZHPl8z-gsopeg3hW9ffx30c_8FwtyRIV_mLe7BZwMaOrQwbWmLSSSVvdgm2GZNCky_cZxa8fFc0TRqK_7K_Mvlz8ntxw/s1600/DSCN0528.MOV" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="854" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHxx4yoLUSNTxLmnSoxS01Tay9RGc5W_Fid5XOwi41w1KSP8ZHPl8z-gsopeg3hW9ffx30c_8FwtyRIV_mLe7BZwMaOrQwbWmLSSSVvdgm2GZNCky_cZxa8fFc0TRqK_7K_Mvlz8ntxw/s640/DSCN0528.MOV" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">https://www.facebook.com/phil.hore/videos/10217168378698359/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Another is
a possible explanation of how Sue received that horrible leg wound that was likely
the cause of death after it grew infected. A feeding triceratops is attacked by
Sue, thrilling so many of us who grew up with these two eternal enemies fighting
it out in our sandboxes in plastic dinosaur form when we were kids. The
Triceratops, however, proves to be more than a match for poor ol’ Sue, who receives
a nasty wound to the leg.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNVF9eIINd_BMRAQAZvNDKwqliW7BCMHittuuAMxL9hKeK3IOSzCz5wAMEhM9kV00upPXnOzbio_GNTtfzR5fJomFopMmcjX4lFe7gvbJM_xc0Cmd7HuO9eLlraFD3m70vBG0OYmuta0/s1600/DSCN0542.MOV" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNVF9eIINd_BMRAQAZvNDKwqliW7BCMHittuuAMxL9hKeK3IOSzCz5wAMEhM9kV00upPXnOzbio_GNTtfzR5fJomFopMmcjX4lFe7gvbJM_xc0Cmd7HuO9eLlraFD3m70vBG0OYmuta0/s640/DSCN0542.MOV" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">https://www.facebook.com/phil.hore/videos/10217172914331747/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally Sue walks up to a carcass of an ankylosaur, takes a
mouthful of meat, takes a drink from the nearby river and then does a big ol’
poo right in front of everyone – triggering the 5 year old within all of us to
giggle. Sue then walks right up to the ‘camera’, looks out at the audience and
gives us the evil eye, as though saying ‘what are you looking at?’</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHa0crU3Fa-iZPiJ0p8Zk3DvEKCZOk5j0q6QW4DMZp_pr_z4VE0XNt9EHYO8-MuCGQ7MLRDvJxkNu28lIME9RRwy9xVDnFeprCoYuiA-ohKh_MQFmRYr6L7BvkXvdaQWBP6bbTFqRYPc/s1600/DSCN0544.MOV" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHa0crU3Fa-iZPiJ0p8Zk3DvEKCZOk5j0q6QW4DMZp_pr_z4VE0XNt9EHYO8-MuCGQ7MLRDvJxkNu28lIME9RRwy9xVDnFeprCoYuiA-ohKh_MQFmRYr6L7BvkXvdaQWBP6bbTFqRYPc/s640/DSCN0544.MOV" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">https://www.facebook.com/phil.hore/videos/10217173016654305/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosnJv4Y60VYSQgvOngfpgw7o82cA1j0yb3GfZ3xWIJeFlqPivZ6PJUt-RgcRJS0764daHuOcayUDWuWauVFuZplK0HeDjA9Oq0WbpW-AMprlrQVmohWZ-stVQttkOrDTapwzShQ0K_-M/s1600/DSCN0513+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1600" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosnJv4Y60VYSQgvOngfpgw7o82cA1j0yb3GfZ3xWIJeFlqPivZ6PJUt-RgcRJS0764daHuOcayUDWuWauVFuZplK0HeDjA9Oq0WbpW-AMprlrQVmohWZ-stVQttkOrDTapwzShQ0K_-M/s320/DSCN0513+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">These screens are a clever feature and reveal the depths of
forethought that went into this new exhibit. The area is not the largest, and
the designers understood the display would be visited by large numbers, so
creating a wall that is in fact no wall at all, takes up virtually no space and
allows people to walk around and through is simply brilliant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6KxK8-tHJ6O4xg3tESzvuo-p4wjhgAMNDSgq08wck_MJ6ZAQMoSel5OHVqC0rWFij6TY33XXhHaeWJpBczzPhiT2OWhULHzDTHL3LPre2O7S2JpAq6D-PcEPOZ-xzfDQCbcRpdVZWQU/s1600/DSCN0579+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6KxK8-tHJ6O4xg3tESzvuo-p4wjhgAMNDSgq08wck_MJ6ZAQMoSel5OHVqC0rWFij6TY33XXhHaeWJpBczzPhiT2OWhULHzDTHL3LPre2O7S2JpAq6D-PcEPOZ-xzfDQCbcRpdVZWQU/s640/DSCN0579+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhvbefCTYvKw9dxQedJhq9sXoC1TQQcgvJcgnDZXUS3bvyM35gazRaCL1WDOA5DoBZA_KLkSv-9eagxdP8IpTbST0GtVEIqU8tvk4wXuUHwcw3H1wztsA1pLidJLEL1Pt2EiYE1iZD-o/s1600/DSCN0578+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1321" data-original-width="1600" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhvbefCTYvKw9dxQedJhq9sXoC1TQQcgvJcgnDZXUS3bvyM35gazRaCL1WDOA5DoBZA_KLkSv-9eagxdP8IpTbST0GtVEIqU8tvk4wXuUHwcw3H1wztsA1pLidJLEL1Pt2EiYE1iZD-o/s320/DSCN0578+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Behind the screens is another dinosaur - that’s correct, its
not all about Sue here. The FM’s Triceratops skull sits in its new home, and
looks the better for it. Not only has it been raised to eye height, somehow
this has made the thing look bigger than its previous home in the FM’s dinosaur
hall. There is also a terrific photo here showing how this skull was found in
1904, and you can see it in situ.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyciXukXy6ldaBBdkDVEd1Pj4L81UyZHDz19FUO72sHKJyKFSBv3gzv1yNzX_pvFPJnL-qIE3LjBfBQsCc_lsLbQjzVonHGrdkQCawUJXZQQ-rwSQTFhrMo0yyZR-zjM6OUmyXHNAq4eg/s1600/DSCN0518+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyciXukXy6ldaBBdkDVEd1Pj4L81UyZHDz19FUO72sHKJyKFSBv3gzv1yNzX_pvFPJnL-qIE3LjBfBQsCc_lsLbQjzVonHGrdkQCawUJXZQQ-rwSQTFhrMo0yyZR-zjM6OUmyXHNAq4eg/s640/DSCN0518+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Behind this is a wide display of many of the fossils that
were either found alongside Sue or are known to have lived at the same time – evidence
of the world this tyrannosaur lived in. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgdHCHgeQh4ax1rELcbE3lFmS7FNzRIQgX9udGhOE3HqtUy1q_Q2ud__wqNzhDfDV5MuPehIs7koU_wJMvVfSXJVeuHY-4WY8UIBXy2yRQm5hzLUhY31yfOXz3Tlt0Q0kChw2TOe_AlAw/s1600/DSCN0515+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1017" data-original-width="1600" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgdHCHgeQh4ax1rELcbE3lFmS7FNzRIQgX9udGhOE3HqtUy1q_Q2ud__wqNzhDfDV5MuPehIs7koU_wJMvVfSXJVeuHY-4WY8UIBXy2yRQm5hzLUhY31yfOXz3Tlt0Q0kChw2TOe_AlAw/s640/DSCN0515+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are plant fossils, pterosaur
bones and a few more dinosaur remains. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGRPS0L6guCmIte5W8KpFsIoCF5jnvG-t72KoU_rPAVR1oesS6FIkop5JheK9P0DzAQbgZGiqVA3koNJM3eV0z5UMXu5cP3Z5nKibZw3dZAunYYIGJhqDrp92THerKf9YW8W4VLHBQl1o/s1600/DSCN0583+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1600" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGRPS0L6guCmIte5W8KpFsIoCF5jnvG-t72KoU_rPAVR1oesS6FIkop5JheK9P0DzAQbgZGiqVA3koNJM3eV0z5UMXu5cP3Z5nKibZw3dZAunYYIGJhqDrp92THerKf9YW8W4VLHBQl1o/s320/DSCN0583+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
One is the skullcap of a pachycephalosaur,
another the armoured scute of an ankylosaur, and their presence explains why
both herbivores are featured in the Sue videos. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also sitting serenely in the middle of this display here are
two neat little fossils; a bone from a juvenile T.rex. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7LikeMTYBzKs32LBXYLUu8f1JyO5mNGOWvUlPMDvLAsx5f_ZbkBVaGXBPI-oP6FvmrSimbPZqQbuSU-ulKhZRxOytSBopw9VZLs9BlXDXSOg2SgrZXEM1_lujE1x1kSMj6rhhKao8o0/s1600/DSCN0588+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1133" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7LikeMTYBzKs32LBXYLUu8f1JyO5mNGOWvUlPMDvLAsx5f_ZbkBVaGXBPI-oP6FvmrSimbPZqQbuSU-ulKhZRxOytSBopw9VZLs9BlXDXSOg2SgrZXEM1_lujE1x1kSMj6rhhKao8o0/s320/DSCN0588+%25282%2529.JPG" width="226" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLn4YwKUunorIruLNYzAjST16OF3AqKuyucbMY7NKQKshiBMIlhiAvC9QWwSoswbpq-TUE2Cl_VLfL4mg3rbx528-GwqBB8N383DXoO0fJRQcUNgr81S6BVnAwYZfql3rE8B3Bo2aTMk/s1600/DSCN0593+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1600" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLn4YwKUunorIruLNYzAjST16OF3AqKuyucbMY7NKQKshiBMIlhiAvC9QWwSoswbpq-TUE2Cl_VLfL4mg3rbx528-GwqBB8N383DXoO0fJRQcUNgr81S6BVnAwYZfql3rE8B3Bo2aTMk/s320/DSCN0593+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Next to this is a partial fossil from another theropod, <i>Anzu wyliei</i>, the infamous ‘chicken from hell’.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtzP0MH4XotuIjE2HD8BwJkWFlC9E9X5uo5Ws66o3Rpstv9PVhBEblRpwWIu4WD-FdsSC9vmN04K9rMeLD4RYC6ZqTE-XnmLQg8g2MLHGlEqyf64WMC_c0LrjVICu-SYIw84b013-RDk/s1600/DSCN0591+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1096" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtzP0MH4XotuIjE2HD8BwJkWFlC9E9X5uo5Ws66o3Rpstv9PVhBEblRpwWIu4WD-FdsSC9vmN04K9rMeLD4RYC6ZqTE-XnmLQg8g2MLHGlEqyf64WMC_c0LrjVICu-SYIw84b013-RDk/s320/DSCN0591+%25282%2529.JPG" width="219" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEispfDkmvAnu2Z8Gh1OjJjuc3C0Og8ZVmK7kduOwNWLnrceq7bV7Mj9AoMp19STLTSCKdYCKZjyoVQdfSH6PzweXiw8SDy-Xr0MuC_hgMK7lhnau7VBlyYBgZ2xKtLFRN92uD_zhQCQm64/s1600/DSCN0589+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1347" data-original-width="1600" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEispfDkmvAnu2Z8Gh1OjJjuc3C0Og8ZVmK7kduOwNWLnrceq7bV7Mj9AoMp19STLTSCKdYCKZjyoVQdfSH6PzweXiw8SDy-Xr0MuC_hgMK7lhnau7VBlyYBgZ2xKtLFRN92uD_zhQCQm64/s320/DSCN0589+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The display opens to the public on Friday 21<sup>st</sup> December
2018 – and numbers are expected to be so high for the first two weeks that
entry will be ticketed (free with normal entry). Safety requirements only permit
a certain amount of people in the room at the one time, so to ensure this when visitors
to the FM arrive, they will be given a ticket with THEIR time stamped on it for
their entry. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGP_qLslzEj2xpN_XONQ240jIf4ufHfHXxOq8Yl0jw-6SrZpTkzf_oPliOm983_wAQYxhCArZZu4OslU1aUL-3qHD_AladfEJH4G0y6PBu-c4sLG8gtNa_ao1QyNFBwvPnfneSvsJOsQ/s1600/DSCN0595+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="1600" height="483" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGP_qLslzEj2xpN_XONQ240jIf4ufHfHXxOq8Yl0jw-6SrZpTkzf_oPliOm983_wAQYxhCArZZu4OslU1aUL-3qHD_AladfEJH4G0y6PBu-c4sLG8gtNa_ao1QyNFBwvPnfneSvsJOsQ/s640/DSCN0595+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">These will be limited in number, so my suggestion is either wait a
few weeks or get to the museum early to ensure you can get in. To make sure
those who cannot get a ticket can still see Sue, there is a side window where the
public can still get a look at the world’s most famous tyrannosaur, but this is
not the way you want to see the exhibit- so ARRIVE EARLY!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWRDBbpQCKgsSGCoGumB7PRL0vTGjQRVvHQkS_vR4n0ndo_1dccKXY4_rlGo7P7Itvb8T2GSflzo1oPEb7FWATYdabW42WP3TNvWC3oXEKNeADjbeEBQ-WNy3R-BHrhSO9zjI8bIPwgw/s1600/DSCN0554+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1283" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWRDBbpQCKgsSGCoGumB7PRL0vTGjQRVvHQkS_vR4n0ndo_1dccKXY4_rlGo7P7Itvb8T2GSflzo1oPEb7FWATYdabW42WP3TNvWC3oXEKNeADjbeEBQ-WNy3R-BHrhSO9zjI8bIPwgw/s320/DSCN0554+%25283%2529.JPG" width="256" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJjpcP1wWMU3g-hjhJSwidD9S0nBOYMK2tZZwovzVNj9TBrCUjCBcxMDeFlHDTTeXI15O31LSJOxOMo_mbqvhnbniAkG4GxzYC4unUGjLoXBxdogLHEksEZW3t_xvyaO4gQrBZi3QOlU/s1600/DSCN0572+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1221" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJjpcP1wWMU3g-hjhJSwidD9S0nBOYMK2tZZwovzVNj9TBrCUjCBcxMDeFlHDTTeXI15O31LSJOxOMo_mbqvhnbniAkG4GxzYC4unUGjLoXBxdogLHEksEZW3t_xvyaO4gQrBZi3QOlU/s320/DSCN0572+%25282%2529.JPG" width="244" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_lw6musSrY-otPXIzrs1SAAMFn05Zu4DqR5BD8Hzka_xh5WNLlOEmV4XhswgSMD1CB_Gc5ygrh2btOH3b5V7zVw0t81AFGMg4Leu2fEUfxUp8IZtpZS1iwX6Y_enZiqfs7XqcnQ6SYg/s1600/DSCN0622+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1244" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_lw6musSrY-otPXIzrs1SAAMFn05Zu4DqR5BD8Hzka_xh5WNLlOEmV4XhswgSMD1CB_Gc5ygrh2btOH3b5V7zVw0t81AFGMg4Leu2fEUfxUp8IZtpZS1iwX6Y_enZiqfs7XqcnQ6SYg/s320/DSCN0622+%25282%2529.JPG" width="248" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipakRnStRXwr59ASZLmuMpIqZ8YwwJfPqSl0ek-4kYH61s530BjbowgNzb_zOSETQqoHQg3nhl-rGgEWKObA1JFsm63blCWqYV2jtFI1YIzkj48b3yLNKf24RP2AH_rNppsOJTny3Gf98/s1600/DSCN0612+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="1600" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipakRnStRXwr59ASZLmuMpIqZ8YwwJfPqSl0ek-4kYH61s530BjbowgNzb_zOSETQqoHQg3nhl-rGgEWKObA1JFsm63blCWqYV2jtFI1YIzkj48b3yLNKf24RP2AH_rNppsOJTny3Gf98/s320/DSCN0612+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbl08mysFbDf7HLRlp0UXGSHuFru6V350VO6mL6a5cn2mduRXbK8RvaZRStdonggT_uX1zHeEIgjgFxSPsvGB-643rPUxWQ9jCGS3anpJoCrejkGbzcmfWqFSVxZ1sBnV3xFjFGRXKbZk/s1600/DSCN0523+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1141" data-original-width="1600" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbl08mysFbDf7HLRlp0UXGSHuFru6V350VO6mL6a5cn2mduRXbK8RvaZRStdonggT_uX1zHeEIgjgFxSPsvGB-643rPUxWQ9jCGS3anpJoCrejkGbzcmfWqFSVxZ1sBnV3xFjFGRXKbZk/s320/DSCN0523+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com01400 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60605, USA41.866261 -87.61698050000001116.3442265 -128.9255745 67.3882955 -46.308386500000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-87906812739825023292018-11-11T11:20:00.001-08:002018-11-11T11:20:25.135-08:00A special Bone Rooms - Brachiosaurus and the First World War<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OgtBcbdLXZal1WOCfawWYCF4o7anAUXl8r8ZzCV29ex-qO2wQScP8nHUmv_u4jYeLr217WM5tV50oy20BcSIYBmXKELE6sNxdaRjqcqEA_WpdBcHVIaOMbtbi5q9FVvEuBZYn0vMHws/s1600/800px-Tanzania_Lindi_location_map.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="800" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OgtBcbdLXZal1WOCfawWYCF4o7anAUXl8r8ZzCV29ex-qO2wQScP8nHUmv_u4jYeLr217WM5tV50oy20BcSIYBmXKELE6sNxdaRjqcqEA_WpdBcHVIaOMbtbi5q9FVvEuBZYn0vMHws/s320/800px-Tanzania_Lindi_location_map.svg.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Tendaguru in<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 27pt;"> Tanzania</span></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">On the Centenary of the guns falling silent and ending the First World War I want to share this strange moment in paleontology.</st1:place></st1:country-region></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Prussia</st1:place></st1:country-region> was the last European
superpower to enter the colonization game, and so began sending out explorers to take possession of the few
remaining regions on the world map that didn’t already have a European flag
flying over it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUQ7iAFRXVlnDzArJrbSNN-8078lHMohm7tnuh1D1-WxS0igQwY5-tiWMfCe4VwozC4hEKEmd9q3kwdwdVNDZju9tCSvuA82LffJvXYnvzxMsInQ7zxAYJ6MVDNfSD59EFCaeUBScIBU/s1600/Am_Tendaguru_-_Leben_und_Wirken_einer_deutschen_Forschungsexpedition_zur_Ausgrabung_vorweltlicher_Riesensaurier_in_Deutsch-Ostafrika_%25281912%2529_%252817977405638%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1147" data-original-width="1600" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUQ7iAFRXVlnDzArJrbSNN-8078lHMohm7tnuh1D1-WxS0igQwY5-tiWMfCe4VwozC4hEKEmd9q3kwdwdVNDZju9tCSvuA82LffJvXYnvzxMsInQ7zxAYJ6MVDNfSD59EFCaeUBScIBU/s640/Am_Tendaguru_-_Leben_und_Wirken_einer_deutschen_Forschungsexpedition_zur_Ausgrabung_vorweltlicher_Riesensaurier_in_Deutsch-Ostafrika_%25281912%2529_%252817977405638%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tendaguru image from an early German Expedition</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">One such explorer was W.B. Sattler,
a German geologist who’d been searching <st1:place w:st="on">East Africa</st1:place>
for precious stones. While investigating </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">a nasty little place called Tendaguru</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"> (in German Tanzania) he literally tripped over a large boulder and, muttering some colourful and highly descriptive German
words that I can’t repeat here, Sattler picked himself up, dusted himself off,
and noticed the boulder was in fact a giant bone.</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSKSLV3E4U3HzQe6SzOo5mV01dpV-4OtWnq9fUt20vlxDXqCYXltbsmtBp-PBykUl-DyuudkfYUal0MyEyCQ1WP3fnYGEp53V04TMuq6kavIuS3AYaFpPU_lULYSQs_o05JUcWVoyZz4/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="512" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSKSLV3E4U3HzQe6SzOo5mV01dpV-4OtWnq9fUt20vlxDXqCYXltbsmtBp-PBykUl-DyuudkfYUal0MyEyCQ1WP3fnYGEp53V04TMuq6kavIuS3AYaFpPU_lULYSQs_o05JUcWVoyZz4/s640/unnamed.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>upper leg bone of Brachiosaurus </b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Reporting his find to the local
Prussian governor (called Wendt), Sattler’s account
somehow got into the hands of Professor Eberhard Frass, head the Stuttgart
Natural History Museum and one of the few men in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>
at the time interested in such fossils.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Both men returned to Tendaguru
and quickly unearthed several large bones, but before any serious excavating
could be done Frass fell ill and was forced to return to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state>. Once home he tapped into <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
growing national pride by calling on his fellow Prussians to travel to <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> and retrieve the fossils. He argued they simply
couldn’t allow the bones to just lay there and be destroyed without becoming
the laughing stock of <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CF4jCGYm50rikHsUpm6VWdeiJuDp7F2y-6mkX6HyDZzxyZMfB1FCV7lMdWoNIe_uJ3LOUwxl8eVwmkn_Clqw78Y12EjOu7YBb5oRTa93jbl9BnWvjhZ-Yfl0ls51CNn-14swgMWwfxU/s1600/Branca%252C_Wilhelm_%2528Geologie%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CF4jCGYm50rikHsUpm6VWdeiJuDp7F2y-6mkX6HyDZzxyZMfB1FCV7lMdWoNIe_uJ3LOUwxl8eVwmkn_Clqw78Y12EjOu7YBb5oRTa93jbl9BnWvjhZ-Yfl0ls51CNn-14swgMWwfxU/s320/Branca%252C_Wilhelm_%2528Geologie%2529.png" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Wilhelm von Branca</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The ploy worked! Wilhelm von Branca,
head of the Berlin Museum of Natural History, soon had scientific institutions,
the city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:city>,
the Prussian Ministry for Culture, the Imperial government and a long list of rich
benefactors throwing fists of money at them to organise a dig. There has never
been a better financed paleontological excavation than <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
Tendaguru expedition! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRRWl7afnCJ8MaUxfibzUGlSSegQ3O5B0ddDm6yfaY3FAidIBwMnbzOPNAKqOVn2x2GAma8SWJxlj49NadB_Jxvi1L9-mwo1SLuzu9-Mg18AKE8L7iRpW-wRnzRNgVJ3eiikFWcnc0bo/s1600/Janensch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="800" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRRWl7afnCJ8MaUxfibzUGlSSegQ3O5B0ddDm6yfaY3FAidIBwMnbzOPNAKqOVn2x2GAma8SWJxlj49NadB_Jxvi1L9-mwo1SLuzu9-Mg18AKE8L7iRpW-wRnzRNgVJ3eiikFWcnc0bo/s640/Janensch.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Werner Janensch in Tendaguru</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Werner Janensch, Hans von Staff
and Edwin Hennig would be sent to work the dig, while Wollf Furtwängler, son of the
world famous archaeologist Adolf Furtwängler (who’d been with Heinrich
Schliemann at Olympia in Greece), was hired to help with the Africans as he’d worked on nearby plantations, so knew a few local dialects. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccVOmVfdFmk6lNlSquQBtUbYabRQkooVI5BWJczwTWryq248CCCTWwEH4IN5nFtCdZcJ8IlOIxulUoP2m5fLD_4XL7jj7890ZyIY_apoLBH9uE1p6Fu-KgOy8TmQYQcXXdWF-aELtoI8/s1600/1024px-Am_Tendaguru_-_Leben_und_Wirken_einer_deutschen_Forschungsexpedition_zur_Ausgrabung_vorweltlicher_Riesensaurier_in_Deutsch-Ostafrika_%25281912%2529_%2528175446486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1024" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccVOmVfdFmk6lNlSquQBtUbYabRQkooVI5BWJczwTWryq248CCCTWwEH4IN5nFtCdZcJ8IlOIxulUoP2m5fLD_4XL7jj7890ZyIY_apoLBH9uE1p6Fu-KgOy8TmQYQcXXdWF-aELtoI8/s640/1024px-Am_Tendaguru_-_Leben_und_Wirken_einer_deutschen_Forschungsexpedition_zur_Ausgrabung_vorweltlicher_Riesensaurier_in_Deutsch-Ostafrika_%25281912%2529_%2528175446486.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tendaguru suffers from torrential
rains, scorching droughts, energy sapping heat, lions, and is literally riddled
with flies, mosquitoes and ticks carrying an assorted number of fatal diseases.
This meant no pack animals could be used to travel to and from the remote area, instead everything, including water, had to be carried by the locals - the only
people with any sort of immunity to the region. At first the expedition had 170
such porters, but this number soon ballooned to over 500, which led to a small
tent city being built to house them all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXRUTIACnc2ibYFeCpZVYDc-v8D5hPLEouTfIrnQPyiLpx9K5NjphtFM46Lm5TC0DZ6vy7SbWx3wNtHHmRdD7K0-Hv8EwCaFN7kMVEVDgDxYE7ev7TzDsLbMkyg_mJSSp9iv2gLWFlMk/s1600/Am_Tendaguru_-_Leben_und_Wirken_einer_deutschen_Forschungsexpedition_zur_Ausgrabung_vorweltlicher_Riesensaurier_in_Deutsch-Ostafrika_%25281912%2529_%252817979007849%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1600" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXRUTIACnc2ibYFeCpZVYDc-v8D5hPLEouTfIrnQPyiLpx9K5NjphtFM46Lm5TC0DZ6vy7SbWx3wNtHHmRdD7K0-Hv8EwCaFN7kMVEVDgDxYE7ev7TzDsLbMkyg_mJSSp9iv2gLWFlMk/s640/Am_Tendaguru_-_Leben_und_Wirken_einer_deutschen_Forschungsexpedition_zur_Ausgrabung_vorweltlicher_Riesensaurier_in_Deutsch-Ostafrika_%25281912%2529_%252817979007849%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Still, even with all its
problems, Tendaguru proved to be a rich site, the equal to anything
found anywhere in the world, with Henning alone finding over fifty stegosaurs called <i>Kentrosaurus</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkPQD-P8o_DWgn6XA0ybLrgC8L6oZl4331SVbVxCEhq6WWNrZgU-ZKBMTtaY0eaSWKVGPKNSPvGBRToNK2gAEFfAhwvO3DMak8mQEtcQFoiq0xOkgROcKOfeD-80JhQw1MU7KbRh-tcg/s1600/Am_Tendaguru_-_Leben_und_Wirken_einer_deutschen_Forschungsexpedition_zur_Ausgrabung_vorweltlicher_Riesensaurier_in_Deutsch-Ostafrika_%25281912%2529_%252817977421988%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1596" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkPQD-P8o_DWgn6XA0ybLrgC8L6oZl4331SVbVxCEhq6WWNrZgU-ZKBMTtaY0eaSWKVGPKNSPvGBRToNK2gAEFfAhwvO3DMak8mQEtcQFoiq0xOkgROcKOfeD-80JhQw1MU7KbRh-tcg/s320/Am_Tendaguru_-_Leben_und_Wirken_einer_deutschen_Forschungsexpedition_zur_Ausgrabung_vorweltlicher_Riesensaurier_in_Deutsch-Ostafrika_%25281912%2529_%252817977421988%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Over several seasons the Germans
shipped nearly 1000 crates containing some 235 tonnes of rock out of Tendaguru,
all of which had to be hand carried out on a five day trek.<b> </b>These
fossils would take almost 25 years to clean and display, with one vertebra alone
requiring 450 hours to prepare. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJabdym1cOkeK9rvYmvkypXkh-bRwI8DaETQP7BYxet4o4sra2y9TJudHYyyj_gYcmQuPR_XtHVyBg1wMxNbk4_VRORii3Akt7-f1NsTWy_BTRSLKLXOTAmHQ9IFdE8ag0aGLm-p7b4vA/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="265" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJabdym1cOkeK9rvYmvkypXkh-bRwI8DaETQP7BYxet4o4sra2y9TJudHYyyj_gYcmQuPR_XtHVyBg1wMxNbk4_VRORii3Akt7-f1NsTWy_BTRSLKLXOTAmHQ9IFdE8ag0aGLm-p7b4vA/s640/download.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">From this location were fossils of pterosaurs, reptiles, mammals and the dinosaur species, <i>Dicraeosaurus, Australodocus, Janenschia, Tendaguria, Tornieria, Ceratosaurus, Elaphrosaurus, Ostafrikasaurus, Veterupristisaurus, Dysalotosaurus, Kentrosaurus</i>, and of course the largest dinosaur ever found at that time, <i>Brachiosaurus</i> (today renamed <i>Giraffatitan</i>), many of which can be seen on display in Berlin (below).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgml8n1P2VzdJtmPkEaLsC30fR-f8KaB1WlqxDhcNVOOBBsej89fp6Sh397usyXY6xdGLg-V2ZIYoG0QGo1CcXU780ZhhzbEClnmIu6qqgOqDQ-8aIS_uOmlI-6_DAloIjX_ZaQ-tqYrFg/s1600/berlin-dino+057a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgml8n1P2VzdJtmPkEaLsC30fR-f8KaB1WlqxDhcNVOOBBsej89fp6Sh397usyXY6xdGLg-V2ZIYoG0QGo1CcXU780ZhhzbEClnmIu6qqgOqDQ-8aIS_uOmlI-6_DAloIjX_ZaQ-tqYrFg/s640/berlin-dino+057a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJzDAQiLE0O3TFQfZYAkCHK9nfEl83IX1A1_rPNNa2iXts66ze5fpgslhK7BlBwJz9vAertBLmbmFnGUNiKykln69IqduHZHKuTL2vF_xrfwHe4YjrWEdlbVid9VaGZNs3KQ3xINuKtsc/s1600/Hans_Reck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJzDAQiLE0O3TFQfZYAkCHK9nfEl83IX1A1_rPNNa2iXts66ze5fpgslhK7BlBwJz9vAertBLmbmFnGUNiKykln69IqduHZHKuTL2vF_xrfwHe4YjrWEdlbVid9VaGZNs3KQ3xINuKtsc/s1600/Hans_Reck.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Hans Reck</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">After three tours into </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tendaguru, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">Janensch was
tired and headed home. Taking his place was a young palaeontologist called Hans
Reck, who barely arrived before</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">
the First World War started.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the conflict spread out of Europe to the rest of the world, in <st1:place w:st="on">East
Africa</st1:place> the German scientists found themselves under
siege, surrounded by the British, French, Portuguese, Belgians and South
Africans. Most joined the German African army under the command of Colonel Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck, whose army was made up
of mostly native conscripts <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">(<i>Deutsche
Ost-Afrika Gesellschaft</i>)</span>. This meant most German citizens in the
region were quickly promoted into the officer ranks. This African
army would only field around 20,000 men during the entire conflict, while
against them marched nearly ¼ of a million troops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVG9LjerIfkKrW5BBZkAqMYXGoWFMDt6DmvfBnfXkDq2dxhzNuNuQ29uuYiICYacY76xlH7yfEmwezptgIDTu3lrQV7UknB2H4vrsZgtWPDDWERMeLeRKHR9BGj4EKl4UUOXnPq9OBQiA/s1600/1024px-Tendaguru_Tendaguru2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1024" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVG9LjerIfkKrW5BBZkAqMYXGoWFMDt6DmvfBnfXkDq2dxhzNuNuQ29uuYiICYacY76xlH7yfEmwezptgIDTu3lrQV7UknB2H4vrsZgtWPDDWERMeLeRKHR9BGj4EKl4UUOXnPq9OBQiA/s640/1024px-Tendaguru_Tendaguru2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hans Von Staff would use his geology
skills to find water for the army, while Bernhard Sattler organised and led
native Askaris.<i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> </span></i>Hans Reck,
along with two Europeans and ten native soldiers, organised the local Wagogo
people into something of a fighting force at Ufiome. Ever the palaeontologist,
Reck would also unearth some prehistoric elephant remains (<i>Elephas antiquus</i>) as he<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> helped organise and
supply the main German garrison in east <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>.
Here he was joined by geologists Erich Krenkel and Gustav Schulze, who’d been on
their way to work in <st1:place w:st="on">Olduvai Gorge</st1:place> but had
been caught up in the war before they could start a dig.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhseLgt2z7HOkwJUx3xYCKT_WoBkvzug1eGTdyDGCfLqRZCZ1tQZ5MJ060BqJVMyzYMrlnhm83KwwPLxulgjnXAlWb9PM5DuEd9jK0KqTKXamDWGK-IySD_l0AxkR0ten6nOvEZEjtNek/s1600/800px-Am_Tendaguru_-_Leben_und_Wirken_einer_deutschen_Forschungsexpedition_zur_Ausgrabung_vorweltlicher_Riesensaurier_in_Deutsch-Ostafrika_%25281912%2529_%252818161705872%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1135" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhseLgt2z7HOkwJUx3xYCKT_WoBkvzug1eGTdyDGCfLqRZCZ1tQZ5MJ060BqJVMyzYMrlnhm83KwwPLxulgjnXAlWb9PM5DuEd9jK0KqTKXamDWGK-IySD_l0AxkR0ten6nOvEZEjtNek/s320/800px-Am_Tendaguru_-_Leben_und_Wirken_einer_deutschen_Forschungsexpedition_zur_Ausgrabung_vorweltlicher_Riesensaurier_in_Deutsch-Ostafrika_%25281912%2529_%252818161705872%2529.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">During these dangers days Reck feared he would lose his fossils if captured,
especially some pterosaur remains (the first found in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>), so he handed his specimens to a neutral Swiss friend, F.G. Ricki, for safekeeping.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As for Werner Janensch - the palaeontologist who prepared and described <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state>’s world famous <i>Brachiosaurus</i> - he enlisted in the Zeppelin service. Does anyone else
find it a weird coincidence that the discoverer of the largest complete
dinosaur skeleton helped fly the world’s largest vehicles ever to take to the
air?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of these zeppelins was linked to one of the
more bizarre and tragic stories of the First World War. The German African army
was starving and out of ammunition, so in an attempt to break the allied
blockade strangling Germany, a 226 m long zeppelin (L-59) - nicknamed das Afrika-Schiff (the Africa Ship) - was organised to simply
float over the heads of everyone and supply the desperate army. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2B_NLVZ7HA-ua2wjC7w5v_ldq-nH6nBJE3kFJmQQuyPtd6BrJ3c8g6nTscK03SstR52kqHsyqPa6kXyMZZVqjwRxPQmkgNAicPgRu8SkdiYM05jIAH8j9uSPij4ZinqE2fK-KyIz7Eg/s1600/LZ_104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="447" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2B_NLVZ7HA-ua2wjC7w5v_ldq-nH6nBJE3kFJmQQuyPtd6BrJ3c8g6nTscK03SstR52kqHsyqPa6kXyMZZVqjwRxPQmkgNAicPgRu8SkdiYM05jIAH8j9uSPij4ZinqE2fK-KyIz7Eg/s640/LZ_104.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>das Afrika-Schiff, zeppelin L-59</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On board was 50 tons of </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">provisions, including
weapons, ammunition, food and extra personal. As zeppelins need hydrogen to
stay airborne (which wasn’t readily available in </span><st1:place style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-indent: 27pt;" w:st="on">Africa</st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">
at the time) the mission was planned to be a one-way trip, with the zeppelin itself
being added to the supply list at the other end. Its frame and balloon skin were designed to be used for constructing towers, tents and bandages.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1yPd0eLkfQmwy2MkCmt6Jr2hVgCLhBg5FoPbvJhqV7wgFqazGK1EOjjBRKSJLUWT06TZKxy6dxADbbDBP-ky4E1ziEANzwhpwkT4Kqp6UYeOpD_69KmhjRwRM8r3qC5hNRL5nhYBw84/s1600/Afrikafahrt_LZ_104_1917.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1yPd0eLkfQmwy2MkCmt6Jr2hVgCLhBg5FoPbvJhqV7wgFqazGK1EOjjBRKSJLUWT06TZKxy6dxADbbDBP-ky4E1ziEANzwhpwkT4Kqp6UYeOpD_69KmhjRwRM8r3qC5hNRL5nhYBw84/s320/Afrikafahrt_LZ_104_1917.png" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The journey of L-59</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">However, as L-59 was crossing the <st1:place w:st="on">Mediterranean</st1:place>,it was caught in an electrical storm and lost its radio, one engine
and almost crashed until those on-board started jettisoning the valuable equipment
and buoyancy was restored. The plucky airship
then continued to bob along, and later criticism of its crews actions during
the storm (as those had been much needed supplies they had thrown out) was easily deflected when it was proved that the men, who’d been suffering migraines and hallucinations during the voyage, had
been continuously poisoned by the very gas keeping them afloat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Eventually some wisenheimer (that’s a German
word isn’t it?) repaired the radio as the dirigible soared over <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Khartoum</st1:place></st1:city>. Almost immediately came an order crackling through
the ships speakers for the airship to return home as the German army in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> had already surrendered.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I dare say having made a round-trip of nearly
7,000 km (a long standing record by the way), L-59's captain was a little surprised when he returned to Germany and everyone started
asking why he’d come back? It turns out the recall message was a British
trick as no order had ever been issued by the Prussian high command. What should have given it away was the order was given in English (citation needed as I have no idea if this is true or not :) - </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">though there are reports that a transcript of the radio message has been found in German archives and the files of the British Public Records office).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Back in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>
the German paleo-army continued to fight with little more than rocks and
baboons, while L-59 was sent to bomb the city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Naples</st1:place></st1:city> (which it somehow missed). It was last
seen plummeting to earth in a ball of fire by infamous German U-boat, UB-53,
who claimed she’d been shot down while trying to bomb <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malta</st1:place></st1:country-region>. There
are rumours, however, it was actually UB-53 who shot down the Zeppelin,
perhaps mistaking it for an Italian dirigible, as they were an allied nation
during the First World War and the only other country that used the balloons as
bombers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcbUh7ZFhbHzOCA6H05Daj7fz-GvGy0t_e7T1WdlJZBiEtG56TM1n9fG_g-mDir0PYiCBJis2GtTT2creXFpwKwNEHTPbKw0a8gbE_FzQZOEtMjyF3tICV3y5XMLizHJAwwAoeTz9SwE/s1600/German_submarine_SM_U-53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="736" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcbUh7ZFhbHzOCA6H05Daj7fz-GvGy0t_e7T1WdlJZBiEtG56TM1n9fG_g-mDir0PYiCBJis2GtTT2creXFpwKwNEHTPbKw0a8gbE_FzQZOEtMjyF3tICV3y5XMLizHJAwwAoeTz9SwE/s640/German_submarine_SM_U-53.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>UB-53 at sea</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-GB">UB-53 had become famous when it sailed
into <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newport</st1:place></st1:city>
harbour (<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rhode Island</st1:place></st1:state>)
on <st1:date day="7" month="10" w:st="on" year="1916">the 7th of October 1916</st1:date>.
Her captain (Hans Rose) later paid a visit to American admirals, Austin M Knight
and Albert Gleaves, on-board the USS Birmingham. The admirals then later
return the favour by visiting Rose and the UB-53<b>.</b> There was such a friendly
atmosphere between the two groups that Gleaves even brought his family for the
tour.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yTxKsXiZLEbkcy4i2Al8agHSnrWuTpRBz0NH-ZHr50hnuHpuxuA73EbjiiWcN5dqXfrsuL6lSNqrlaKPwB06eQSRPoSN743C7NjS6VwIY_1xPg_jkLqVEUY8-7tXSQSJhU_bZkFQY7I/s1600/u-boat-visit-photos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="600" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yTxKsXiZLEbkcy4i2Al8agHSnrWuTpRBz0NH-ZHr50hnuHpuxuA73EbjiiWcN5dqXfrsuL6lSNqrlaKPwB06eQSRPoSN743C7NjS6VwIY_1xPg_jkLqVEUY8-7tXSQSJhU_bZkFQY7I/s640/u-boat-visit-photos.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>UB-53 in <st1:city style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36px;" w:st="on">Newport</st1:city><span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36px;"> harbour, </span><st1:state style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36px;" w:st="on">Rhode Island</st1:state></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rose only left <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> when he
heard talk about the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>
interring his ship - choosing to simply sail away before such an action could be
taken. He then stationed himself off the American coastline and started sinking
allied ships left, right and centre. UB-53 would even stop the American
steamer Kansan, but released the ship when an inspection proved she
carried no contraband cargo. The same could not be said for the British Strathdene,
the Norwegian Christian Knutsen and the <st1:place w:st="on">West
Point,</st1:place> which were all sunk with their cargo of goods bound for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> and her
allies. Rose had removed the crews of these ships first - he even allowed passenger
steamers to pass as he knew he could only sink them by risking civilian lives,
which he refused to do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The American navy was aware of what
was happening off their shore and sent 17 warships, not to destroy the U-boat,
but to help in rescue operations. The USS Ericcson would be on station
and watched as UB-53 sank the Dutch Blommersdyk and British
passenger liner Stephano, and never lifted a finger to stop it. The Ericcson did rush in though and remove the crew and passengers before retreating and
allowing the U-boat to sink both ships and sail away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now I know <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> wasn’t officially at war
with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
but couldn’t they have stopped these sinkings? They could have done anything,
positioned themselves between predator and prey and dared the German warship to
fire on an American naval vessel, or stall the U-boat long enough for
the three British warships they knew were steaming from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region> to
arrive…or better yet, have rammed the bloody thing and saved all the hassle? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As it turns out they should have
acted while they had the U-boat under their guns as UB-53 would later
become the first German to sink a <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> warship. When Amarice finally joined the war against Germany the <i>USS Jacob Jones</i>
would also be the first US destroyer ever lost to enemy action. She went
down after being torpedoed when her compliment of depth charges exploded,
killing two officers and sixty-four men.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-GB">UB-53</span><span lang="EN-GB"> would sink 80 ships, including
several American vessels, throughout the entire war…and possibly
one zeppelin as well!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge01F8R_sBvqVaVyMv7aPqVsCe-dYL7vOP5b8jUFJluny-Dsqix5Bsd07IzuG1bLKpyug0zxcks1CiIlMMCNlK3Pil8WmzBhHwIUyBkdWMO_VPPUJMPtcBow2mwEGGtWTxp7mJvlyfqcc/s1600/800px-Tendaguru_Tendaguru1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="800" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge01F8R_sBvqVaVyMv7aPqVsCe-dYL7vOP5b8jUFJluny-Dsqix5Bsd07IzuG1bLKpyug0zxcks1CiIlMMCNlK3Pil8WmzBhHwIUyBkdWMO_VPPUJMPtcBow2mwEGGtWTxp7mJvlyfqcc/s640/800px-Tendaguru_Tendaguru1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Back in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>,
what was left of the German army invaded <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rhodesia...</st1:place></st1:country-region>sadly after the war had officially ended.
When this news arrived the Germans quickly surrendered and went into prisoner
of war camps. Here a large number of them died from the Spanish influenza outbreak that ravaged a wold that had already suffered so much after the war. One happy
end to this story is that the German government paid these native troops a
pension well into the 1960’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzCO5VXfpudHMbob8YTeh4SFZe6Ft6wW4qiKc_oElp_Ci164Ejo4dPV1PdCjxgHSROs3oaHLFlf9Uqx8JOuBJmmDwlWKRf_VXp_oaFSHwDYnEU-4B7H00GI3MHlVbc5sldtgYvtaBUK0/s1600/GCGH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="991" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzCO5VXfpudHMbob8YTeh4SFZe6Ft6wW4qiKc_oElp_Ci164Ejo4dPV1PdCjxgHSROs3oaHLFlf9Uqx8JOuBJmmDwlWKRf_VXp_oaFSHwDYnEU-4B7H00GI3MHlVbc5sldtgYvtaBUK0/s640/GCGH.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> lost all her her colonies during the war, while the conflict continued to cause suffering for years among the African communities that had
so little to begin with and had lost so much. After their men, animals and crops
had been stolen from them at will, droughts ravaged the continent, along with
the many diseases carried by all those thousands of soldiers and pack animals that had rampaged across the continent... a</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">nd what of our palaeontologists?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Frass never returned to <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>
as the sickness that had struck him down turned out to be Amoebic dysentery, which continued to eat away at his body until he was a shell of his former self. He died
four days after his son was killed on the Western Front!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoteTrXNZilH_v4CQ0ovq0dZxixdzcnXuqb2OFm7kMQKTotu8Ivt_VYD4DrjfXON4aJnSxFNJyNDJDaRSSeqgo131mCoS-9p_vFSQX3Dzxkwd956q3Jr5G9yIDuUO8evClBHGma16ps5c/s1600/unnamed+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="512" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoteTrXNZilH_v4CQ0ovq0dZxixdzcnXuqb2OFm7kMQKTotu8Ivt_VYD4DrjfXON4aJnSxFNJyNDJDaRSSeqgo131mCoS-9p_vFSQX3Dzxkwd956q3Jr5G9yIDuUO8evClBHGma16ps5c/s640/unnamed+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hans Reck would fall ill, was captured and spent two years in an Egyptian prisoner of war camp. He should have become world
famous for his discovery of the first significant human fossils at Olduvai Gorge, yet this glory would fall on a young Rhodesian anthropologist who’d
been employed by the new lords of Tendaguru, the British, as he could speak
several local dialects.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHls4qybLeVQ3yjF-0M63DqNYnw7wMS1HB2D7kmS1XIbl7VlOhO7qWRuGu4w6dXmY_iHj8BMmSDVp2mixbnJJPKlNUHOMWgZOEQkbCngAy6ODfx4xqpeTjtAjSr7CPITka1OMgFyAAETM/s1600/berlin-dino+346a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1111" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHls4qybLeVQ3yjF-0M63DqNYnw7wMS1HB2D7kmS1XIbl7VlOhO7qWRuGu4w6dXmY_iHj8BMmSDVp2mixbnJJPKlNUHOMWgZOEQkbCngAy6ODfx4xqpeTjtAjSr7CPITka1OMgFyAAETM/s400/berlin-dino+346a.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Louis Leakey joined a hauntingly similar
effort to the Germans when the British also collected a large amount of money
through donations and selected a Canadian palaeontologist called William E. Cutler to dig
the site. This expedition also ended in tragedy as, ignoring Leakey’s warnings about the
dangers of malaria and other disease born by the insects of the region, Cutler refused to sleep under a net and died with six months of his arrival.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Leaky would go on to fame and glory for his Olduvai
Gorge discoveries, while Reck is all but forgotten, dying in 1936 while
travelling to Tanganyika to examine a new human skull found there. As for the fossils he had hidden for protection, many would never been seen again!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Janensch and Henning had also become ‘kriegsgeolge’
(war geologists) during the conflict, with Janensch winning an Iron Cross 2<sup>nd</sup> grade. Both returned to palaeontology after the war.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Wollf </span>Furtwängler<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> had arrived missing much of his equipment,
including his bedding and mosquito nets. While sleeping in a grass hut he was bitten by ticks and fell gravely ill. He was sent to nearby Lindi to
recover, only to walk all the way back when he began feeling a little better. This move destroyed
his health forever and he was sent home, never to return to Tendaguru either. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Former governor Wendt was killed after leading his
small force of natives to push the invading Portuguese out of the German
territory. Hans von Staff died drilling boreholes to supply the
African army with water as it crossed the Namibian desert. He had been
suffering from Typhus, and became so exhausted trying to save his men that he
could no longer fight off the disease.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bernhard Sattler - who’d originally found the
fossil site - was killed in 1915 when he tried to stop one of his own drunken
troops from looting. Apparently the rest of his Askari captured the murderer
and put him to a very slowly death, a sure sign of how much the Africans had
respected the geologist.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zlQsroBRcNxTy1u2OMje4JiqzKDRZzUxpc-r38NjahqixZKYu8KbLKpn6SZHb9atD6wHfvvyE44Ha0PkP80TRNYbdOxZ2UCMek7hK_1O8PFLY1BRORi285dR_y51jBfhwqsFrgYB7ac/s1600/berlin-dino+334a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1193" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zlQsroBRcNxTy1u2OMje4JiqzKDRZzUxpc-r38NjahqixZKYu8KbLKpn6SZHb9atD6wHfvvyE44Ha0PkP80TRNYbdOxZ2UCMek7hK_1O8PFLY1BRORi285dR_y51jBfhwqsFrgYB7ac/s320/berlin-dino+334a.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Berlin Museum's East African fossils proved to be the best survivors from these expedition. Even though it took decades to prepare them, and had cost the lives of almost everyone involved, </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">while all around them was destroyed </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">they alone seem to have survived the allied bombing of </span><st1:state style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-indent: 27pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"> during the Second World War .</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Allied
commanders it turns out had been asked to try and avoid damaging the buildings
storing them, which astonishingly they did. This of course was not true for other African fossils found and stored in Germany, with most famously the Spinosaurus fossils from </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Egypt (found and described by Ernst Stromer in 1915) were destroyed "during the night of 24/25 April 1944 in a British bombing raid of Munich".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: 27pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #222222; float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXifo-1SmY9tMqZvZWNPzbeZ2E39akKN2Leit7kjBsPY4wKRRwxVZHGuWqdq6lutitcXPDnMsFhPkjAbCqbzeNZbDrPYZwQnjei_0fKnFgy8OJqB46qQ4yNycHzAT84UGWB6t92hWX1o/s1600/800px-Spinosaurus_holotype.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="800" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXifo-1SmY9tMqZvZWNPzbeZ2E39akKN2Leit7kjBsPY4wKRRwxVZHGuWqdq6lutitcXPDnMsFhPkjAbCqbzeNZbDrPYZwQnjei_0fKnFgy8OJqB46qQ4yNycHzAT84UGWB6t92hWX1o/s640/800px-Spinosaurus_holotype.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>All we have left of the original Spinosaur fossils are images like this</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<br /></div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-18400164130774270412018-07-03T21:46:00.000-07:002018-07-04T18:29:25.910-07:00Cleveland Museum of Natural History - The Great Lakes region - Part One<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9F2IX_836nPwTqqmzcOQqiTaGOEU-Y7DC0CeQsJshChB-nswhtJF84-gR96q_vDr4JYUzj1YeMsTPx_664OsjTGb3J4p9MG8XTUlcvIAPOlTMPpro_6sLVyFqcy7eE85aUC_2u_YK8fo/s1600/DSCN1537+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1600" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9F2IX_836nPwTqqmzcOQqiTaGOEU-Y7DC0CeQsJshChB-nswhtJF84-gR96q_vDr4JYUzj1YeMsTPx_664OsjTGb3J4p9MG8XTUlcvIAPOlTMPpro_6sLVyFqcy7eE85aUC_2u_YK8fo/s640/DSCN1537+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On a wet April morning we drove
up to the Cleveland Natural History Museum (CMNH), and what a drive it was. The
main road passes under majestic bridges and what seems to be a parkland lined
with monuments to numerous nations across the globe. The museum itself is not
near the centre of the city but about 8km outside the city centre in a complex filled
with schools and medical institutions.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What we could see of the entire precinct,
it looks fantastic (it really was raining hard when we were there). There are
great gardens to walk around and many items to investigate (such as a life-size stegosaurus), so please ensure you allocate some time to check the outside
as well as the inside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczkWIINbBl9Kx3SUoWRdAewAf0xrHX5CqKJ-9ewKOd8QLZZMtxq5g7j43eEGurNoYFDZ9tKDBT2DKLgNUMmpasatrW3iHE9ObB7rzUhzbcZ-_-mqk4smwdAdROdY3tx3qS_idUIR4Q80/s1600/DSCN1001+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="1600" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczkWIINbBl9Kx3SUoWRdAewAf0xrHX5CqKJ-9ewKOd8QLZZMtxq5g7j43eEGurNoYFDZ9tKDBT2DKLgNUMmpasatrW3iHE9ObB7rzUhzbcZ-_-mqk4smwdAdROdY3tx3qS_idUIR4Q80/s640/DSCN1001+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Entering the museum from the car-park, you pass through an atrium filled with fantastic NASA images from the Hubble space telescope. I could have just stood there for hours and peered into these, but onward we marched.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOntv4gVG3CLsm-L0H-XvYqqdZS977OkxtTVr2268zBEEN-AezC_1sLvAHoEBVNV8OnXcpqcCfk1Hu_v75N6SmmuCS9F-2gseXmtF3AydrbhJuz1goNQi3Q3R4uWbu2AwvAGw9mbAu-4/s1600/DSCN0999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOntv4gVG3CLsm-L0H-XvYqqdZS977OkxtTVr2268zBEEN-AezC_1sLvAHoEBVNV8OnXcpqcCfk1Hu_v75N6SmmuCS9F-2gseXmtF3AydrbhJuz1goNQi3Q3R4uWbu2AwvAGw9mbAu-4/s400/DSCN0999.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 2015 the CMNH announced a
major upgrade, with several phases of construction updating the displays and
increasing the floor space of the building. This work also included a
connecting car-park – and some of this work has been completed. This mean there
is a real old vs new feel to the CMNH – now as you will see this is not a
complaint, just an observation. What has been completed so far is great and so
I will be very interested to see what else they have planned (actually you can
see some concept art here https://www.cmnh.org/centennialhome/project-update/exhibit-update).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Approaching its centenary, the CMNH was planned to be an institution that concentrated on not just the
education side of the natural sciences, but to research and develop collections
in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, botany, geology, palaeontology
and zoology, and this it seems to have done very well as the museum is
consistently ranked in the top ten natural history museums in the USA – and that’s
saying a lot as this place has a lot of natural history museums.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me there are clear delineations in the
galleries of this museum, with each carrying a distinctive feel, almost a separate
personality to the rest that I will separate them here – something I never
really have done before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kirtland Hall of Prehistoric Life<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcckmS3hN-qRpQQ7goSZSlcbvmKPPQFqt2KpFM1bv6NaYPFnwSRc9IIaq59ufAwU3gonLQTR1O6OHtjtJ5K3R2opXHJ1HfOOEWpj6jxuKY8fKBDDb95PQPYwxrfVdUtf6huAF1CrwII0/s1600/DSCN1028+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="1600" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcckmS3hN-qRpQQ7goSZSlcbvmKPPQFqt2KpFM1bv6NaYPFnwSRc9IIaq59ufAwU3gonLQTR1O6OHtjtJ5K3R2opXHJ1HfOOEWpj6jxuKY8fKBDDb95PQPYwxrfVdUtf6huAF1CrwII0/s640/DSCN1028+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This feels like the oldest part
of the museum, with some of the exhibits clearly of an older style. It is an
enormous space, and lining most of the walls are small displays containing
specimens from various times of Earth’s past. Though these are of an older
style, they are filled with some amazing specimens. There are plenty of Miocene
and Oligocene fossils, with skulls from Platybelodon, sabretooth cats, horses
and a great entelodont skull.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3V3U6XLFpGqCyQ5SSVg2J3fHKx55vg6jVnpGYeSxDqiBeXbAv2x1dtro83t4xj66ZN1ePS8B3g1U9j9iEpYMJv9GL5OI2dydAJOqzSb_MbTySrwTwFbLfquDyo1PORMXSzzptZyzHVuo/s1600/DSCN1017+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1008" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3V3U6XLFpGqCyQ5SSVg2J3fHKx55vg6jVnpGYeSxDqiBeXbAv2x1dtro83t4xj66ZN1ePS8B3g1U9j9iEpYMJv9GL5OI2dydAJOqzSb_MbTySrwTwFbLfquDyo1PORMXSzzptZyzHVuo/s320/DSCN1017+%25282%2529.JPG" width="201" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The star of this little section
though is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Diatryma</i>, a giant bird
unearthed in Wyoming. There are also a number of small mural/paintings in these
displays, though I could not see the artists name (to be fair, I may have just
missed it so if the artists is out there, please let me know and I’ll happily
re-edit this). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JhOkRZzvoiSu43zhzAkE-avBgwG7MB4bnvQcKkbgxy0FEYD2_iQDlTMaprjbJJFREDRRJp7bcyw6idT-HjvSRglJYON_4pMuHgeykg_D7janLl2sb8hBmYkL9UngbUT3hEmOshsnhUk/s1600/DSCN1075+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="1600" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JhOkRZzvoiSu43zhzAkE-avBgwG7MB4bnvQcKkbgxy0FEYD2_iQDlTMaprjbJJFREDRRJp7bcyw6idT-HjvSRglJYON_4pMuHgeykg_D7janLl2sb8hBmYkL9UngbUT3hEmOshsnhUk/s640/DSCN1075+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KPsJCGAFcUEbFhnYNQqe-cUajrodPn21PYZ7G5JBdZ0T74a-n7QbOeCJxtFGBHo77XmtY-2C_0pk-Iu9c34PKtC5Ta5tZqfhh-SOa86TMhMCfy6vcF_EODyIphwknCvndAlVjMb59-I/s1600/DSCN1167+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1303" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KPsJCGAFcUEbFhnYNQqe-cUajrodPn21PYZ7G5JBdZ0T74a-n7QbOeCJxtFGBHo77XmtY-2C_0pk-Iu9c34PKtC5Ta5tZqfhh-SOa86TMhMCfy6vcF_EODyIphwknCvndAlVjMb59-I/s320/DSCN1167+%25282%2529.JPG" width="260" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A large central island is behind
you at this point containing those most iconic of dinosaurs, a triceratops and
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">T. rex</i> (the Wankle Rex I do
believe). Behind the tail of this full-sized replica is also the skull of the
highly controversial <i>Nanotyrannus</i>. The skull (CMNH 7541) was first found in
1942 by David Hosbrook Dunkle and described four years later by Charles W.
Gilmore as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gorgosaurus lancensis.</i>
This was later reinterpreted by Robert T. Bakker, Phil Currie, and Michael
Williams as a new, midget tyrannosaur species as features of this small skull
indicate it was from an adult – thus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nanotyrannus</i>.
Trust me, we will come back to this conversation later.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVbCwdSwdF7AtDT3xNSCja4TA_cEBMmNFgn6cUPab9G-HeqKzOARpZ-jX0gyOptT9eCP2urymqGwsn8LQkPJ14ErKz5c28NUNmJAAq1kB9Vcv2547UOFn6Om5vUmJtiTLPSaFMjEO_8o/s1600/DSCN1171+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1540" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVbCwdSwdF7AtDT3xNSCja4TA_cEBMmNFgn6cUPab9G-HeqKzOARpZ-jX0gyOptT9eCP2urymqGwsn8LQkPJ14ErKz5c28NUNmJAAq1kB9Vcv2547UOFn6Om5vUmJtiTLPSaFMjEO_8o/s640/DSCN1171+%25282%2529.JPG" width="614" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZog36_ogbZ4dPmyWmljHQ0xVH-3AMASA3IeETUfda3PRv-sVmQdnVqSo7UZFFIYrXDkY3KSELAFvjH0A8gjtLx7Rm0J74OCyiyzpXsKMuBDM1mw6uLHCtRlLjpDhOStsmuAZwHZZt7c/s1600/DSCN1044+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1546" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZog36_ogbZ4dPmyWmljHQ0xVH-3AMASA3IeETUfda3PRv-sVmQdnVqSo7UZFFIYrXDkY3KSELAFvjH0A8gjtLx7Rm0J74OCyiyzpXsKMuBDM1mw6uLHCtRlLjpDhOStsmuAZwHZZt7c/s320/DSCN1044+%25282%2529.JPG" width="308" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">These cabinets line bookend an enormous
wall where numerous fossils hang. Many of these are skulls, topping the silhouetted
shape of the animal they represent. Here there is also a great mosasaur on
display and I really like the way it was mounted as you get a great look inside
its mouth at the palate teeth (a feature you often cannot see with museum mounts).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwqPN_t5xnc_omicMuQ_4J2FwAtlp0nBpC1JtJ6JSS0aB5Xcsxtn0YTP3fBTeUZpwNry5HCMQp1LgUEnJgwAJbpmeeLL1QIXj27El4HinsHNildqEJ8npOdmD3b9Mtrgi__BeU1SyeYU/s1600/DSCN1040+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1600" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwqPN_t5xnc_omicMuQ_4J2FwAtlp0nBpC1JtJ6JSS0aB5Xcsxtn0YTP3fBTeUZpwNry5HCMQp1LgUEnJgwAJbpmeeLL1QIXj27El4HinsHNildqEJ8npOdmD3b9Mtrgi__BeU1SyeYU/s640/DSCN1040+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Out of the far corner juts
another of these ‘islands’, and here you can see a real treasure. Happy the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Haplocanthosaurus</i> was a Jurassic
sauropod, and at 66ft was one of the smallest found in the Morrison formation. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFyREp6XhzHQ52EIME6OxFaEMimwg9vQWID4ftJYbvYmDILk6l7ULJ57iquQc-7OQqG_kuM1qUiZEOF_eu9HRK9sY2MNNx1N07SCgTfIJ7xYXU4jIHFbGocE5koC9iYfFVuFDAbup3-g/s1600/DSCN1074+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="1600" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFyREp6XhzHQ52EIME6OxFaEMimwg9vQWID4ftJYbvYmDILk6l7ULJ57iquQc-7OQqG_kuM1qUiZEOF_eu9HRK9sY2MNNx1N07SCgTfIJ7xYXU4jIHFbGocE5koC9iYfFVuFDAbup3-g/s640/DSCN1074+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There
are a few things to note –</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LEK9U4XzvMTKJnH17hoVwQmtv3NjlRxK2HJd_vgIQ3CZEm3lo_ClG1IdD418s6XU4KWNrqgqWrTt9mKeGVa2fkj2g5qEh3Kv6Kw8UILC6Vj48lcxUaNAlvjHsKFCjT4fHAXl2GEdaAc/s1600/DSCN1096+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1366" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LEK9U4XzvMTKJnH17hoVwQmtv3NjlRxK2HJd_vgIQ3CZEm3lo_ClG1IdD418s6XU4KWNrqgqWrTt9mKeGVa2fkj2g5qEh3Kv6Kw8UILC6Vj48lcxUaNAlvjHsKFCjT4fHAXl2GEdaAc/s320/DSCN1096+%25282%2529.JPG" width="273" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. No skull was found so this one
is just a sculpted head indicating what it might have looked like.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">2. This is the only mount of this
species anywhere in the world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. It is one of the most
primitive sauropods known and exactly what it was related too is still being
discussed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. There is no getting around it...the
tail. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Happy has been on display since
1963, when our view of dinosaurs was drastically different than today. The preparators
placed happy in the stance of the day, with its tail dragging on the ground,
and today this stance is still presence. It’s an amazing site to see, - you case
how the tail would be dislocated in two places if this was how the tail was
while the animal was alive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-U_cy6aXLeoLhDgRcYIIXGps0hLI4P6s0GNq2Y-qAO6U386XBAJJsHAO8CUVHfcM1rtnhyGZcFZ71r6GJraLPgx_KCG6VTc-CQ1qQZOTq5RHZafMoAX0ZHPKKob2xdbQuaOUELORQ-Q/s1600/DSCN1085+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1417" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-U_cy6aXLeoLhDgRcYIIXGps0hLI4P6s0GNq2Y-qAO6U386XBAJJsHAO8CUVHfcM1rtnhyGZcFZ71r6GJraLPgx_KCG6VTc-CQ1qQZOTq5RHZafMoAX0ZHPKKob2xdbQuaOUELORQ-Q/s320/DSCN1085+%25282%2529.JPG" width="283" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As Pointed out earlier though,
there are changes coming to the museum and I assume the specimen will surely
get a modern remounting – and I am not sure how I feel about that. I understand
a museum will always want to place the most scientifically accurate information
in front of a visitor – but – having been a museum educator for several decades
in museums across the globe, I love the story a tour guide gets to present with
such a feature. This is a physical opportunity to explain how science adapts to
new information, technology and ideas. In a very real way it will be a lost
opportunity when (if) this mount gets changed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWExqnGcjWkCU_7ejTpV4rlRPyl9INmAEFjfiES7zfH8tBL-J_UaAPvAAp3DLF3oWSbTvEFHdCRC0KSfLVUpjC-qQJuMcWKwWFZr2TjwIvVDiNEng2o0p_P0Ra0BN8FP33JAMBSH_nIk/s1600/DSCN1117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWExqnGcjWkCU_7ejTpV4rlRPyl9INmAEFjfiES7zfH8tBL-J_UaAPvAAp3DLF3oWSbTvEFHdCRC0KSfLVUpjC-qQJuMcWKwWFZr2TjwIvVDiNEng2o0p_P0Ra0BN8FP33JAMBSH_nIk/s640/DSCN1117.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next to Happy is also a mounted <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Allosaurus</i>, and the way these two
species are presented are great. Unearthed in the local Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry (along
with 44 other specimens), Alice the <i>Allosaurus</i> has been mounted running along
the side of its far larger victim which it seems to be preparing to attack. Originally
Alice had also been built with her tail dragging on the ground – and in 2008 the
fossil (which is around 50% real) was remounted with a modern stance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZa1JpAvSyqBf8wyfxUhZZ2sQXoBVCrqvyPlUJ7Q_9f163l9rfW4iSmi7MG-lP7vxYpnR0ChrRPM4mZdkloTFVFmAu7g0AVuHN_BCANBwilb_DxyBJB_7YP9a-jLKvF1psLe9gBt6ojiY/s1600/DSCN1108+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1600" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZa1JpAvSyqBf8wyfxUhZZ2sQXoBVCrqvyPlUJ7Q_9f163l9rfW4iSmi7MG-lP7vxYpnR0ChrRPM4mZdkloTFVFmAu7g0AVuHN_BCANBwilb_DxyBJB_7YP9a-jLKvF1psLe9gBt6ojiY/s640/DSCN1108+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The rest of the room is made up
of more cabinets containing older species – such as one of the most complete <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Coelophysis</i> mounted skeletons on display
(sorry no image) and then a lot of Triassic and Permian species such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dimetrodon</i>. A great little touch is, if
you look closely, it is here you will see the modern Tuatara – making the link
between this living fossil and the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZDHof0civcZ0jyWXa51guBU8Ut04lED_fulH1rsRMHbjZEi3_TIKgajUeOQN7-Ejavosa42_vCx6h6HzudB-O8epM9wtb0ORdjYiKuSuScEj-ALe8gXpxQe-fYmpvnXBLuI3RoEoXbMY/s1600/DSCN1126+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="1600" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZDHof0civcZ0jyWXa51guBU8Ut04lED_fulH1rsRMHbjZEi3_TIKgajUeOQN7-Ejavosa42_vCx6h6HzudB-O8epM9wtb0ORdjYiKuSuScEj-ALe8gXpxQe-fYmpvnXBLuI3RoEoXbMY/s640/DSCN1126+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgKKImy-JPjiYhLzS1tjCcH68VT9e-Qc-EY-bFKRZ8Z-iAe-CluTtuLa77COCi2GFp40vBITdgErMSt0wHzzu-T6dqBR_KXNchdQuVK_2fvQbWE7Xc7LzYiPWNRVuQMiTaRZBqabBTj8/s1600/DSCN1142+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1487" data-original-width="1600" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgKKImy-JPjiYhLzS1tjCcH68VT9e-Qc-EY-bFKRZ8Z-iAe-CluTtuLa77COCi2GFp40vBITdgErMSt0wHzzu-T6dqBR_KXNchdQuVK_2fvQbWE7Xc7LzYiPWNRVuQMiTaRZBqabBTj8/s320/DSCN1142+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Being that this is Cleveland,
there is an extensive display of Devonian fossils, especially sharks and the
famous armoured-head placoderm fish like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dunkleosteus</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the region is known for such fossils there are numerous species and growth sizes
-as well as a life-size model swimming above your head. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Between this gallery and the next
is a wide corridor filled with various displays, including a nice time line of
all the different ages of the earth and the numerous fossils you can find in
rocks from these times. I love it when museums organise displays that people
can touch. Behind this is a physical family tree of how all the various species
that have populated the world are related to each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSgz7IRBUTfxWLRYw6LeNdPoYITQIZoYumMRLjeDKvu-bDUCcOKo4dkTj0ZD9hMCUf7sKTrDwZTl2D_KTWndbcOjfFNT-BEbgce3U52-pQyFICN-6OezmDBmdMpZAPxgiCTnyJPbPeIJU/s1600/DSCN1201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSgz7IRBUTfxWLRYw6LeNdPoYITQIZoYumMRLjeDKvu-bDUCcOKo4dkTj0ZD9hMCUf7sKTrDwZTl2D_KTWndbcOjfFNT-BEbgce3U52-pQyFICN-6OezmDBmdMpZAPxgiCTnyJPbPeIJU/s640/DSCN1201.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is here that you find another dinosaur
specimen the museum is famous for, and this brings me to one of the real treats
of my visit. The Staff at the CMNH are fantastic, warm, friendly and knowledge and
they were happy to chat and show me some of the treasures they have sitting in their
backrooms. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNssCiqjn61qKvpU0YfrMcJ0CEQEPiYoJ5TrMG4CaVhIVXbiSx0kBOaHOZ2LZCaolMHQ6m8ap7sJbHs31bW0EJsxDkC2UR6fd8P2oTPgSwAL-5gDVp5A0-gkuEoAFGXLRq4mT7izeva4/s1600/29790338_10111023164451939_6894197335991674587_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNssCiqjn61qKvpU0YfrMcJ0CEQEPiYoJ5TrMG4CaVhIVXbiSx0kBOaHOZ2LZCaolMHQ6m8ap7sJbHs31bW0EJsxDkC2UR6fd8P2oTPgSwAL-5gDVp5A0-gkuEoAFGXLRq4mT7izeva4/s400/29790338_10111023164451939_6894197335991674587_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A huge shout out to Ashley Hall (Adult Programs Coordinator) and Lee
Hall (Fossil Preparator and Lab Manager) who were most fantastic hosts and
later (when we bumped into the Curator and Head of the Department of Vertebrate
Paleontology for the museum) Dr. Michael Ryan. You guys are the best and what a
happy and fun environment to be working in. You can always get a sense of an institution
by the people who work there, and thanks to you guys, as Drew Carey once noted,
CLEVELAND ROCKS!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">During the tour out in the storage
rooms the guys explained how they run some of their education programs and what
they are planning for the future I got to see a number of amazing things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa4nujl-AX0prAxot5N0KGQupiTeHnAtK1mCgZGo1Hj9V19uxcVF2guks1xuJa7-PHkH4xOi1xLugCRNNLqT4ymUjOA87dQJiNrC7kpRIivKh6tShC2jqgCZwyrt7KFUW8OnuShfZDew/s1600/DSCN1448+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1179" data-original-width="1600" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa4nujl-AX0prAxot5N0KGQupiTeHnAtK1mCgZGo1Hj9V19uxcVF2guks1xuJa7-PHkH4xOi1xLugCRNNLqT4ymUjOA87dQJiNrC7kpRIivKh6tShC2jqgCZwyrt7KFUW8OnuShfZDew/s640/DSCN1448+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As mentioned, thanks to the Cleveland
Shale, the CMNH has an extensive collection of Devonian fossils, especially
from enormous predatory fish like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dunkleosteus</i>.
The museum has numerous remains from these fish in storage, and work on them is
ongoing. Watch this space as one of these specimens seems to be from an enormous,
fanged or sabre-toothed placoderm that could have been even more impressive than
the species already described. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BifFmzMdcXjH61lNWzqOJ2EXY7njqcXBTftCHHH5cp5hUgIAvrDx3E1GAEXs-Hz1c0c5S26Ql9zkMpFBa_qJXfzoD0tMAx4l3l9pA3VpHQVaDeiP0STjdRsn8V3BMUcNXEmiLD3ezrc/s1600/DSCN1440+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BifFmzMdcXjH61lNWzqOJ2EXY7njqcXBTftCHHH5cp5hUgIAvrDx3E1GAEXs-Hz1c0c5S26Ql9zkMpFBa_qJXfzoD0tMAx4l3l9pA3VpHQVaDeiP0STjdRsn8V3BMUcNXEmiLD3ezrc/s640/DSCN1440+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVUvcMrRVkwKvTm7UauPxYZzPolmccCabYtPIBDJK8OtPjAED9bSrX-K3X6hOGWucel05RFPsNfjxeSy9wFVJ_9gVvuDa1NKnh4XRn5pItlJjc3LXVYWJJJpouOEL6WktLyY5vp4L_X0/s1600/DSCN1468+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1224" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVUvcMrRVkwKvTm7UauPxYZzPolmccCabYtPIBDJK8OtPjAED9bSrX-K3X6hOGWucel05RFPsNfjxeSy9wFVJ_9gVvuDa1NKnh4XRn5pItlJjc3LXVYWJJJpouOEL6WktLyY5vp4L_X0/s400/DSCN1468+%25282%2529.JPG" width="305" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the great things I got to
see was the original skull of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nanotyrannus</i>.
The fossil is a thing of beauty, the colour alone makes it one of the better-looking
fossils I have seen, which brings me back to the argument about it being a
valid species or just a juvenile <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">T.rex</i>.
The dinosaur sitting in the foyer is a cast of Jane, the juvenile <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">T.rex</i>. Its discovery was used as proof that
the museums original skull was also a juvenile and that was apparently that. Recently
though there have been some scientists holding onto the idea the Cleveland
skull is a separate species, and its labelling remains true to the original name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Having bid a fond farewell to my
guides Ashley and Lee, it was back to exploring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxik-S4OQzPPxrfmiSyeRb_7MPrQ3yQbVPcV1L4BlcrMY_HU_LSsI8nFd5i-RoE9H_PqYhp4yPNq_MFk3Re2V7BPvQlic25Mqm2rs6yaaXnddmXGi6T1kxPwa5f2VORrkAbIBrAyQjoA/s1600/DSCN1474+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxik-S4OQzPPxrfmiSyeRb_7MPrQ3yQbVPcV1L4BlcrMY_HU_LSsI8nFd5i-RoE9H_PqYhp4yPNq_MFk3Re2V7BPvQlic25Mqm2rs6yaaXnddmXGi6T1kxPwa5f2VORrkAbIBrAyQjoA/s640/DSCN1474+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Reinberger Hall of Astronomy and Wade
Gallery of Gems & Jewels<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwZ_oCJGXFroUu2Fy0yyjQ6ij5hhLGQA3TG4mC7zkQcmad2LUTZfj35Ce4POAQvtOodRQnm7dJqUvMV8tccYdw7Vv4Jvd-mvGy3c2rH95hPZ06MIGzWzxNSD_FEbk9e4tLz3fjb0kCaA/s1600/DSCN1214+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="1600" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwZ_oCJGXFroUu2Fy0yyjQ6ij5hhLGQA3TG4mC7zkQcmad2LUTZfj35Ce4POAQvtOodRQnm7dJqUvMV8tccYdw7Vv4Jvd-mvGy3c2rH95hPZ06MIGzWzxNSD_FEbk9e4tLz3fjb0kCaA/s640/DSCN1214+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is where the museum takes a
series turn with its exhibits. By the feel these are new and well though out. As
many of you in the industry are aware, the geology side of a display is often
the least visited – sure people love the jewels and some of the more spectacular
minerals, but they generally don’t spend a lot of time here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5aps6xf-4mI0vXUDjNX9KrVh22u7hCmd7q18RpwFhS8Y2XoSZlSd5LjK9KlOTtFsDFMxkHfSl9N8qJdLiyaxmdj6NTNXdUk-le90_Hv3AuyL8g4bINEbo6qxV9S_pT4lEmaVLHOf-m04/s1600/DSCN1246+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="1600" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5aps6xf-4mI0vXUDjNX9KrVh22u7hCmd7q18RpwFhS8Y2XoSZlSd5LjK9KlOTtFsDFMxkHfSl9N8qJdLiyaxmdj6NTNXdUk-le90_Hv3AuyL8g4bINEbo6qxV9S_pT4lEmaVLHOf-m04/s640/DSCN1246+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">These displays are fantastic. Not
only are there numerous interactives and media displays, with great looking
murals clearly and simply explaining how the planet was formed, what you would
expect to see on other planets, how erosion works, how soil is formed and how
you can tell the difference between various dirt, why rocks and fossils are important
in this modern world, mineral properties and how mines operate.<br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSktmb94NhW-4_VxEmTb2eOJ0n4uukTr0_C-QAMtIGvhV9ZP9XTs34YsueGKGeIp4_c7-dSJlBhXxBTrmhelwHh3YpYSguwf27nodbiFsbW79kelv8KxMOkPmsJ0_sbBAjmHFoOEYsteM/s1600/DSCN1234+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1466" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSktmb94NhW-4_VxEmTb2eOJ0n4uukTr0_C-QAMtIGvhV9ZP9XTs34YsueGKGeIp4_c7-dSJlBhXxBTrmhelwHh3YpYSguwf27nodbiFsbW79kelv8KxMOkPmsJ0_sbBAjmHFoOEYsteM/s400/DSCN1234+%25282%2529.JPG" width="366" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You pass through cave systems, reconstructed mines and what looks to be the set
from a Star Trek episode for the astronomy section, with space-age shaped window
displays, scrolling futuristic video screens and wall to roof mounted Hubble
images. These walls are colour coded, with a deep ochre for geology and a cool
blue for space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOx8s2vmw3CUcObN5YU7bdMWtMKj-1uT9-1r0gc2K2ro0nkTE_4eZYihCjE4ZlknSPgExOiAtiyzHWZ0HovGaZiIJYNo6NOWpAnF9Jf3_ZY4W21scMlq8adH4arp7yhb_lEHtRVstDMfw/s1600/DSCN1242+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="1600" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOx8s2vmw3CUcObN5YU7bdMWtMKj-1uT9-1r0gc2K2ro0nkTE_4eZYihCjE4ZlknSPgExOiAtiyzHWZ0HovGaZiIJYNo6NOWpAnF9Jf3_ZY4W21scMlq8adH4arp7yhb_lEHtRVstDMfw/s640/DSCN1242+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">These galleries lead you to the temporary
exhibit display, where the CMNH is currently housing a touring pterosaur display. I will cover this later in its own page.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknpi6Gk1yzF5TYaebx83CqNIZw7lCbqAGi8n0RbOeM0WlrIRyZueBmnrFp1VYq8Ab75OTzq0YfGjEigwC9IN0rVwHvldgjHpZGLUoc_ajHn7DCu-UyzuoO6H_0No_EGvwRUzYBZrHfNk/s1600/DSCN1263+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1600" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknpi6Gk1yzF5TYaebx83CqNIZw7lCbqAGi8n0RbOeM0WlrIRyZueBmnrFp1VYq8Ab75OTzq0YfGjEigwC9IN0rVwHvldgjHpZGLUoc_ajHn7DCu-UyzuoO6H_0No_EGvwRUzYBZrHfNk/s640/DSCN1263+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zINwFx8X2kL1idedGZxT69NmlAft3lIC0bSUacQhX4rIgidg_zQtYOF4np-OqH79LoMvl_aXvd9EP5wYyqUiQxONvcn9qmhB-S-DBdlXoMCwMOsq8dZ7FQuWrPyNvjszyw7GdFDig3k/s1600/DSCN1411+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1155" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zINwFx8X2kL1idedGZxT69NmlAft3lIC0bSUacQhX4rIgidg_zQtYOF4np-OqH79LoMvl_aXvd9EP5wYyqUiQxONvcn9qmhB-S-DBdlXoMCwMOsq8dZ7FQuWrPyNvjszyw7GdFDig3k/s400/DSCN1411+%25282%2529.JPG" width="288" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Set a course for adventure in this Museum-created exhibit celebrating
the fabled voyage of the Blossom. Explore tales of mutiny, adventure and
discovery as you experience the expedition that built the Museum’s collections
nearly a century ago</i>.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s how
the museums website describe another exhibit focusing on the history of not
just the collection, but how it was collected. There are numerous historical items,
including journals, tools, maps and artworks from the CMNH’s voyage of exploration
in the 1920s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEj2gFhn_WvWIKmoITVVja6NBp1N468rBSOnG1AoODkaYeWL2QONJkJhayZJDD9cIDR2ByLxotfB0TvxY-L-65IZy2AVzdvDovOooT4k1ziCmDlflmYficcgHOTmpEbwKPO6v-DA9Kbs/s1600/DSCN1412+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1393" data-original-width="1600" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEj2gFhn_WvWIKmoITVVja6NBp1N468rBSOnG1AoODkaYeWL2QONJkJhayZJDD9cIDR2ByLxotfB0TvxY-L-65IZy2AVzdvDovOooT4k1ziCmDlflmYficcgHOTmpEbwKPO6v-DA9Kbs/s400/DSCN1412+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sears Hall of Human Ecology<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjestzuiRPQQt1kHUsmgeijtRn_056D00glfKFitDwYKuCRe9aozwmeXoFZCgSyjJRRpf7cNg28mqJZ5hc_cE5CY3_6XQp1HXQ7aTbCZCQZUeR3tYA7Oel3sLX6sY2zVMu1nrd6W41fxCU/s1600/DSCN1422+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1175" data-original-width="1600" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjestzuiRPQQt1kHUsmgeijtRn_056D00glfKFitDwYKuCRe9aozwmeXoFZCgSyjJRRpf7cNg28mqJZ5hc_cE5CY3_6XQp1HXQ7aTbCZCQZUeR3tYA7Oel3sLX6sY2zVMu1nrd6W41fxCU/s640/DSCN1422+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wow. For many museums the issue
is often how do you create space to display all the items you have in storage
that visitors might wish to see? Well the CMNH has come up with a novel way of
achieving this, double-stacking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_QyYrL1mzoxulGezQ8I7puRmptZLMeLT6KRuxj63IwAxiHMB2wGOdqe35MkdpYe4DcY2iUmlbUfOqsTDFidGBhc9fFfYcaxC-W_Rai4_oBLhQq8MZkgWfCDUknxBqRF02AM8s48yoTE/s1600/DSCN1424+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_QyYrL1mzoxulGezQ8I7puRmptZLMeLT6KRuxj63IwAxiHMB2wGOdqe35MkdpYe4DcY2iUmlbUfOqsTDFidGBhc9fFfYcaxC-W_Rai4_oBLhQq8MZkgWfCDUknxBqRF02AM8s48yoTE/s640/DSCN1424+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Though this room is not the
largest, it has a high ceiling, and so it seems the exhibits designers hit on
the novel idea of just stacking one exhibit on top of another. This is a unique
approach, and yes there are other museums that have done something similar,
none have taken it to this extent. I personally loved it, it was almost like
looking at a children’s popup book, with each angle creating a new way to see
the items displayed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUabOxl14JkPs05LdzkT-tW1ISheIQAH2IajzF5zGs2G4RLlzaMLUz57ZxeTB6Em91UDi8_J24IPL1lJruohFLmIBvq1eZvYJnBZRVRDS-C7sqILeboPVjo5iDulDMnVu-iT9iJsC44Do/s1600/DSCN1487+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="1600" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUabOxl14JkPs05LdzkT-tW1ISheIQAH2IajzF5zGs2G4RLlzaMLUz57ZxeTB6Em91UDi8_J24IPL1lJruohFLmIBvq1eZvYJnBZRVRDS-C7sqILeboPVjo5iDulDMnVu-iT9iJsC44Do/s400/DSCN1487+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The display cleverly uses animals
in dynamic poses, cultural backgrounds, and recreated environments – placed within
the continents or surroundings where they live. This sort of display also
creates something new, a two tier visit dynamic. While some are busy looking at
the items on display within the lower cabinets, others move into the middle of
the room so they can see what is above better. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Z3g5zT-XDo9ogWvUBbfRu4lA5AZoK0Oq0fxmyPXgC5lqSMWxDduuRkHM9CScm0sCCUhi-9VRldJc4ge2CNn0akLr4GRyiIavrOzWi3J73_hrB45SkrvKjYO7Y1JG1Ujl1PIi4mF2zxA/s1600/DSCN1492+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1600" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Z3g5zT-XDo9ogWvUBbfRu4lA5AZoK0Oq0fxmyPXgC5lqSMWxDduuRkHM9CScm0sCCUhi-9VRldJc4ge2CNn0akLr4GRyiIavrOzWi3J73_hrB45SkrvKjYO7Y1JG1Ujl1PIi4mF2zxA/s640/DSCN1492+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Apparently these displays date back several decades and have not been upgraded, they were just so well done the first time around that they have been kept. This is a surprise to me as they really did feel new and cutting edge.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At various times there were also staff members walking around with live animals that visitors could interact with. This included a snapping turtle and a skunk that comes out at set times throughout the day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvqRWI_sPkiPcHz9WmN1UCJAo6CnjgeFpuKU0yPptAdJ5QP-wBAjqEMFyihHJ2r9F-GpqNVnntDDSknat5OyP3wcE-8jQUt7Bm-FUK0TKWWlGlOSpeU8PfuUPbulYSq3zeuLuUOuu6RQ/s1600/DSCN1485+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1600" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvqRWI_sPkiPcHz9WmN1UCJAo6CnjgeFpuKU0yPptAdJ5QP-wBAjqEMFyihHJ2r9F-GpqNVnntDDSknat5OyP3wcE-8jQUt7Bm-FUK0TKWWlGlOSpeU8PfuUPbulYSq3zeuLuUOuu6RQ/s640/DSCN1485+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ohio Archaeology and Human
Origins Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWlS_uch3Lcwlwi-2f5N7SIpiMbj3dO_Lr2pJBCBU9swlcJJE89ZGQ4RzHasXjv9PsBlBHcms_W2sraruaY3rFmbrv8drI3eZ2S5uxHLLZB3KQ_sIPevR6T2DSAbUlZqbgDvtMzVvuo48/s1600/DSCN1508+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWlS_uch3Lcwlwi-2f5N7SIpiMbj3dO_Lr2pJBCBU9swlcJJE89ZGQ4RzHasXjv9PsBlBHcms_W2sraruaY3rFmbrv8drI3eZ2S5uxHLLZB3KQ_sIPevR6T2DSAbUlZqbgDvtMzVvuo48/s320/DSCN1508+%25282%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A small display of local archaeological
items leads you towards the end of your visit inside with a visit to the
museums new Human Origins gallery. The CMNH has a long history of anthropology and
primatology and its collection is vast. The Human Origins Gallery is one of those
that has recently been upgraded, and focuses on Lucy, that tiny little Australopithecus
that had been unearthed by the museum’s curator, Donald Johanson, and his team
in 1874 while they were exploring Ethiopia. This was arguably the world’s most
famous anthropology discovery and a real feather in the museum’s cap – so its
no wonder this display was one of the first to get an upgrade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtlEr9OabjX3GbkbYqZymkVJCLw14uJE56E83d9XnL0W2IHXB-gSXhPVWKIdAgIq_904RELfUXauaLYblIO0SZfQ1gOD2LtbwwRdtCHNks3klAA63vG2ixgWXhZWb4mTLB2I8AshPc5Y/s1600/DSCN1500+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1582" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtlEr9OabjX3GbkbYqZymkVJCLw14uJE56E83d9XnL0W2IHXB-gSXhPVWKIdAgIq_904RELfUXauaLYblIO0SZfQ1gOD2LtbwwRdtCHNks3klAA63vG2ixgWXhZWb4mTLB2I8AshPc5Y/s320/DSCN1500+%25282%2529.JPG" width="316" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As with most African fossils of
this sort, the originals are stored in Ethiopia, but a displayed replica
skeleton cast from the original bones is on display, standing alongside a lifelike
sculpture created by renowned paleoartist, John Gurche. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And that was about it for our
visit. There are many other places to explore in the museum, such as a walk
through the Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden (which I missed
due to the rain).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Overall, the museum deserves its
place in the top ten US natural history museums and I encourage you all to
visit and say hi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0AItgdSmmzgUsSX6SaUs6bbw16H526eKV-hagrqkrz7qW0YNV32FqVgKDPgq2JCkf4lBvGBOxWtuiIOrmDZ7jZ-EXBUpj4QTMjbVI0LRUJuB6FaTiO1XgQL5hVME6ddfP5QnAlR_6hYo/s1600/DSCN1243+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="1600" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0AItgdSmmzgUsSX6SaUs6bbw16H526eKV-hagrqkrz7qW0YNV32FqVgKDPgq2JCkf4lBvGBOxWtuiIOrmDZ7jZ-EXBUpj4QTMjbVI0LRUJuB6FaTiO1XgQL5hVME6ddfP5QnAlR_6hYo/s640/DSCN1243+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Other items either soon to be
placed on display or I missed due to time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 63.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">BALTO - The hero dog of Nome, Alaska, who in
1925 helped led a team of sled dogs through the snow to this distant outpost,
carrying much needed medical supplies.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Nathan and Fannye Shafran Planetarium &
Ralph Mueller Observatory. Here you can learn about astronomy and on certain
nights visit the observatory to peer at the universe (check their website for opening
times). </span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> On the way back into the city there is a fantastic whale mural that covers a large building, so keep an eye out for that. </span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 63.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 63.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL99xSi_aw-gZkEPhBlG8vyMgdqnO65lD4h2SMFClPdog71q6JwtBfXw3TB0nllDoSZRYVPuHa2drgG9OUm9cyN3gX37Mwq50PfG5djzfLq2JsSNpjxIiYGm8CTmaxy4_b5H_5rljN7VY/s1600/DSCN1557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL99xSi_aw-gZkEPhBlG8vyMgdqnO65lD4h2SMFClPdog71q6JwtBfXw3TB0nllDoSZRYVPuHa2drgG9OUm9cyN3gX37Mwq50PfG5djzfLq2JsSNpjxIiYGm8CTmaxy4_b5H_5rljN7VY/s640/DSCN1557.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6WlscSs8aRrPj4JtSen_7gqkrfNVbJ_BM0o2Mct-iEIml3Om1a53iQyJYWW9aiGoLEK7cPvsijKmRHHWhSFQTDuPUkwMLbGvXl2RrXHVsfmorIKZt-sGzTPUhp4IhJ0m1n-i1wnxVd8/s1600/DSCN0996+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="1600" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6WlscSs8aRrPj4JtSen_7gqkrfNVbJ_BM0o2Mct-iEIml3Om1a53iQyJYWW9aiGoLEK7cPvsijKmRHHWhSFQTDuPUkwMLbGvXl2RrXHVsfmorIKZt-sGzTPUhp4IhJ0m1n-i1wnxVd8/s640/DSCN0996+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com01 Wade Oval Dr, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA41.511522 -81.61288000000001815.9894875 -122.92147400000002 67.0335565 -40.304286000000019tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-8624003764119952372018-01-03T14:01:00.001-08:002018-01-04T07:18:34.683-08:00Indiana State Museum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs-8cfuMGBdiA3KyEDeDSoH_c0FQdlH6YjDrCojtInA9znmsRtXdYbX9A8qY5Zvsx1J6NgmhBmcN6kMt_wQmEppbbOMmZ1t5b2JAMAidpXvAuFC5pVW_CFj7UtQs-areDxIdN2PdzF_s/s1600/Indiana_State_Museum_Nick81aku.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs-8cfuMGBdiA3KyEDeDSoH_c0FQdlH6YjDrCojtInA9znmsRtXdYbX9A8qY5Zvsx1J6NgmhBmcN6kMt_wQmEppbbOMmZ1t5b2JAMAidpXvAuFC5pVW_CFj7UtQs-areDxIdN2PdzF_s/s1600/Indiana_State_Museum_Nick81aku.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Image: wikipedia- by <a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Nick81aku" style="background: none rgb(248, 249, 250); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.6px; text-align: start;" title="en:User:Nick81aku">Nick81aku</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you were to visit
Indianapolis with fossils on your mind, you’d likely find yourself at the
Children’s Museum (and I will get to that in another post); but there is
another museum in the city that you should not miss.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Though the Indiana State Museum does not get
the press of its (not so local) neighbour, it should…or maybe I should say it
will as some of its paleo displays are currently undergoing an upgrade and when
completed will be amazing. Though these displays are still months from competition,
I was lucky enough to get an early bird look, but more about this later.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZpSmidLnhnplz1PNxMZ1FvHIUiKV1U4OSH_dJ2hTPx30Bnjufm5d1oap6SjOAwdCmQhEkrR-bGQd55OUXAtjCE2T_iwU4NscYfV0-Jz-wmc1bk3u4ggP5rStWQ6tUWo1v829fr0k-Ns/s1600/DSCN7396+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1501" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZpSmidLnhnplz1PNxMZ1FvHIUiKV1U4OSH_dJ2hTPx30Bnjufm5d1oap6SjOAwdCmQhEkrR-bGQd55OUXAtjCE2T_iwU4NscYfV0-Jz-wmc1bk3u4ggP5rStWQ6tUWo1v829fr0k-Ns/s320/DSCN7396+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The collection
itself dates back to the American Civil War, and for a short time it was housed
in the state capital, before growing and changing locations a number of times
until it found a home in its new, state of the art building in 2002.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The building
itself is in the White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis, and is
located near the Indianapolis Zoo, White River Gardens and the Eiteljorg Museum
of American Indians and Western Art.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had been in
contact with the museum before I arrived and showed up and met the newly
appointed Director of Communication, Hannah Keifer. She had a surprise for us,
our own chaperon for the paleo side of the museum, the curator of palaeontology
Ronald L. Richards, who was a total delight and a gentleman.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn21ByrORPkiMrzGn6eKNGRpQl7ZPlJyrpmWBPrNDb0hvz1Vtocqt4bxk-v_E8nWRuhyphenhyphen7cdKlnhtHsc85lTFiS6J8S0GjCHqqmplZo3E6lz2Rm2KoC1S0LvfNQUXUA31xkJbGs3wWqjY8/s1600/DSCN7358+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="1600" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn21ByrORPkiMrzGn6eKNGRpQl7ZPlJyrpmWBPrNDb0hvz1Vtocqt4bxk-v_E8nWRuhyphenhyphen7cdKlnhtHsc85lTFiS6J8S0GjCHqqmplZo3E6lz2Rm2KoC1S0LvfNQUXUA31xkJbGs3wWqjY8/s640/DSCN7358+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our first stop
was visiting the under construction displays of the Ice Age and Prehistoric
Native America, and though there is still a few months of work to be done, the exhibition
is already looking great and will be a real highlight of any visit.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wcaNFl73qHKrUmBSbcN661jXzaFr4LH997NSVch2H4sGhLhYY-8Pxju11oBr-j09_dieoCsnU04Bcehssh8P9rBWkKh7SFNQTuymCI5Cj7YqRw_pzpC8kgKQ1wu65t_z4LfMfWU81bk/s1600/DSCN7367+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1600" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wcaNFl73qHKrUmBSbcN661jXzaFr4LH997NSVch2H4sGhLhYY-8Pxju11oBr-j09_dieoCsnU04Bcehssh8P9rBWkKh7SFNQTuymCI5Cj7YqRw_pzpC8kgKQ1wu65t_z4LfMfWU81bk/s640/DSCN7367+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUIsanFM9CY4a-Z8vwJR-Py7C5u5wcsYuteEI3cDOzOIaMSJ_CZWYDzikNIC7FBW9BR5AVWs7O4bBnPu88qEZ9qpwdS0MtMzTqaQWMWgKl5UOtjruPOpiAiScyeGGPBRH-r7El9UO9A8/s1600/DSCN7371+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1423" data-original-width="1600" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUIsanFM9CY4a-Z8vwJR-Py7C5u5wcsYuteEI3cDOzOIaMSJ_CZWYDzikNIC7FBW9BR5AVWs7O4bBnPu88qEZ9qpwdS0MtMzTqaQWMWgKl5UOtjruPOpiAiScyeGGPBRH-r7El9UO9A8/s320/DSCN7371+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Though no
dinosaurs have been found in the state, there is a wealth of Ice Age animals,
especially mastodons. This gallery will be fantastic and many of the specimens
are already in place. It is like an Ice Age Greatest Hits with giant bison,
smilodon, Short Face Bears, peccaries, rhinos, giant sloths and of course a
number of locally found mastodons. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LISczODZU4wV73PxjaunPg5kUo2fTqPCpp84l5dp-NAa6j5I7ofnrEFMt62kMkf88suNnbZl5Zlew0LWZMYMmxG6dYiXFePYGJ9735Akme1J-Io9h0BonfTtmMuYuDXjqIrhDvBlMkA/s1600/DSCN7345+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1404" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LISczODZU4wV73PxjaunPg5kUo2fTqPCpp84l5dp-NAa6j5I7ofnrEFMt62kMkf88suNnbZl5Zlew0LWZMYMmxG6dYiXFePYGJ9735Akme1J-Io9h0BonfTtmMuYuDXjqIrhDvBlMkA/s320/DSCN7345+%25282%2529.JPG" width="280" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The star of the museum
will be Fred the Mastodon, and how do I know Fred the Mastodon will be the star
you ask? Because good ol’ Fred has his own twitter account (@FredIndiana).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The specimen went through a very unusual (but
clever) way of fundraising the new renovations by selling off Fred’s bones. People
could purchase (sponsor) a bone from $20, or the skull for $20,000, and the money
raised went to building the display.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZXnW5tr0PZK3I7Ema2ADY3Ov7TIv83SbVRi8NXaX4xVIhNkUOApokN3FkK3sMQoDvZH1sQMrMYRC2uqV89SF6o4Q6U3l2bafaVMtmwymAsQa7hxq_HRdEm-ZRBKPmCjP8jA8NOCXAJgQ/s1600/DSCN7510+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="1600" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZXnW5tr0PZK3I7Ema2ADY3Ov7TIv83SbVRi8NXaX4xVIhNkUOApokN3FkK3sMQoDvZH1sQMrMYRC2uqV89SF6o4Q6U3l2bafaVMtmwymAsQa7hxq_HRdEm-ZRBKPmCjP8jA8NOCXAJgQ/s640/DSCN7510+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">Much like Sue
the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-indent: 27pt;">T.rex</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">, Fred’s organically wrought
iron frame has been intricately designed, so I am looking forward to seeing
images when the mastodon is finally put back together.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcEUBGkYOMH1fVBdIRO4KbR4uIwjRVlyZTXpFPlOsKvKR03AkRhceFIV24bkE1n_pvgdR6PJc6UuDWl2aoQQvlXBRPNjtvR35SesmX8_p4PfOHSwvaH9kdJtm2G-SQUwU_KDE1_kg5xHU/s1600/DSCN7350+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1498" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcEUBGkYOMH1fVBdIRO4KbR4uIwjRVlyZTXpFPlOsKvKR03AkRhceFIV24bkE1n_pvgdR6PJc6UuDWl2aoQQvlXBRPNjtvR35SesmX8_p4PfOHSwvaH9kdJtm2G-SQUwU_KDE1_kg5xHU/s320/DSCN7350+%25282%2529.JPG" width="299" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ron showed us Fred,
who partly was under wraps (literally) and partly dissembled on tables all
about the room, and he pointed out some pathologies on the side of the skull. I
also noted that, unlike almost all dinosaur skeletons you see mounted, between
the vertebra of Fred were large disks of cartilage, meaning once rebuilt it
will be one of the most life-like mounts you will see.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaBw6DoAp9cfbrgj1KcGVrh2avn9PHmhAyWa5bH-YxJ_HeXBlxNAegkkHbp46aLd2O8cEnHYuwprUkKK-41JhNj90VluApzFcv0nfq_WsciI3itN3bU48uWBE0W39ncG9POj3OXyNylQ/s1600/DSCN7355+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1600" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaBw6DoAp9cfbrgj1KcGVrh2avn9PHmhAyWa5bH-YxJ_HeXBlxNAegkkHbp46aLd2O8cEnHYuwprUkKK-41JhNj90VluApzFcv0nfq_WsciI3itN3bU48uWBE0W39ncG9POj3OXyNylQ/s640/DSCN7355+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">Rarely do you
get the opportunity to get this close to such a specimen….so I took it.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfCvv8LM4vpqRbEe29r8_TbSbXUme92Z8-2HCWaldTfT-xqdT_d3hAddeaun_B2PsMMy_12UQQKdXK7b55eepDbHoQLSzWtl3TiplhueiMFjT2-BZOx6IFIvngvhLb9m7O_AztdzFr2o/s1600/DSCN7366+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1600" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfCvv8LM4vpqRbEe29r8_TbSbXUme92Z8-2HCWaldTfT-xqdT_d3hAddeaun_B2PsMMy_12UQQKdXK7b55eepDbHoQLSzWtl3TiplhueiMFjT2-BZOx6IFIvngvhLb9m7O_AztdzFr2o/s640/DSCN7366+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the completed
displays we got a peek at was a life-size mammoth that had fallen into a frozen
pond and is struggling to escape. Apparently, this was a necessary rebuild of
an older display as the original version made the mammoth look like it was
sitting in a jacuzzi, and was a source of great mirth with visitors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The mural behind
is first class, and hidden throughout the wild-scape are a number of other
critters that the eagle-eyed amongst you may spot.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRczyCYISXF6Vpu5R3MAHADGyM1G5WtKhA25DPDLki1S1gy1Ys2nT3reYLJZ8lSMAsmaBwTCENvxLrI8P9NAIm0JfkcrfnZaBI7HlyzukXyYm-PThyaEGv6U_OgTpLIHTDWQBLz3OG04c/s1600/DSCN7360+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRczyCYISXF6Vpu5R3MAHADGyM1G5WtKhA25DPDLki1S1gy1Ys2nT3reYLJZ8lSMAsmaBwTCENvxLrI8P9NAIm0JfkcrfnZaBI7HlyzukXyYm-PThyaEGv6U_OgTpLIHTDWQBLz3OG04c/s640/DSCN7360+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">The museum will
also display the Hebior Mammoth, a rarity as this specimen was unearthed with
clear signs of being butchered by Paleo-Indians. I assume this is a cast as I
am pretty sure the original is at the Milwaukee Public Museum – which I will
cover in a later article…</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYfPB6rTIoiwxajOuF3_R302kfAxt4ogdntSr5B3eDqMhv2C3PUEzQMEvN9D4xcmS6iz4TA269DHe-W0k8DAmnAADE8ucC4Mt0gqHNSDoveYgJAMs9fNXk9vwFGgqnc73zS4hatp8Xuws/s1600/DSCN7372+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1103" data-original-width="1600" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYfPB6rTIoiwxajOuF3_R302kfAxt4ogdntSr5B3eDqMhv2C3PUEzQMEvN9D4xcmS6iz4TA269DHe-W0k8DAmnAADE8ucC4Mt0gqHNSDoveYgJAMs9fNXk9vwFGgqnc73zS4hatp8Xuws/s640/DSCN7372+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">…and the hits
kept coming. Ron showed us through another section of the display and revealed a
new cave system that has been built for visitors to walk through. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRm25EGFGIFdEI3rj4MU5FomsFtqVjfPAx3H5WanxLltghdlN2HgXl4qTPVMnWa13OLbNjyOysTdPINEn_GQnVmPXWt-hni4dEMmc2FxD9oJgj5ArXozqLKoLQsA3MUUYfj9NM0Rj3QM/s1600/DSCN7383+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1370" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRm25EGFGIFdEI3rj4MU5FomsFtqVjfPAx3H5WanxLltghdlN2HgXl4qTPVMnWa13OLbNjyOysTdPINEn_GQnVmPXWt-hni4dEMmc2FxD9oJgj5ArXozqLKoLQsA3MUUYfj9NM0Rj3QM/s320/DSCN7383+%25282%2529.JPG" width="274" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The quality of
this display is extraordinarily high, and so exact that the builders actually
took molds of the original cave, so the build is an exact replica. The fossils
that the crew from the museum had found while working this geological formation
are to be placed in the exact location where they were unearthed - and most of
these were already there for you to peer at through fissures in the rock.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKCFUFlaPkTRB95Ua8W63bC3Ql61L8c-M7fXNuKQF7EmyPvBRfJEvopYYvXe-fx6jVR0koMHJRpDG6s3C8nbGdEFmgb5S-fhykd8z9sQJc3eZewqkJ1_ko7gQKLBZN0xYZpUkR18Exa4/s1600/DSCN7384+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="938" data-original-width="1600" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKCFUFlaPkTRB95Ua8W63bC3Ql61L8c-M7fXNuKQF7EmyPvBRfJEvopYYvXe-fx6jVR0koMHJRpDG6s3C8nbGdEFmgb5S-fhykd8z9sQJc3eZewqkJ1_ko7gQKLBZN0xYZpUkR18Exa4/s640/DSCN7384+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a><span lang="EN-AU" style="text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ron recounted he
had worked these caves with a good friend who had died, so he was taking real pride
and joy building these displays as close to the original location as he could. This
effort shines through and is important for another reason. Sadly, part of the
cave is gone now as it sits under one of the states highways, yet here, in the Indiana
State Museum, it’s been recreated for all too see.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdm3hkTqEtWvJmqXY-CYXLhsamEbL5HMWYjt83bWW4CCbXIDgUfeSigW6NY0Qr3UjgzXIRVJH0KBmsTD16Wiv_Il4ocZH5PjGBYS2sszfVCJB-7l_y8ZXukdWKahdMidXIArTNQ6Jt1w/s1600/DSCN7386+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 27pt;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="1600" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdm3hkTqEtWvJmqXY-CYXLhsamEbL5HMWYjt83bWW4CCbXIDgUfeSigW6NY0Qr3UjgzXIRVJH0KBmsTD16Wiv_Il4ocZH5PjGBYS2sszfVCJB-7l_y8ZXukdWKahdMidXIArTNQ6Jt1w/s640/DSCN7386+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Leaving these
caves, you enter a tunnel running through a glacier, representing the Ice that
once stood over the state, and standing about this are the creatures they have evidence
that once lived there, such as musk ox, and its accurate down the plants.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxbUTsXeb4GIpCB9EeqqfbF7ZmAm4N3w39nteV0lOpYvN34xATrsoysowUrpTMatjcTc1vWKadzNxJH8_L8b4mpSsWAVCt7f56BuEPDmq6v-1MbUGWuYUL3wQkjyhPwEgch9tc2Y2Ny1A/s1600/DSCN7388+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1600" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxbUTsXeb4GIpCB9EeqqfbF7ZmAm4N3w39nteV0lOpYvN34xATrsoysowUrpTMatjcTc1vWKadzNxJH8_L8b4mpSsWAVCt7f56BuEPDmq6v-1MbUGWuYUL3wQkjyhPwEgch9tc2Y2Ny1A/s640/DSCN7388+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a><span lang="EN-AU" style="text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I mentioned, though
there have never been any dinosaurs found in the state, Indiana has a rich
fossil history, and the next section Ron led us to was the Palaeozoic. </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6edrg7jESR8aU6OWNBd-dh7sbiTxb_uL7q0UU-RncArD44eULFuapKwb6NlG7eUMgBwLKUasJjWb3I7ldqaiaY5D8aEZX2jXybmpZ_K5-3MIGVaot9tDm1PD4zZ2gyt7ymocYED_tRNQ/s1600/DSCN7390+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 27pt;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1600" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6edrg7jESR8aU6OWNBd-dh7sbiTxb_uL7q0UU-RncArD44eULFuapKwb6NlG7eUMgBwLKUasJjWb3I7ldqaiaY5D8aEZX2jXybmpZ_K5-3MIGVaot9tDm1PD4zZ2gyt7ymocYED_tRNQ/s640/DSCN7390+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6edrg7jESR8aU6OWNBd-dh7sbiTxb_uL7q0UU-RncArD44eULFuapKwb6NlG7eUMgBwLKUasJjWb3I7ldqaiaY5D8aEZX2jXybmpZ_K5-3MIGVaot9tDm1PD4zZ2gyt7ymocYED_tRNQ/s1600/DSCN7390+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Soaring above
and surrounding the display of crinoids, corals, amphibian trackways, ferns and
<i>Lepidodendron</i> trunks are columns and
walls cut from the very rocks that make up the region, creating one of the more
interesting geological displays I have seen.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbn5Aobxkprohp6b23Tk8WX7DJCrzoZu-silNhlzzPc7BiuVP5dJvIxbJ8pu5D7WbY6nJd09BXRI5c2TYdclYBsrbhnY718yCGrBJHaKFx75DpuZKxYXkh7FV2w-TE2xYYb0HoeT7yXDE/s1600/DSCN7408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbn5Aobxkprohp6b23Tk8WX7DJCrzoZu-silNhlzzPc7BiuVP5dJvIxbJ8pu5D7WbY6nJd09BXRI5c2TYdclYBsrbhnY718yCGrBJHaKFx75DpuZKxYXkh7FV2w-TE2xYYb0HoeT7yXDE/s320/DSCN7408.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As this museum
has several floors, it is possible to get above this display and look down on how
stones like these were mined and moved, and its this sort of clever use of
space that I really enjoy. Why use a exhibition for one educational purpose
when it can represent a number of ideas and facts. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWUMUFRqE2V9mRxiN5-wNCe6GUFgthLrRXq2iYJYVclAV8MVgVnX4XhkNDAg8kugXb5ZzSObDoiY-ioRTfkxYt4CtNV2SOBywP1ERNedP_RbxaXkkL2hvLjvDB3SHih8LG_esmzJV7gU/s1600/DSCN7406+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="1600" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWUMUFRqE2V9mRxiN5-wNCe6GUFgthLrRXq2iYJYVclAV8MVgVnX4XhkNDAg8kugXb5ZzSObDoiY-ioRTfkxYt4CtNV2SOBywP1ERNedP_RbxaXkkL2hvLjvDB3SHih8LG_esmzJV7gU/s640/DSCN7406+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NR2CFii7FlLBjQi69sh2xnZ7xGnwAjRvv_La__p7Xoq0nQgKqrQQUw7pCuiTC8AMee6GOR5IRdUVCyhGVRpDB2r5zubtQSdkqZGJWhUCCGVOcnSoDhqO6FsM3ZK69IhnkqfQsu8RZmc/s1600/DSCN7409+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="898" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NR2CFii7FlLBjQi69sh2xnZ7xGnwAjRvv_La__p7Xoq0nQgKqrQQUw7pCuiTC8AMee6GOR5IRdUVCyhGVRpDB2r5zubtQSdkqZGJWhUCCGVOcnSoDhqO6FsM3ZK69IhnkqfQsu8RZmc/s400/DSCN7409+%25282%2529.JPG" width="223" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Swimming above
your head as you walk between these geological columns are some of the life-size
monsters that once populated Indiana’s ancient seas. A clawed Eurypterids is
diving, while behind an enormous nautoloid, maybe 10ft long, is jetting around
the corner into the display. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">As you come around
one corner is the largest predator of the Devonian seas, <i>Dunkleosteus</i>,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"> built into one of the more ingenious displays I have
seen in any museum. The metal structure that holds the considerable skull in
place has been bent and forged into the body of the placoderm, giving an
effective idea of the animal’s size and body shape when alive.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTu_5_XVVZ3-q7inS3VDIm4QXpZDrRrUgb_HydDljceATBVC3aPLFiW-xXlMSXkVAE-TkHdkRdT-zFPH0y6cSdZUNKdk0g786v8XkMDP4KPS9Lkv9s0XfSG-5DSoAlHHEZr976VF8ikA/s1600/DSCN7454+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTu_5_XVVZ3-q7inS3VDIm4QXpZDrRrUgb_HydDljceATBVC3aPLFiW-xXlMSXkVAE-TkHdkRdT-zFPH0y6cSdZUNKdk0g786v8XkMDP4KPS9Lkv9s0XfSG-5DSoAlHHEZr976VF8ikA/s640/DSCN7454+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizKXjfu5SmwumQ8fIhVEfZz4APv74XN6oMmMBotdQKFtTFIciNCouy0TYIfq6P1PvcoFBmNrzCPmiwhUJD8gUbzXOIgCjtIUdaoDnXwY2wWPCIjCgKsV3XwhyphenhyphenQbuaKBDGk-ArZCVMfR8/s1600/DSCN7422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizKXjfu5SmwumQ8fIhVEfZz4APv74XN6oMmMBotdQKFtTFIciNCouy0TYIfq6P1PvcoFBmNrzCPmiwhUJD8gUbzXOIgCjtIUdaoDnXwY2wWPCIjCgKsV3XwhyphenhyphenQbuaKBDGk-ArZCVMfR8/s320/DSCN7422.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">With the museum
mostly covered, Ron still had something special for us. On the top floor is a
long corridor that leads from the museum to the office and storage area of the collection.
Here our ‘guide’ showed us some of the specimens being stored until they can go
into the new displays, as well as the work areas for processing new specimens.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtodIl9lX9jaNCV-KG7Ud8mxRS4UBF4yPZubF-4r4Mls7u8l2XZD0T0Ly0bZllaDqHHr8u_4q1Yfd9xKjDJNhcNeiX9pWqL9Cff0a-bA80Vu4qNtfJ2bpz6RX69_U132NRbJBuc4AP0i0/s1600/DSCN7434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtodIl9lX9jaNCV-KG7Ud8mxRS4UBF4yPZubF-4r4Mls7u8l2XZD0T0Ly0bZllaDqHHr8u_4q1Yfd9xKjDJNhcNeiX9pWqL9Cff0a-bA80Vu4qNtfJ2bpz6RX69_U132NRbJBuc4AP0i0/s640/DSCN7434.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAYuirnM_nawfFGFL1-p_WdY4KGOSY-6-AZw292QJy_CIQdrLc7OdGahrcx4W22cd6XXwMCVG4F9a4tIGyySMs9_lxv8NjrNO829G2xBCjapAOEKMl2eSlgz5cOqQBsVs0NJcVtgLtME/s1600/DSCN7418+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1572" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAYuirnM_nawfFGFL1-p_WdY4KGOSY-6-AZw292QJy_CIQdrLc7OdGahrcx4W22cd6XXwMCVG4F9a4tIGyySMs9_lxv8NjrNO829G2xBCjapAOEKMl2eSlgz5cOqQBsVs0NJcVtgLtME/s640/DSCN7418+%25282%2529.JPG" width="627" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">The Museum runs
its own digs and spends time sorting through the fossil material and dirt brought
back from various locations throughout the state. This includes the art work
that has been produced for the exhibit, including some wonderful pieces from famous
paleo artists such as Karen Carr.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Checking up on
Karen’s website, it notes that the “<i>Indiana
Teleoceras mural gave Karen two new opportunities: First, she was able to visit
the actual site depicted in the mural. When researching dinosaurs, almost
nothing of the original environment remains other than as strata; the
depression that created this small pond was still visible when Karen visited.
Karen has since worked on several projects allowing her to see and explore the
environments she depicts</i>.”</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnb17zXMVNRrIJt85EsefnAClgPy_rG_RRgnw6d6wOtiC1FPub871tpB91CfNoN9bfM81SG4-z4wz7LiiE33HtDF5hfxAXpn8IFYelia2vktUuChEGBkuwA-8biizkMA8NrNxOIZ9bPYE/s1600/DSCN7447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnb17zXMVNRrIJt85EsefnAClgPy_rG_RRgnw6d6wOtiC1FPub871tpB91CfNoN9bfM81SG4-z4wz7LiiE33HtDF5hfxAXpn8IFYelia2vktUuChEGBkuwA-8biizkMA8NrNxOIZ9bPYE/s640/DSCN7447.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAP13OIMu2LmW159YnyvGgjaPOfW4airwcXTH4rIBcPcS7oUtvbsDroJzRpK9UvYC7zDFSNgtmlxNdQHbi6iFZ4ry-oBF_6xg9FddIohjOWFK0d4uzcG0ZnGxlvFIZdqQvNH7fy1oEqU/s1600/DSCN7432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAP13OIMu2LmW159YnyvGgjaPOfW4airwcXTH4rIBcPcS7oUtvbsDroJzRpK9UvYC7zDFSNgtmlxNdQHbi6iFZ4ry-oBF_6xg9FddIohjOWFK0d4uzcG0ZnGxlvFIZdqQvNH7fy1oEqU/s320/DSCN7432.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Room after room we
got to see some spectacular specimens, some for display, others that have been
taken out and stored for future use. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfO1HhggQ1MrknjDVPOUlV5LYTlXTmI8u-kNYsZ7ScMw7039Kf7Qj44qfWkDdUObYn6FSqSJzVI2Hs3-uPvv-jwFbJUlIuRTZ2uhZUIo8IG2SS0bxdbyXXhkDg94v5YbYoNXp-xeNgso/s1600/DSCN7453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfO1HhggQ1MrknjDVPOUlV5LYTlXTmI8u-kNYsZ7ScMw7039Kf7Qj44qfWkDdUObYn6FSqSJzVI2Hs3-uPvv-jwFbJUlIuRTZ2uhZUIo8IG2SS0bxdbyXXhkDg94v5YbYoNXp-xeNgso/s640/DSCN7453.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNAKn0EAMAJiHGLjnTRvwef9SGQkk9lUKPVkviMjgIFAwekarKYMmVTuvP9e4br4X4R5KT7qdgR7nJ0O3lGWw6nxzMcM8Dc3Lg_hNOGXLODNV8vMdCsdoURA-ltgwaIHgvfU75cTJ7aU/s1600/DSCN7445+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="977" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNAKn0EAMAJiHGLjnTRvwef9SGQkk9lUKPVkviMjgIFAwekarKYMmVTuvP9e4br4X4R5KT7qdgR7nJ0O3lGWw6nxzMcM8Dc3Lg_hNOGXLODNV8vMdCsdoURA-ltgwaIHgvfU75cTJ7aU/s320/DSCN7445+%25282%2529.JPG" width="195" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Amongst one of
the largest stuffed bird collections I have ever seen, the museum stores the
various mammoth and mastodon remains collected over the years. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwmWlHKGrz758aNkhAPvqzn2pJ3YV8VWHPAOsY4axFFpg41QnAmDCmrmKDhvtwtSdUso6W4ohNCs_Dgn_iqkjWqYS8yo_q6CIV6HBx59C5pfWAFVKtEtaDPxqJeCuZNbuv33olsn6KlE/s1600/DSCN7446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwmWlHKGrz758aNkhAPvqzn2pJ3YV8VWHPAOsY4axFFpg41QnAmDCmrmKDhvtwtSdUso6W4ohNCs_Dgn_iqkjWqYS8yo_q6CIV6HBx59C5pfWAFVKtEtaDPxqJeCuZNbuv33olsn6KlE/s640/DSCN7446.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This includes
one of the most handsome skulls I have seen anywhere. The colour is
spectacular, and what I took to be possible marks from where plant roots had grown
through the dirt and covered the fossil Ron suggested were more likely the stains
from different minerals that filtered through the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuqTN8Y1mgiao4AaQ_2E9jVyyqU2lVmjbJZITbBDPqcpcDCULjhom6mKfO2axM5QZyrYnSCL8R3VWY6fB6shyphenhyphen54VsAj2GNU331FvG7CYOX-ZTkiE0jVlevaadkM26al-aYybFWf5xjgk/s1600/DSCN7458+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="1600" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuqTN8Y1mgiao4AaQ_2E9jVyyqU2lVmjbJZITbBDPqcpcDCULjhom6mKfO2axM5QZyrYnSCL8R3VWY6fB6shyphenhyphen54VsAj2GNU331FvG7CYOX-ZTkiE0jVlevaadkM26al-aYybFWf5xjgk/s640/DSCN7458+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKvKx-IXicT7tVJrj2U3G7YCefKv0D_FgLC7DnHUsf14moUKYrO93gp9UXCogD0Uzt1Hx-A3oeXXeJ5UPhKSJsFeDEx72Aak4EVaXhkQKWF35fpjJDRRbOXKJ0bSKGrcO5jq9KQC7YXA/s1600/DSCN7457+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKvKx-IXicT7tVJrj2U3G7YCefKv0D_FgLC7DnHUsf14moUKYrO93gp9UXCogD0Uzt1Hx-A3oeXXeJ5UPhKSJsFeDEx72Aak4EVaXhkQKWF35fpjJDRRbOXKJ0bSKGrcO5jq9KQC7YXA/s320/DSCN7457+%25282%2529.JPG" width="262" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of my
favourite specimens here (that I believe will be heading back out soon) is a
complete Dire Wolf skeleton. What’s unusual about this specimen is that at some
point the rear left leg had been dislocated, and the wear on the hip bone shows
it was an old injury, meaning the predator must have been in pain for some time
before its death. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyaxClhKuCVneVwzy3t9vVmPJr1lLd2-3eXZm3bcOiPf4mFj-tAjLlHHRzeZSwlhFDZ58xDI8Z5Y_r8nHhT-5MmXrzdERpK-fJ8sqMIlhcW9NPmFui7dH5lC_DtBXnB7W1NYXE0sNRDoQ/s1600/DSCN7461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyaxClhKuCVneVwzy3t9vVmPJr1lLd2-3eXZm3bcOiPf4mFj-tAjLlHHRzeZSwlhFDZ58xDI8Z5Y_r8nHhT-5MmXrzdERpK-fJ8sqMIlhcW9NPmFui7dH5lC_DtBXnB7W1NYXE0sNRDoQ/s640/DSCN7461.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpO0RSC0RjIcqMqxJXYynt6rqNXCQpNr5-_W3TaZ0EUcX4YP98TfI0Iu5cCYybl_99kbDwqDcl4yvRVi7uwS9GVcKEzOdwGVz_5tPOzwFcuojs_jZrHK8oJs83QSYCq6NIBZm46XmVg90/s1600/DSCN7462+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1475" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpO0RSC0RjIcqMqxJXYynt6rqNXCQpNr5-_W3TaZ0EUcX4YP98TfI0Iu5cCYybl_99kbDwqDcl4yvRVi7uwS9GVcKEzOdwGVz_5tPOzwFcuojs_jZrHK8oJs83QSYCq6NIBZm46XmVg90/s320/DSCN7462+%25282%2529.JPG" width="294" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The museum also
has a large archaeological collection, and amongst the small, hand crafted clay
figurines lay some remarkable fossil bear teeth that had been modified by
paleo-indians that Ron proudly showed off - and rightly so as they are stunning.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRdjyvNI2KIXo7b64WCfrQtKk1SdVAol17qduyjwgXhlImDGC-IMtiHlI3t4VeYrinlfqFJsoIUxU0AiqYQJWpcE4lbnFhohOkvHK9MxhHd67cWkW5me0FB69A_80d6rK3ZYkdMptNYb8/s1600/DSCN7471+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1600" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRdjyvNI2KIXo7b64WCfrQtKk1SdVAol17qduyjwgXhlImDGC-IMtiHlI3t4VeYrinlfqFJsoIUxU0AiqYQJWpcE4lbnFhohOkvHK9MxhHd67cWkW5me0FB69A_80d6rK3ZYkdMptNYb8/s640/DSCN7471+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ywubPKqesX6qiUqELHqEucyOAeHsPkpFAEtUwWU0PFmGYbUzhxaFikDQI45u80RxtqmIEJE1X28RHNGbmQUct6U_fslZvkgYHRl8Bzs_I985ibzBQI_CAoQFB4ukPCXIM3iDlXOdLsw/s1600/DSCN7472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ywubPKqesX6qiUqELHqEucyOAeHsPkpFAEtUwWU0PFmGYbUzhxaFikDQI45u80RxtqmIEJE1X28RHNGbmQUct6U_fslZvkgYHRl8Bzs_I985ibzBQI_CAoQFB4ukPCXIM3iDlXOdLsw/s320/DSCN7472.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We thanked Ron
for being so generous with his time, and I ducked away to check out the rest of
the museum. There is a second geology/earth/universe display (Birth of the
Earth), containing ancient specimens such as tiger iron from Western Australia
and a 3D global screen of the Moon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9QltXRhyxLissQkiWgFUaIIDnFUyhh8kG2a842RcNz86xA9Jw33iuB9bT4lrYsbdiB-MHQuBKuEDEPZilXD9fuQE_ehqArY9LMBq2p9d2HdFcSMsBwNh5PnpubHF8rJbHgV7w21bVWY/s1600/DSCN7485+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="1600" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9QltXRhyxLissQkiWgFUaIIDnFUyhh8kG2a842RcNz86xA9Jw33iuB9bT4lrYsbdiB-MHQuBKuEDEPZilXD9fuQE_ehqArY9LMBq2p9d2HdFcSMsBwNh5PnpubHF8rJbHgV7w21bVWY/s640/DSCN7485+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhqJU2e3EpFw0117O9l5KDg3a6A-fNL9PWA0r6OJJ2_Ef49u-q7A9784LTG66xAOcfgOL7GAOha5vmKWAusXv6q1mH7nEbmf6T39a85sVD1xtAs4MYZmcfhaLiUjp0BCrf846wlCkXMQ/s1600/DSCN7489+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1399" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhqJU2e3EpFw0117O9l5KDg3a6A-fNL9PWA0r6OJJ2_Ef49u-q7A9784LTG66xAOcfgOL7GAOha5vmKWAusXv6q1mH7nEbmf6T39a85sVD1xtAs4MYZmcfhaLiUjp0BCrf846wlCkXMQ/s320/DSCN7489+%25282%2529.JPG" width="279" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next was a
recently renovated and opened display about the states modern wildlife. These
were exceptionally well crafted, and I was surprised to see that among all
this, there was a single animatronic (or perhaps some sort of solar powered
display) of a small butterfly that flapped its wings as it sat high on a fallen
tree. A nice little feature that most would likely miss unless you were looking
hard.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw1GJC8K7INQSZEgd1zwAeR8hbb9eToS35zy_ZESproJfgiqzdoiFHP9fsz2Rl-Cu7HNn0_XFexNXza2vjCFA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6W2VUu_aTnkNb6GUA7t7SVRyN6MUrMqDmOobtY1aTHmxelP-VSLIcC38uZwnHwaFSwOjBf2rgURaFgI2dDsqg3ZZiNV-LFXnpeat-IHC54bIEHolDAFKTCggx75t179ZPAGZbUlupbM/s1600/DSCN7490+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6W2VUu_aTnkNb6GUA7t7SVRyN6MUrMqDmOobtY1aTHmxelP-VSLIcC38uZwnHwaFSwOjBf2rgURaFgI2dDsqg3ZZiNV-LFXnpeat-IHC54bIEHolDAFKTCggx75t179ZPAGZbUlupbM/s320/DSCN7490+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">Coming from a
small museum, where we constantly struggle for space, one thing that really struck
me was the size of this museum and the luxury they have for displays. This is
not a crowded museum, instead you get to walk around from gallery to gallery,
floor to floor – often with sky bridges connecting one area to another - and it
gives a real sense you were exploring the location.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4iWN6xSuWvFCR55gbFoOGCkhMS72i7F_7seHBREleBlUICfH7F1vdkY_GnHtR9mvjEQ1Us2nU493tTGnr0YRumgY-wxZGfI4KlSGJO-b8smJ480NsBtyJpy_PQI9PWidDi7G1mZs7E4I/s1600/DSCN7495+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1600" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4iWN6xSuWvFCR55gbFoOGCkhMS72i7F_7seHBREleBlUICfH7F1vdkY_GnHtR9mvjEQ1Us2nU493tTGnr0YRumgY-wxZGfI4KlSGJO-b8smJ480NsBtyJpy_PQI9PWidDi7G1mZs7E4I/s640/DSCN7495+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-OLDO1s9ewMRE_Xs1US3T41QTgiMgFm576hbvulpJDwDQsu4NeOan9sfXJb4Sl0P6CzkUbwF7GiqQEF0gZNgJNINM8SyEcDw7ydp8Jqt7omV_56XTTave7BSdMg-AMqN2EORaGlvZ0Y/s1600/DSCN7467+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1561" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-OLDO1s9ewMRE_Xs1US3T41QTgiMgFm576hbvulpJDwDQsu4NeOan9sfXJb4Sl0P6CzkUbwF7GiqQEF0gZNgJNINM8SyEcDw7ydp8Jqt7omV_56XTTave7BSdMg-AMqN2EORaGlvZ0Y/s320/DSCN7467+%25282%2529.JPG" width="312" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In these you
will find exhibits about the nation’s 19<sup>th</sup> state, local industries,
politics and heritage; local artists and what it means to be a Hoosier, if I Hooiser
you may be. There is also an IMAX cinema attached to the building and, at the
time, a crazy little exhibit on Star Wars masks that had been modified by artists.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjo84BUxkqW0DVyB9c38Vq2fcujnjQhK0cB159QQ1pPg5oD1z3dfpAqludteEH4t-YYj5ajGVTs8YMWWKeGr5l0nZFPLwhRBK2ZXWbWMk10lqNGHx49x68kRy6HFQIDOpSaa-wVlyUrWs/s1600/DSCN7487+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="1600" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjo84BUxkqW0DVyB9c38Vq2fcujnjQhK0cB159QQ1pPg5oD1z3dfpAqludteEH4t-YYj5ajGVTs8YMWWKeGr5l0nZFPLwhRBK2ZXWbWMk10lqNGHx49x68kRy6HFQIDOpSaa-wVlyUrWs/s640/DSCN7487+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I liked the museum a lot, and will hopefully
get back there when the new display is finished, and I can see the final product.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYp2oJZkt_GCOjLhS6yQ3GCAvd1Ji8RoJvuWS9gq25tozZHMFhjm1H0iluRq1hEaA0R498jOL3nn6AafGwKLKl7GlPNf8pg6RkCkESgKUTjFO7gI3Uv4I6KEY2uMU0zWMhr6H0569vEd8/s1600/DSCN7431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYp2oJZkt_GCOjLhS6yQ3GCAvd1Ji8RoJvuWS9gq25tozZHMFhjm1H0iluRq1hEaA0R498jOL3nn6AafGwKLKl7GlPNf8pg6RkCkESgKUTjFO7gI3Uv4I6KEY2uMU0zWMhr6H0569vEd8/s640/DSCN7431.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IW2CjfDSjL5buZ-5MibZl4u30zhr0C2p6aFU-_dnf8aSz2T19QvlX5VqIdKKYx9xauMRc4pIOFY3ysSBQ63EvRe9ZX_EvwEAOnPXUzVusIa9W0iU5MUPtdiMIGfija1qbkE9aCZCnpM/s1600/DSCN7430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IW2CjfDSjL5buZ-5MibZl4u30zhr0C2p6aFU-_dnf8aSz2T19QvlX5VqIdKKYx9xauMRc4pIOFY3ysSBQ63EvRe9ZX_EvwEAOnPXUzVusIa9W0iU5MUPtdiMIGfija1qbkE9aCZCnpM/s320/DSCN7430.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Indiana
State Museum is located at 650 W. Washington Street in Indianapolis. Exhibition
gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5
p.m. on Sunday. The first Tuesday of each month (Community Tuesdays) admission
is half price. Auxiliary aids and services are available with advance notice.
For more information, call the museum at 317.232.1637.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1vVD8u6pfiQeiQAw_fZdpmhTnbd9DKuplDav5MtXR-257ZK-ilWBDzBPaT12eNXiCOAyS3qcqP6UexbU-duWNOojkpsX0wNRxf5Sle1ocTJQnZ2iJ288V0oEPxld3Y4wH_VD5e0O_Zc/s1600/DSCN7456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1vVD8u6pfiQeiQAw_fZdpmhTnbd9DKuplDav5MtXR-257ZK-ilWBDzBPaT12eNXiCOAyS3qcqP6UexbU-duWNOojkpsX0wNRxf5Sle1ocTJQnZ2iJ288V0oEPxld3Y4wH_VD5e0O_Zc/s640/DSCN7456.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hints:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It has
underground parking, which it shares with other nearby institutions. This means
you can walk straight into the museum and duck rain or chilly days. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcr4r11yy9WOpD_ajiyAkdubLl0H1Da6C6SdaE9zTMQTlxtRwAHyfF_GKxxpa81Gorq_rOqVEnbc2YEm6IO00PRENSmtHMETfvuFz2mbedwJIdNDJrOCNSrV4TqLVU79IGDmS9scuziQ/s1600/DSCN7425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcr4r11yy9WOpD_ajiyAkdubLl0H1Da6C6SdaE9zTMQTlxtRwAHyfF_GKxxpa81Gorq_rOqVEnbc2YEm6IO00PRENSmtHMETfvuFz2mbedwJIdNDJrOCNSrV4TqLVU79IGDmS9scuziQ/s640/DSCN7425.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0650 W Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46204, USA39.76873 -86.16951214.246695499999998 -127.478106 65.2907645 -44.860918tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-31130292824411792602017-11-15T22:54:00.001-08:002017-11-19T19:48:36.168-08:00University of Wisconsin Geology Museum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUyVu7tSD7L01Ac36qHengJPrqxYXSo3l4zzie5SuZDi7AuCXuXAe3pNH6Dd4sBehKvV7IZDfXB5dIt8jKj3Kmws9JkQKYIgyIYzAyoQGvqj9-ClPPyOqGLXFgiRCa3wbst4qhBI2BlnM/s1600/DSCN4543+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="1600" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUyVu7tSD7L01Ac36qHengJPrqxYXSo3l4zzie5SuZDi7AuCXuXAe3pNH6Dd4sBehKvV7IZDfXB5dIt8jKj3Kmws9JkQKYIgyIYzAyoQGvqj9-ClPPyOqGLXFgiRCa3wbst4qhBI2BlnM/s640/DSCN4543+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We drove from Chicago to Madison in one of the worst
rain storms of the year, but this did not stop many of the people of around the university from coming out to support their football team - GO BADGERS.
NOTE: Try not to visit the city when a game is on, parking can be crazy and
service can be a little sporadic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kWWSeASA6W_QdxlsReooBmz7x2TwbYaJRHdlL4pOVxzagHDknQ-KyeCwc6SAtuwXKuhEoFFVzDR4Nxw5bTE1MCnsySsCRKxvlsIL7nMdNADiQVQBhTkxLR2Zy914VBAAwTNvXa4d90A/s1600/DSCN4563+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kWWSeASA6W_QdxlsReooBmz7x2TwbYaJRHdlL4pOVxzagHDknQ-KyeCwc6SAtuwXKuhEoFFVzDR4Nxw5bTE1MCnsySsCRKxvlsIL7nMdNADiQVQBhTkxLR2Zy914VBAAwTNvXa4d90A/s320/DSCN4563+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The University of Wisconsin Geology Museum itself is
easy to find, but be careful entering. On what I assumed was the main road was
an entrance, but this was locked and I was fearful the museum was closed
because of the football game – GO BADGERS, RAH RAH RAH! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Not willing to give up so easily I entered the
building’s main doors and found myself a little lost as the museum is actually
part of a working wing of the university. A sign said the museum was on the
second floor (in my memory), so I caught a lift up and found myself facing an
indoor atrium looking down on the museum…a very empty museum. I feared the
place was indeed closed…and then someone walked by underneath. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I called out to the lady how she managed to get
inside. The lady I was talking too looked at me like I was a madman, as she
turned out to be a visitor, and we eventually worked out how I had gone wrong.
She explained, “Did you try the front door?” So, the front doors to the museum are
on the inside of a courtyard, with the building having something of a U- shape.
The door I had seen from the main road is something of a side entrance, and
seemingly not always unlocked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8x-thZL0WxMFtPVVWK9etSmtsoXHYZdcFRXzuxq2F8y6v915q169DzjztuiV8jTwZaupgH7bue84z20-LmwO3COFp1r3QGcOTz28cG8_KA4oR6Kl86KwxoVeEZAyu7WARWrOJ9MrKd9s/s1600/DSCN4338+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8x-thZL0WxMFtPVVWK9etSmtsoXHYZdcFRXzuxq2F8y6v915q169DzjztuiV8jTwZaupgH7bue84z20-LmwO3COFp1r3QGcOTz28cG8_KA4oR6Kl86KwxoVeEZAyu7WARWrOJ9MrKd9s/s400/DSCN4338+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Geology Museum (GM) is by no means the largest
museum I have ever visited, but it does pack something of a punch for its size.
From the oldest rocks in the world, to a number of meteorites, gems and
minerals of every sort, along with a wide range of fossils, there is something
for every natural history fan to see. This also means leave yourself a few
hours to see the place properly, I mean you could walk through it in half an
hour, but I guarantee you will miss something cool.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSOHs6ZwvctT4UUdfe1a3PyWG729N8XgOXCd6lMXKawUJMXt6YEEcQRHZ-JOMgqyMLneLt9qS04xGJhZxqAmNjXpV_-EnmAovyptmCb8nNrtFNue9wcs4ED8oe56-dVbcX3kkzRoXCiU/s1600/DSCN4335+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSOHs6ZwvctT4UUdfe1a3PyWG729N8XgOXCd6lMXKawUJMXt6YEEcQRHZ-JOMgqyMLneLt9qS04xGJhZxqAmNjXpV_-EnmAovyptmCb8nNrtFNue9wcs4ED8oe56-dVbcX3kkzRoXCiU/s640/DSCN4335+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the foyer are a number of large slabs of local
rocks (Wisconsin) that contain ichnofossils of a strange, slug-like creature
called <i><b>Climactichnites</b></i>. These were
made either in newly damp sand or along a very shallow river bank during the
Cambrian.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj729QYKuyzuO-Sdkx_HJRcwD5xrgujyeZ8vvxJwLHqAlyXUnOE9sCeSlTQUCG9n6XRq7fNuiVxDkWdeoGCOnP-ledQyTyXTt5NEfweNa7jK1G0g6ggGPzhLJoa68yjrASHCSlzxnY8krA/s1600/DSCN4447+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj729QYKuyzuO-Sdkx_HJRcwD5xrgujyeZ8vvxJwLHqAlyXUnOE9sCeSlTQUCG9n6XRq7fNuiVxDkWdeoGCOnP-ledQyTyXTt5NEfweNa7jK1G0g6ggGPzhLJoa68yjrASHCSlzxnY8krA/s1600/DSCN4447+%25283%2529.JPG" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The GM has a long history, with its original display
planned in the mid-1800s. Wikipedia
notes there are 66 displays inside the modern building, with nearly 1000 items
on display; while the museums’ own website notes they have over 120,000 items
in their collection, which is growing every year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">During my research I found a number of images of the
museum over its long history. The museum has moved a number of times, and in
the early half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century fell on such hard times that it
looks like some of its start attractions were sold (such as a giant sloth,
which sadly was nowhere in evidence).</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvg_0OKUZNN63xrXlCmbGBsvJ3z2dxkNrZEDIPWG7WTwDMffmQ7P8Psa3JpZO2zKc4Dt7-kprPHd8AWOrl-12mMJaMR7L5odxp1FlCGx3BJBqd2MeKkrpJoRlZemED354yes0GuL3L84/s1600/DSCN4366+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="1600" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvg_0OKUZNN63xrXlCmbGBsvJ3z2dxkNrZEDIPWG7WTwDMffmQ7P8Psa3JpZO2zKc4Dt7-kprPHd8AWOrl-12mMJaMR7L5odxp1FlCGx3BJBqd2MeKkrpJoRlZemED354yes0GuL3L84/s640/DSCN4366+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCHMNIC5xMGAdenY4PBpZnPgfrZBDcxa-z5ikSHJH2iLAV8G1QBriGsaSAa1S8ky1SuA-bIypI-ybNpjJRda0oEw6MBrrnYxImQeWAsiGzCXVgUd02ntaw6RiarsSY_UsrzKbrck0wL0/s1600/DSCN4367+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1034" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCHMNIC5xMGAdenY4PBpZnPgfrZBDcxa-z5ikSHJH2iLAV8G1QBriGsaSAa1S8ky1SuA-bIypI-ybNpjJRda0oEw6MBrrnYxImQeWAsiGzCXVgUd02ntaw6RiarsSY_UsrzKbrck0wL0/s200/DSCN4367+%25282%2529.JPG" width="128" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The museum itself is laid out by time and geological
categorisation. You start with a number of geological cabinets, displaying everything
from various igneous rocks to meteorites. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxZkxrY2CiyRf0YrmbLu70kOA-1kEdm4bLTTU8JSX2JMYht5pGrZUvd5dMhcbW3xJe2uZClKGqAGDo5j47-Iw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This section ends in a little limestone cave
structure (with working sound effects) that you walk into. On the other side is
a large fluorescent mineral display, shielded from the brighter lights of the
main rooms inside the cave. Here you push a button and the lights blink out and
start cycling through three different wavelengths (long and short), making
various rocks fluoresce and phosphorescence at different times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfq5pQwV7f3DOJ94DQxZKpzIGV00f_AfcZds_4QmvH8aFkCOt0Pv6SLA_4uNxvSVbg9h5B5dSimC2E_sfckmQ-PVTe1NRiV_OBkWyQH1-sfN3W_U9KQqSwG5ygAMUTGp-apRskQJCPAH4/s1600/DSCN4370+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfq5pQwV7f3DOJ94DQxZKpzIGV00f_AfcZds_4QmvH8aFkCOt0Pv6SLA_4uNxvSVbg9h5B5dSimC2E_sfckmQ-PVTe1NRiV_OBkWyQH1-sfN3W_U9KQqSwG5ygAMUTGp-apRskQJCPAH4/s320/DSCN4370+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You next step into a timeline of the earth, which
each display containing rocks and fossils from each time. This includes a large
chunk of Jack Hills from Western Australia, containing zircon crystals, considered
the oldest minerals in the world – dating back to 4.4 billion years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next are a series of stromatolites and a clever
display of living blue green algae- the only such display I have ever seen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHSndEMOocL6jQ8bePlem7lp50569_ib6QM_EH7KZ-5CLKKqnzfxdXe_KoF15t31fYb5sXpJyQ2XrvNeu3bM-EwobNw8B2FCWETYym_WKJERNgL-1VuYuGLOe42bcCS2m_ccOeB0_qnA/s1600/DSCN4414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHSndEMOocL6jQ8bePlem7lp50569_ib6QM_EH7KZ-5CLKKqnzfxdXe_KoF15t31fYb5sXpJyQ2XrvNeu3bM-EwobNw8B2FCWETYym_WKJERNgL-1VuYuGLOe42bcCS2m_ccOeB0_qnA/s640/DSCN4414.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In one corner is a working preparation lab, and
though no one was there as it was Saturday and the University footy team was
playing – GO BADGERS - you could still look in and see a number of projects
underway, including an enormous slab of amphibian fossils being prepped. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the museum is located not that far from the
Dakota Badlands, they had recently collected a number of dinosaur fossils, and
at the time of my visit they were cleaning and preparing a large triceratops
horn for display.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_PtzNd_4au0KT64sMhbZg070oJU30iGfj6oFNXjk34YiZULsSBlU7OpjtXWaBsF2bt8lno4eXEvf8aoNHcboekX0CNkeWb36dcx0vgzDknILxth_4kV3VlDEJhYe1XZE2eJNlmIf-O0/s1600/DSCN4505+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_PtzNd_4au0KT64sMhbZg070oJU30iGfj6oFNXjk34YiZULsSBlU7OpjtXWaBsF2bt8lno4eXEvf8aoNHcboekX0CNkeWb36dcx0vgzDknILxth_4kV3VlDEJhYe1XZE2eJNlmIf-O0/s640/DSCN4505+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsMV7sK3OyoDo-Mw0KyvubPPWYX660pO4X79_FTSFyRZgzcSbW2da_Fu07QTcBiL8fXLk26pukeIZbkI_VI4Tr1jzm_adCdK9veXyQSlnJd8FcoN9Jopfp9j-az-XKFQOoqQjbXigDik/s1600/DSCN4380+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1049" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsMV7sK3OyoDo-Mw0KyvubPPWYX660pO4X79_FTSFyRZgzcSbW2da_Fu07QTcBiL8fXLk26pukeIZbkI_VI4Tr1jzm_adCdK9veXyQSlnJd8FcoN9Jopfp9j-az-XKFQOoqQjbXigDik/s200/DSCN4380+%25282%2529.JPG" width="130" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s clear the museum is a working teaching museum
and not a full-time organisation with a staff of exhibit professionals, as most
of the signs are simple, plain printed scripting. Try to not let this bother
you (if indeed this sort of thing does bother you), the information is great
and the items on display are often high quality and rare - there are even some
real Cambrian fossils from the Burgess Shale. It is also free to enter, so what
money the museum gets clearly goes into the collection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM80MDF57lbRrn2tNsr_czaG8q7DzN41Dr_VR6KKFLCe3QCZ3Hi-X6Bzz6wA68vgk-0iqELyjrVpDN5jt4KZ7g0ovLcY8AumhH9oSzO_RaKc4LoXaRzH7tk9bIquEiXQu2DfVxUJ_KtyE/s1600/DSCN4406+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="1600" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM80MDF57lbRrn2tNsr_czaG8q7DzN41Dr_VR6KKFLCe3QCZ3Hi-X6Bzz6wA68vgk-0iqELyjrVpDN5jt4KZ7g0ovLcY8AumhH9oSzO_RaKc4LoXaRzH7tk9bIquEiXQu2DfVxUJ_KtyE/s320/DSCN4406+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of my favourite pieces was an enormous slab of
Ordovician sea floor containing hundreds a thumb sized Trigonia shells. The
detail on these fossils is amazing, and you could get right up close and
personal to the slab and give it a real close eyeball.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn84-ATF5WT8Ivu6lT7gHWIcOVr-0Nlr6dVOUX2iyUa0G30zSCWqEuKKYDCTCVK6JC2nJr5yjJR_KP_KmmdHiy3QaeFZpdV2ta4ZG-G_xpXoWi8zfiI4WLNzZo2NGR82IDVUogWbOYGOE/s1600/DSCN4448+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1600" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn84-ATF5WT8Ivu6lT7gHWIcOVr-0Nlr6dVOUX2iyUa0G30zSCWqEuKKYDCTCVK6JC2nJr5yjJR_KP_KmmdHiy3QaeFZpdV2ta4ZG-G_xpXoWi8zfiI4WLNzZo2NGR82IDVUogWbOYGOE/s640/DSCN4448+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzfPmXPhIoA9wSH9ns0YrUoLmuekw4JrMHTsu01yQ7IIutVZfqXNgd1dNjWiF5sHf5T4387ODHOePSyXCpOLK6ROpM67Vn9k7Q5YEnRYf3bSK6nPeKYQv4_yxLHsz5NL2XEWe_0wV7SA/s1600/DSCN4455+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzfPmXPhIoA9wSH9ns0YrUoLmuekw4JrMHTsu01yQ7IIutVZfqXNgd1dNjWiF5sHf5T4387ODHOePSyXCpOLK6ROpM67Vn9k7Q5YEnRYf3bSK6nPeKYQv4_yxLHsz5NL2XEWe_0wV7SA/s320/DSCN4455+%25282%2529.JPG" width="199" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A specimen I became enamoured with was an enormous
fossil <i>Squalicorax</i> in matrix hanging on
the rea wall of the museum. This shark was found with its stomach contents
intact, revealing the predator had fed on fish, other sharks, a turtle and even
a mosasaur before it died. The bones are recorded as stomach contents as most
have signs of acid etching from the digestive juices of the shark.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is not always the big things that astonish
either. In a cabinet on the Permian is the articulated skeleton of a tiny
reptile called <i>Captorhinus</i>. First named
by E D Cope in the 1880s, these were likely amongst the smallest reptile
predators of the age - making the minuscule, fragile little skeleton a true
treasure. Seriously, some of the rib bones are so thin it felt they would snap
if you even breathed on them.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-ylCEs7xRWZ-fAAoIuzq-ZvZ5wupfPBL1RprjXU7VHTXeWyCqrK3948GPsMX1F8_vFFtlEyvHWNFkrMIbFQfpq8ho_Bv4XkuyHoWZqQafwQXApBNpaxx30_TbiwurB_N7IaWHga7I84/s1600/DSCN4481+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1600" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-ylCEs7xRWZ-fAAoIuzq-ZvZ5wupfPBL1RprjXU7VHTXeWyCqrK3948GPsMX1F8_vFFtlEyvHWNFkrMIbFQfpq8ho_Bv4XkuyHoWZqQafwQXApBNpaxx30_TbiwurB_N7IaWHga7I84/s640/DSCN4481+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After the winding path through the Palaeozoic cabinets
you enter the final large display room. Here are the Mesozoic and Cainozoic specimens…though
it might be better to call this the room with the real big stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SiG0_7JSaqZdWrgCFTqkfD2LwRwXxujhrfhtZ2KuMLoYhTht2uIsXBtKGX-91BRa7JqMZ7O36UFpsoCMGi0yVyewtrEAoGWyVqmui9udVHsF5hk91FiTkP9UvwSjnCC-91ApAQChTw8/s1600/DSCN4498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SiG0_7JSaqZdWrgCFTqkfD2LwRwXxujhrfhtZ2KuMLoYhTht2uIsXBtKGX-91BRa7JqMZ7O36UFpsoCMGi0yVyewtrEAoGWyVqmui9udVHsF5hk91FiTkP9UvwSjnCC-91ApAQChTw8/s640/DSCN4498.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is a real <i>Edmontosaurus</i>, a composite skeleton
that is reportedly the first dinosaur displayed in the state. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7_RLcDOEf1VRgko9puGGmINqlQFgfhP9fyQgarpSiqRTa2iWIyzt8KAoKbufZjpHfi7tQs0aHw4QIhYjUXfGrUD1WaZHYXkBXG_wIIKbTlQxqS7zboxcY39YQuwQLhlLyx9r089v-a0/s1600/DSCN4499+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1303" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7_RLcDOEf1VRgko9puGGmINqlQFgfhP9fyQgarpSiqRTa2iWIyzt8KAoKbufZjpHfi7tQs0aHw4QIhYjUXfGrUD1WaZHYXkBXG_wIIKbTlQxqS7zboxcY39YQuwQLhlLyx9r089v-a0/s320/DSCN4499+%25282%2529.JPG" width="260" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The museum highlight is the Boaz Mastodon (named Old
Nic), unearthed during a rainstorm in 1897 by the Dosch children on their
family farm. News of this discovery soon spread, and the family farm became a hotspot
for an interested public, who visited in large numbers to view the enormous
bones. A few years later Frank Burnham, a Wisconsin attorney and member of the
state legislature, organised the sale of the bones for fifty dollars to the
state. The fossils ended up at the UWGM, where they were cleaned, catalogued
and put on display in 1915. Roughly half the skeleton is real material. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unearthed with the Boaz Mastodon was a quartz
arrowhead, possibly the cause of the animal’s death - which was not part of the
sale. Years later an envelope arrived at the museum with a spear point and
note, explaining this was the artefact that had been found with the ‘U.W.
elephant’. Both Dosch brothers would be shown the spear point in 1962, and they
admitted it looked like the one they had found over 60 years earlier. This is
on display in a cabinet opposite the fossil.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39VNRY9Lned1iQN63ft7ubGC758rtj6dp_Cg-GJjqFER_L6carssJ4RI3oGGQ_Ib3MtSpwG_Tdfuvu5lA8dE5zaXKhFsDxGOvSjYe8fP8X7g3u0sCokfJ_Ov1ppwP87dQWlLxPos6EdU/s1600/DSCN4525+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="1600" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39VNRY9Lned1iQN63ft7ubGC758rtj6dp_Cg-GJjqFER_L6carssJ4RI3oGGQ_Ib3MtSpwG_Tdfuvu5lA8dE5zaXKhFsDxGOvSjYe8fP8X7g3u0sCokfJ_Ov1ppwP87dQWlLxPos6EdU/s640/DSCN4525+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Reading the nearby sign, however, it seems there is
a different story to this specimen. Only two bones are actually from the Boaz
Mastodon, the rest belongs to the Anderson Hills Mastodon, also found by
children exactly one year later.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAIte0Pjq8RhwtZLWzHFObov454Uls85RF7HhDJO5L4hV4BvQvAmpfP0SrW3vSLFaH6lMfuHZEwczBEQw3raeeMMkYlff9-tcpZQtyI6hm3SqpkACjnN2NEkDbJVE5ErpWLqaBcU7MhI/s1600/DSCN4485+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="1600" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAIte0Pjq8RhwtZLWzHFObov454Uls85RF7HhDJO5L4hV4BvQvAmpfP0SrW3vSLFaH6lMfuHZEwczBEQw3raeeMMkYlff9-tcpZQtyI6hm3SqpkACjnN2NEkDbJVE5ErpWLqaBcU7MhI/s640/DSCN4485+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The display of really big things also contains the
skulls of a <i>T.rex</i> (called Stan), a <i>Triceratops</i> (not Stan), a <i>Deinotherium</i>
(Could have been called Stan to his mates), a soaring <i>Pteranodon</i> (Pstan?) and
finally a <i>Glyptodon</i> (perhaps called Stan, which I have discovered is also a
Spanish name).</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJlxUuhEVKVAG47C2ZidL5VDbv-DSQEFDMQiepsAroMFTfrrhmOGuSy3fvz-uVo4dakZEqEoOaSpR8mcg2bjVAIsoJFSJ33PkW_zEcKJrSeNlHJqA-XeoqSd1JCQPHjumUw5eUwWh4mM/s1600/DSCN4562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJlxUuhEVKVAG47C2ZidL5VDbv-DSQEFDMQiepsAroMFTfrrhmOGuSy3fvz-uVo4dakZEqEoOaSpR8mcg2bjVAIsoJFSJ33PkW_zEcKJrSeNlHJqA-XeoqSd1JCQPHjumUw5eUwWh4mM/s640/DSCN4562.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DaiyhbDsW48f2R8TeEignK5eivitBuo2zhVP3W3tT5BxdYsVx8xXGX5Q4GWUuN_9EQZocu0F-1VofTNsnolNfVdT2oAB4DwKQcjopqtkInA04ncRSXzimAo0E8dXl55WEjJc3wfIrcE/s1600/DSCN4560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DaiyhbDsW48f2R8TeEignK5eivitBuo2zhVP3W3tT5BxdYsVx8xXGX5Q4GWUuN_9EQZocu0F-1VofTNsnolNfVdT2oAB4DwKQcjopqtkInA04ncRSXzimAo0E8dXl55WEjJc3wfIrcE/s320/DSCN4560.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Swimming overhead is a near complete mosasaur, and
one of the most impressive things about this is that you can get directly under
the skull and look up. Clear as day are visible the secondary palate teeth,
often missing or unseen when a skull is closed or still in matrix. These teeth
are still retained in the most primitive snakes today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the last specimens to see as you start moving
towards the exit is <i>Archaeotherium </i>- teeth bared to show how dangerous this pig
from hell would have been. It’s a great way to end your visit as these are some
of the most spectacular mammal fossils the US has to offer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABaEq0xS00zu7IPYdDljZZCjyToaaMHn-muOJJka01ZSJUx1M3MkLpY8Er6Bnnf7XKA9K7NU1eMVVc_8drgD_CJ2gC7ORZ-EZ7saEzUSOZbJQxFIUT_h4Gl_NFRx7zc6YPT94OTh-qgk/s1600/DSCN4492+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="1600" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABaEq0xS00zu7IPYdDljZZCjyToaaMHn-muOJJka01ZSJUx1M3MkLpY8Er6Bnnf7XKA9K7NU1eMVVc_8drgD_CJ2gC7ORZ-EZ7saEzUSOZbJQxFIUT_h4Gl_NFRx7zc6YPT94OTh-qgk/s640/DSCN4492+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">NOTE: While I was there I chatted with the staff,
specifically one of the Universities professors of geology, an extremely nice
man whose name I am horrified to say I cannot recall. I always take notes on my
visits but this note was ruined in the rain, and sadly is nothing more than a smudge.
If anyone at the museum knows the gentleman I am talking about, please let me
know as I would like to thank him for his time. He showed me the prep room and
even let me hold a T.rex mandible, which was a true treat.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFfMxlM0Oz3COWihkSjTlKzZYUtDQahsQnbkpaHWmcf1aWqhzt0kh2wFi3LIq6w5OQx1b9IaQ_qishCAnbP7tC-b39KuuvxYv01rzQPLMoeq2Hw-scv3lrVLMAq35FPrnA7L6jyrKn4A/s1600/DSCN4467+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1259" data-original-width="1600" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFfMxlM0Oz3COWihkSjTlKzZYUtDQahsQnbkpaHWmcf1aWqhzt0kh2wFi3LIq6w5OQx1b9IaQ_qishCAnbP7tC-b39KuuvxYv01rzQPLMoeq2Hw-scv3lrVLMAq35FPrnA7L6jyrKn4A/s640/DSCN4467+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com11215 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53706, USA43.070659600000013 -89.40596929999998117.548625100000013 -130.71456329999998 68.592694100000017 -48.097375299999982tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-82064264195317954252017-08-26T19:15:00.004-07:002017-08-26T21:06:40.277-07:00Hobart - part one<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzDp_yojX8Glm2qgF2K0NRMmqfsIku_nPGitWpaBSAWkCNMgUHZxhKdwEvusovJJEHr1sx5UpkFwQy_wmzlFmi-ZPywA5WeQDUkrV7MOw3D2fEkn8u5k1tAHfnHXTUuOqooIn213Ca6A/s1600/DSCN1054a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="1600" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzDp_yojX8Glm2qgF2K0NRMmqfsIku_nPGitWpaBSAWkCNMgUHZxhKdwEvusovJJEHr1sx5UpkFwQy_wmzlFmi-ZPywA5WeQDUkrV7MOw3D2fEkn8u5k1tAHfnHXTUuOqooIn213Ca6A/s640/DSCN1054a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hobart is Australia’s second oldest capital city
and a walk of its streets can produce some surprising rewards. Recently I had
the chance of representing not only the National Dinosaur Museum, but
Canberra’s scientific education institutions at the 2017 <b>CONASTA</b> conference - held yearly for Australia’s science teachers - with the National Capital Education Tourism Program (NCETP) folks. I visited a number of historical
and scientific institutions (more on them later), but it was Hobart itself that
really caught my imagination.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80SYzrYd28rzMMl0NHjFDU1p8fdoQSdhjEgRylbxKw-X6QfRmWHfN265fZX4oo3lHVe29TT873SWe7tpsNYH3QbKjVtJY5ZQRmFz05wJ033xEPh7qtqU1dSx3yfUvmcrmchBGgnzn7kI/s1600/DSCN0351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80SYzrYd28rzMMl0NHjFDU1p8fdoQSdhjEgRylbxKw-X6QfRmWHfN265fZX4oo3lHVe29TT873SWe7tpsNYH3QbKjVtJY5ZQRmFz05wJ033xEPh7qtqU1dSx3yfUvmcrmchBGgnzn7kI/s640/DSCN0351.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Walking along the harbour you will
notice a number of vessels docked that you can approach, and some you can even
sail upon. As the city is located at the bottom of Tasmania and faces Antarctica,
the harbour is home to a number of polar exploration vessels, including the
Australian built icebreaker, <i>Aurora
Australis</i>. Having spent a lifetime supporting polar research, sadly the
time for this ship is almost up as the Australian government has recently
announced the retirement and replacement of the <i>Aurora</i>, with a new ship promised by 2019.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The HMS Lady Nelson</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHH93hjs2Y60h1rhBJ_gNgMPqE1rQ3_f3XHfJNZShxO8fxv5wxHcZS4vZqh3dDgUBviMW8rmqG-bBL6-zYypoG603gP-bc962lWQyepRFUSErqwLG1BabIH9q-bVemUBrp6N3hms69HQ/s1600/DSCN0931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHH93hjs2Y60h1rhBJ_gNgMPqE1rQ3_f3XHfJNZShxO8fxv5wxHcZS4vZqh3dDgUBviMW8rmqG-bBL6-zYypoG603gP-bc962lWQyepRFUSErqwLG1BabIH9q-bVemUBrp6N3hms69HQ/s320/DSCN0931.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For a natural historian the vessel that
really put a smile on my face was the replica of the HMS Lady Nelson. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The original Lady Nelson was ordered to
Australia in 1799 to help survey the continent’s coastline and help claim more
territory for the British Empire. To complete its mission the vessel joined
Matthew Flinders and the <i>HMS Investigator</i>
in creating the first complete map of Australia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqb1-0Irpk8iTrt07toPX5yq3B08j0795vk_ZIA6UcaORPzEZxQJip4VJgoZ9HClYBYZdotUDPIwmlpwQk9nh8gGJvnCdbeIkLA4isR-7R4o79XCKUP7kTUDk8Y2_Du42Js_xrL8uTfU/s1600/DSCN0735a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="1600" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqb1-0Irpk8iTrt07toPX5yq3B08j0795vk_ZIA6UcaORPzEZxQJip4VJgoZ9HClYBYZdotUDPIwmlpwQk9nh8gGJvnCdbeIkLA4isR-7R4o79XCKUP7kTUDk8Y2_Du42Js_xrL8uTfU/s640/DSCN0735a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>NOTE:</b> The original copper printing plate
for the very first complete map of Australia was on display at the Tasmanian Museum. This is
part of a touring display of France’s own investigation of Australia and its
part in the mapping of the island continent by Nicholas Baudin, called 'The Art of Science: Baudin’s Voyagers 1800 – 1804' (There will be a report on this later as well). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfoG2lj-GU5UUXjj1cwvCyAw0oKtlpcluUDy0dbT8qGEKGBJDATXiJapGxT5zQ9ukOeYSUzTsBk38N8mBDqsWiXZzBtCOAUFOOLpzivmcGg4EEh2nE78-DitlRZO6976OV43Jrs2TvJ4/s1600/DSCN1047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfoG2lj-GU5UUXjj1cwvCyAw0oKtlpcluUDy0dbT8qGEKGBJDATXiJapGxT5zQ9ukOeYSUzTsBk38N8mBDqsWiXZzBtCOAUFOOLpzivmcGg4EEh2nE78-DitlRZO6976OV43Jrs2TvJ4/s400/DSCN1047.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Lady Nelson was the 1<sup>st</sup>
vessel to sail through the Bass Strait from west to east, discovered Port
Phillip and went on to help establish colonies throughout Tasmania and NSW.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the soldiers from the colonies
that sailed on the vessel was Francis Barrallier, a man who would become an
explorer in his own right, and who helped create some of the charts the voyage
produced. He was later asked to find a way across the Blue Mountains that hems
the city of Sydney in, and though he failed to do this he did come back with
the very first evidence of the Koala. One day he noticed some aboriginal guides
were preparing to cook parts of an animal they called a Colo, but he noted as a
native monkey thanks to the feet he managed to procure from them. It would take
a few more years for a complete specimen to be found.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4VCV2eMGlnkgRJRMAhKs1plf682umKjlZ119OtikKghu8nkDu7t4FVTx4-vMDn85oYceunAFvTkn03uSo7dOPDE8jcsNHjs_xzbGBAGBmXSuhQdry4Et97zanmwrVCyTUJbkCqHvSB8/s1600/DSCN1462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4VCV2eMGlnkgRJRMAhKs1plf682umKjlZ119OtikKghu8nkDu7t4FVTx4-vMDn85oYceunAFvTkn03uSo7dOPDE8jcsNHjs_xzbGBAGBmXSuhQdry4Et97zanmwrVCyTUJbkCqHvSB8/s400/DSCN1462.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Keep an eye out as you get around Hobart<br /> for all the Thylacines....extinct...<br />pffftttt....there's one standing on a barrel. </span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1989, as part of the celebrations
around the 200<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Europe’s colonisation of the
continent a replica of the Lady Nelson that had been built for the occasion
sailed for the 1<sup>st</sup> time through Tasmanian waters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Under the care of the Tasmanian Sail
Training Association, the Lady Nelson still sails today and can be hired for
long and short cruises. On the weekend they also take the vessel for short
tourist sails along the Derwent River, and I was lucky enough to take one of
those.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7jFvZc5hbG3a3y1C3-TXsEqCMW2RHmgUVSyB9gqoFsFHOTalNJ86MQh0EckzA_XBIM8NTFcRpm6zpOYqOGChgsa8ONqtpw9Ie_JardSddwPHjMUuOhyphenhyphengh6SZX2yraWcP5tg881_5g4o/s1600/DSCN1083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="1600" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7jFvZc5hbG3a3y1C3-TXsEqCMW2RHmgUVSyB9gqoFsFHOTalNJ86MQh0EckzA_XBIM8NTFcRpm6zpOYqOGChgsa8ONqtpw9Ie_JardSddwPHjMUuOhyphenhyphengh6SZX2yraWcP5tg881_5g4o/s640/DSCN1083.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Reasonably priced, the ship 1<sup>st</sup>
leaves the dock under power from its engines, which drive it some way up the
river. The engines are then turned off, the vessel turned about and heads back
under power from its sails. The quiet of the river, the snap of canvas in the
wind – this was cool!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwUVG7zuZo8t-DiOBnUJiMvdcTHyhd0xsraMrtVNsV6vndrFeBlN2zZV0JuZNs15V8zrEkAmWRfrNhXSGCpuA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can help haul on a rope to set a
sail or just sail along and enjoy the voyage as the crew train new members on
how to sail one of the few tall ships still plying the waters today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another wonderful opportunity from the
deck of the Lady Nelson as it sails the Derwent is the unobstructed view of
Mount Wellington, and its famous Organ Pipes geological formations. These are
columns of dolomite, an igneous rock that formed as Australia broke away from
Antarctica- ending the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana that had existed for
nearly 500 million years.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AXFPmuVEY2tvMu0BQpwdIDnR8lXVZD1oiFFAFLgqDBv_M3cdzhwCW8PH2Pq1kn4E9kaH4TuJ8C7R3Hv1zKEono1V2FBM1KG0E0xSevSfP3u5RTk6t2WsMSl1DD5H5mfbdU8Wk6w3WAw/s1600/DSCN0964a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1600" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AXFPmuVEY2tvMu0BQpwdIDnR8lXVZD1oiFFAFLgqDBv_M3cdzhwCW8PH2Pq1kn4E9kaH4TuJ8C7R3Hv1zKEono1V2FBM1KG0E0xSevSfP3u5RTk6t2WsMSl1DD5H5mfbdU8Wk6w3WAw/s640/DSCN0964a.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Soaring high above Australia’s 2<sup>nd</sup>
oldest capital city is the evidence of its ancient, geological past. How many
cities can claim that?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2j-aN46eHhiXSOhlWwBgaDCpMwMO-8g-tPZEc0kotuf1cXcCpaSL9oqcJKfuhsrur2PEFoxkQyfvBt0HgXxwx_8dLB_bqg6D1Gbe1CStgnWNQ0PWuKSnINDRaZm-127GTGcHrtAy_F3w/s1600/Robert_Brown_%2528botanist%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="469" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2j-aN46eHhiXSOhlWwBgaDCpMwMO-8g-tPZEc0kotuf1cXcCpaSL9oqcJKfuhsrur2PEFoxkQyfvBt0HgXxwx_8dLB_bqg6D1Gbe1CStgnWNQ0PWuKSnINDRaZm-127GTGcHrtAy_F3w/s320/Robert_Brown_%2528botanist%2529.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 37.7953px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 37.7953px;">On a paleontological point, the first people recorded to have climbed Mount Wellington were George Bass and the botanist/palaeontologist, Robert Brown. Brown would describe a large number of plants and fossils from across the world, including Australia, ad many species would also be named after him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ladynelson.org.au/">http://www.ladynelson.org.au/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>St David’s Park</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjGb9cnnCNRLnWYdXAYPEZoY1zSX5CETSAd7L1XPJwEyS51yNiSYXuHa2LlWdPca5Gpihn5RB5SNn1MAWvjYaBY3Qm-svKOrfMLFH5d8S7m4XYYBD08McnTwziIHno0EH9xGM6kiRIzQ/s1600/20170708_131336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjGb9cnnCNRLnWYdXAYPEZoY1zSX5CETSAd7L1XPJwEyS51yNiSYXuHa2LlWdPca5Gpihn5RB5SNn1MAWvjYaBY3Qm-svKOrfMLFH5d8S7m4XYYBD08McnTwziIHno0EH9xGM6kiRIzQ/s320/20170708_131336.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the famous shopping opportunities
in Hobart is the Salamanca Street Markets, which run past the docks where these
ships sit. For fossil collectors make sure you drop by the Lunaris Gemstones
stall as they sell very nice Tasmanian fossils, such as slices of Jurassic tree
fern from the Lune River formation. I picked up a nice Permian brachiopod, and
my fellow fossil collector Phil C (from the previous account about our trip to
the Wellington Caves) mentioned if you check out a lot of the rocks along the
Salamanca Markets you can find fossils in situ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzmAcMAcbgs4hdeJ8HIqUTA4UK33WF37Mvan79Ra8JpEZMgV9vE9ywsMTXFg966VhZa4tLH6m7gnHn7jTj26I_LMd95_yE0cRMa0WiXiz-MaB1isDXMKE_tSTfBSVrqk-pSH2omI3CAFQ/s1600/DSCN1154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzmAcMAcbgs4hdeJ8HIqUTA4UK33WF37Mvan79Ra8JpEZMgV9vE9ywsMTXFg966VhZa4tLH6m7gnHn7jTj26I_LMd95_yE0cRMa0WiXiz-MaB1isDXMKE_tSTfBSVrqk-pSH2omI3CAFQ/s640/DSCN1154.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The far end of the market terminates at
an English style park flanked by two carved stone lions. The park itself was
formerly a cemetery that dated back to the early years of the original Hobart
colony. Today most of the graves have been removed, yet a number still remain.
It’s not often you can come face to face with one of the original First
Fleeters who settled Sydney (and later Hobart and the failed colony on Norfolk
Island), not one of the very first Europeans born in the colonies, but you can
find them here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4SnrxI1qwIghX5Z9m45CI-Jy_BVqKZbi0K02-yRHasBbhZjrdReJ6nRc8t16cSfasxlwQeKhPHckpvUTFTdu91S2rbfKWvheIQDR-W0Ninyg-PCo_1u4b-nMLhtdQQzfTnpebhigCwM/s1600/DSCN1156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4SnrxI1qwIghX5Z9m45CI-Jy_BVqKZbi0K02-yRHasBbhZjrdReJ6nRc8t16cSfasxlwQeKhPHckpvUTFTdu91S2rbfKWvheIQDR-W0Ninyg-PCo_1u4b-nMLhtdQQzfTnpebhigCwM/s400/DSCN1156.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A lot of the headstones were in poor
repair or had fallen after years of disinterest in the spot, so when the Hobart
council purchased the land in the early 20<sup>th</sup> century and built it
into the lovely park you can walk today, one full of enormous, mature trees and
impressive graves. There is also a long wall that contained many of those
damaged headstones, so you can walk along this sombre path and get a short
snapshot of the people who helped create the city about you. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6LWijp2WXTvIRqr3-VeWidxxItsR8AjGAEMfNJCjouTJX9LB4Dq9QzpxyjL5-lxyb2knrNtgv2HeG65MQwiTBfvJwuMUNSKsIKADoT1zGlGpQDqAu52erbAYYnBdDC_pYzkiYvW5gQT0/s1600/DSCN1176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="1600" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6LWijp2WXTvIRqr3-VeWidxxItsR8AjGAEMfNJCjouTJX9LB4Dq9QzpxyjL5-lxyb2knrNtgv2HeG65MQwiTBfvJwuMUNSKsIKADoT1zGlGpQDqAu52erbAYYnBdDC_pYzkiYvW5gQT0/s640/DSCN1176.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacIVvUV9M_ZnoYACNTRrFV4PbgmYqA-Us1yihA8ivvqRq5i-zgjLp34TEto77wbaiESs-qeb8CTSTiKpS68sRzphJr4vge3qjJ7vxN3MLvZz9oNaRRhQSHePe6US_rxzbc8ya5sO5OhM/s1600/DSCN1151a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacIVvUV9M_ZnoYACNTRrFV4PbgmYqA-Us1yihA8ivvqRq5i-zgjLp34TEto77wbaiESs-qeb8CTSTiKpS68sRzphJr4vge3qjJ7vxN3MLvZz9oNaRRhQSHePe6US_rxzbc8ya5sO5OhM/s320/DSCN1151a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As for those stone lions, they were
built by an English Stonemason who had got on the wrong side of the law and
sentenced to 10 years as a convict. In Hobart he redeemed himself by returning
to what he knew best, working stone, and these two stone lions were built to
adorn a Hobart Bank. Funnily enough the bank’s managers blew everyone’s money (partly
on their expensive building I am sure) and the financial institution crashed,
the building was eventually pulled down and after some time the stone lions
made their way to their current home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="https://lunarisgemstones.com.au/">https://lunarisgemstones.com.au/</a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0Hobart TAS 7000, Australia-42.8821377 147.3271949-42.905408200000004 147.28685439999998 -42.8588672 147.3675354tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-23368803864134772642017-04-12T22:08:00.000-07:002017-04-13T00:08:07.737-07:00Utah Part 3 the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSuVAvpXVtbe4JTMehtdgYzNCWUMDd7M9lEUnX3lvcxl-XJ515y0D9gVyErjQFhGv6wBSm8dgdFGOhyzU_YLp0Er2iVy_QvPbqDns9vmpxVGvTzWeAUrOn3NvpU8HQY8XHzr7ELXIq9Jg/s1600/103_6531a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSuVAvpXVtbe4JTMehtdgYzNCWUMDd7M9lEUnX3lvcxl-XJ515y0D9gVyErjQFhGv6wBSm8dgdFGOhyzU_YLp0Er2iVy_QvPbqDns9vmpxVGvTzWeAUrOn3NvpU8HQY8XHzr7ELXIq9Jg/s640/103_6531a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is a lot to see in Utah, especially around the dinosaur rich
region of Vernal. The town is the gateway to the National Dinosaur Monument;
while Vernal itself displays a number of old-time dinosaur roadside signs and
statues. Just a few minutes’ drive away is also a town called Dinosaur, with
streets named after the dinosaurs found in the region (all been covered
in Utah part 1 and 2 if you are interested to learn more about these locations).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I showed up bright and early at opening on a weekday, during winter, and had the run of the place…and what a place. This museum is a hidden treasure,
and if you are in the area, stop on by, you won’t be disappointed. Not only
does it contain high quality displays and a number of real fossils, it also
uses its space in a clever way, and I often found myself smiling and
thinking ‘nicely done.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqGgKm9KKAEpzJFRt5w7SFppGqOQDl3XkSt0qiIXNIk1gV4MswKMA0LKfL3AUnQS9mngxZVsXEYLflNjdRXwK8qR78HmzptD8C649-jx_OuDLKB-mxR_Jgxw90SnuBV40-AoLglXD3VA/s1600/103_6284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqGgKm9KKAEpzJFRt5w7SFppGqOQDl3XkSt0qiIXNIk1gV4MswKMA0LKfL3AUnQS9mngxZVsXEYLflNjdRXwK8qR78HmzptD8C649-jx_OuDLKB-mxR_Jgxw90SnuBV40-AoLglXD3VA/s640/103_6284.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are three main halls, all circling a large rotunda, with a few
small side spaces for temporary exhibits – and the majority of these contain specimens from the nearby, world famous, Unita basin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first version of the museum was opened in 1948, and has clearly undergone a number of renovations
as the display today is fresh and dynamic. After entering a reconstruction of
the local geological formations, where many of the fossils were found (this includes the display of a palaeontologist field camp), visitors are confronted with a canyon
wall embedded with fossils along various layers, encouraging you to try and figure
out what they are and where/when they belonged. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCMgTUwZoGNYKYKimMycQfdu5YxtYVAhMRZCuNqIFGTcE27tN7qNSrO-dJ-KifrLcPgqYXDAbrFSp-kpMDx6SmatsLNpqqscvuS5Gb5lt3NAYNHQfWcOZaaWWYVsvSRHDHnylI_N7c3E/s1600/103_6290a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCMgTUwZoGNYKYKimMycQfdu5YxtYVAhMRZCuNqIFGTcE27tN7qNSrO-dJ-KifrLcPgqYXDAbrFSp-kpMDx6SmatsLNpqqscvuS5Gb5lt3NAYNHQfWcOZaaWWYVsvSRHDHnylI_N7c3E/s640/103_6290a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This path leads to the first hall, where three dinosaur skeletons make up
the Jurassic Gallery. Central is a Stegosaurus skeleton, which you can walk partly around, with fossils showing specific features lying about it. This includes
the part of the stegosaur spine where it was once believed a second brain was
housed. Today it’s believed this large cavity held a glycogen body, a mysterious
structure also found in birds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Further back is <i>Allosaurus</i>,
feeding on the unlucky skeleton of a medium size sauropod, <i>Haplocanthosaurus</i>. One of the clever features I must tip my hat too
is the mural behind these dinosaurs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHzWQTc1gVyvL7kylWdIgCUdMmCashQYf3Y08Au_mio8qS4QCXYFP86OtG7PxoVFlafyshL9-hMonbtRoUVjK_frrOyhMkQ6anfInqribaXN-uV2kwW0bCcIzGuAkfjONj2guJVdTznE/s1600/103_6291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHzWQTc1gVyvL7kylWdIgCUdMmCashQYf3Y08Au_mio8qS4QCXYFP86OtG7PxoVFlafyshL9-hMonbtRoUVjK_frrOyhMkQ6anfInqribaXN-uV2kwW0bCcIzGuAkfjONj2guJVdTznE/s320/103_6291.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The mural is not only world class, it has a sense of humour, something
rare in the world today. If you look closely you will noticed the painting seems
to be incomplete, especially around the edges and at the head of the <i>Haplocanthosaurus</i>. The reason for this
is a simple one, the head of the sauropod has never been found, so how can you
paint the head of an animal when you don’t know what it looked like? Clever!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLSySq75zbD6xSK7t1sRAVXhOlH4xRm8oSb4IhOcooMeHtlRkUE0NTGiSwwHkPKrINBr4jK2Izo3GjcGGn_g2dljuSYBKD7XOeU6deD_aGMpGA9nPI-ewQ_9j0bhWIidey1Oct_ihh50/s1600/103_6344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLSySq75zbD6xSK7t1sRAVXhOlH4xRm8oSb4IhOcooMeHtlRkUE0NTGiSwwHkPKrINBr4jK2Izo3GjcGGn_g2dljuSYBKD7XOeU6deD_aGMpGA9nPI-ewQ_9j0bhWIidey1Oct_ihh50/s320/103_6344.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are some nice touches in this room, including a number of hands-on
activities for the kids. This all leads to a small ramp with light boxes
embedded inside. This path is like a time leap, skipping visitors from the Jurassic
to the Eocene- the other great fossil beds the region is known for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What first confronts you is an impressive fossil wall, covered in the small, brick-like
slabs of fossil material from the Green River Formation. Visually stunning,
this wall shows the incredible diversity of species collected from these rocks,
and is a real eye opener.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lkbGl9baIf6_p6sx8lAcIDR7pMswg2X0GZQrgcK6THZ27zKMaSIpIcRfB253cJ9a3iZv1sExSIv2D8cw4gRCwO7fLycwu5rcU32aYxMr2jXSV4iHkaWkPXii0sxHv6s8DYqsktkJ3DQ/s1600/103_6353a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lkbGl9baIf6_p6sx8lAcIDR7pMswg2X0GZQrgcK6THZ27zKMaSIpIcRfB253cJ9a3iZv1sExSIv2D8cw4gRCwO7fLycwu5rcU32aYxMr2jXSV4iHkaWkPXii0sxHv6s8DYqsktkJ3DQ/s640/103_6353a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpkj49LJFq1n15m-Xjp-4uyiwWf1_7xyOcNaQy48owxlsyfRBZG3ma_LzlKTlGAQvhE3tNw9IuG6lLl1nK5cLjMSQmoxxHB5-s3Bpxfb0VSDku1LkE0wzuT3ZVpg1hN6asmH9zQNVU00/s1600/103_6364a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpkj49LJFq1n15m-Xjp-4uyiwWf1_7xyOcNaQy48owxlsyfRBZG3ma_LzlKTlGAQvhE3tNw9IuG6lLl1nK5cLjMSQmoxxHB5-s3Bpxfb0VSDku1LkE0wzuT3ZVpg1hN6asmH9zQNVU00/s320/103_6364a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The display also includes a number of the enormous mammals that once
lived in Utah, including the bizarre <i>Uintatherium</i>.
This includes a life-like diorama of a moment in the ancient past, with two of
the great beasts fighting each other- their combat watched by the various creatures they
shared their world with. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONSdbnYyawee8dgKJ5YKg_Vngc-Zf70j_-lbExFfo-NgT-aJUht31RsDntmSS24c1cQr0ahTDpTPJ4Y9ARi8OLdPId_JnTqS55UNPqTEtmxgrRQ6jyMMNFnJ1Op0VCaocYXUGVnKG2wo/s1600/aa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONSdbnYyawee8dgKJ5YKg_Vngc-Zf70j_-lbExFfo-NgT-aJUht31RsDntmSS24c1cQr0ahTDpTPJ4Y9ARi8OLdPId_JnTqS55UNPqTEtmxgrRQ6jyMMNFnJ1Op0VCaocYXUGVnKG2wo/s640/aa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Nx6UGRAywAStfhM5QJVc8isLMHJK2Sr-sHD6D_1mKcH0YdvfxcHl3jg7d445DUKSGJYbRIFyiIBgaMeXgEmL7R8Y6sA0THphXzYP4CeQ9lHs1_oCZ9gj-bwFWwd2NWWBU4YgnloT6Ok/s1600/103_6377a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Nx6UGRAywAStfhM5QJVc8isLMHJK2Sr-sHD6D_1mKcH0YdvfxcHl3jg7d445DUKSGJYbRIFyiIBgaMeXgEmL7R8Y6sA0THphXzYP4CeQ9lHs1_oCZ9gj-bwFWwd2NWWBU4YgnloT6Ok/s400/103_6377a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This includes a strange creature called <i>Stylinodon</i>; one of the last and largest taeniodonts,
a group of herbivores that grew as large as a leopard, and are unrelated to any modern species
of mammal alive today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIzufAdFvc1APmfLpSJ5IheEzoeQzbdK1yDLOiO4mcX-zuvIyCT4E0yoyVRu79eY96ZVc7Zho44QVeRLvWP7H6BACeaNTGOPtI-WmhH2UdeH9J3dZOKSeNPDKYbC_Tqs6iJzHKPpZ0uEw/s1600/103_6413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIzufAdFvc1APmfLpSJ5IheEzoeQzbdK1yDLOiO4mcX-zuvIyCT4E0yoyVRu79eY96ZVc7Zho44QVeRLvWP7H6BACeaNTGOPtI-WmhH2UdeH9J3dZOKSeNPDKYbC_Tqs6iJzHKPpZ0uEw/s320/103_6413.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Utah also has an outcrop of Precambrian rocks, and the museum has a small
display of some specimens collected there. This includes a large wall-relief revealing where the rocks are in relation to many of the modern features of the state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another clever idea is the use of windows in the museum. These often open onto a model, such as a mammoth - models that would take up invaluable space
if they had to be kept inside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuCSMWOUXepEI3YKHquEWUNVRnh_-X9E7Y28fEq5yJ1VGLBHQa1q2Lz4NkOF2E9__SOuNiM6YzwvXF2VoFI-bnAuynHUHcgLOh0d9ZugoroziXkGpDISc0fgXyr0BFwAiM1NPD3kCtf4/s1600/103_6396a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuCSMWOUXepEI3YKHquEWUNVRnh_-X9E7Y28fEq5yJ1VGLBHQa1q2Lz4NkOF2E9__SOuNiM6YzwvXF2VoFI-bnAuynHUHcgLOh0d9ZugoroziXkGpDISc0fgXyr0BFwAiM1NPD3kCtf4/s640/103_6396a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The museum also houses a small display of fluorescing minerals, as well as paleo-art
by Prussian born Gerhard Ernest Untermann, Sr., also known as “The Artist of the
Uintas.”</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdwUcsixDU5l11IRZldFXLi7kUzDK_iPl5PaCHIi6QdLzYT7FysXVc8yC9c9WJKH_s_Ekeq4aLc2Cfs3EAx9PxyVWD_XB6F5yHidAeJKNLJvxSH3_C2v6QNd7neFVgIlc70lDtn10OXM/s1600/103_6443a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdwUcsixDU5l11IRZldFXLi7kUzDK_iPl5PaCHIi6QdLzYT7FysXVc8yC9c9WJKH_s_Ekeq4aLc2Cfs3EAx9PxyVWD_XB6F5yHidAeJKNLJvxSH3_C2v6QNd7neFVgIlc70lDtn10OXM/s320/103_6443a.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the main rotunda is housed the largest display in the museum, the enormous
skeleton of a <i>Diplodocus</i>. This stands
over a mosaic geological map of Utah, and it’s impressive to get up so close to
something this large. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLD2zkX1vfZruY4lys7ozoXTymgMQ14QNtAK5UnRI5RrtjiL-eaXThKpa4T52sH-KFmCz3NBHzvJgFnit-a7g-7Pozk-VOIxBJk5qAgyXZiIkKLgeo0eNrX_uH4mMusnF_o_yJIfhjm4/s1600/103_6425a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLD2zkX1vfZruY4lys7ozoXTymgMQ14QNtAK5UnRI5RrtjiL-eaXThKpa4T52sH-KFmCz3NBHzvJgFnit-a7g-7Pozk-VOIxBJk5qAgyXZiIkKLgeo0eNrX_uH4mMusnF_o_yJIfhjm4/s640/103_6425a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTV-D-Sb-zHnSnnLslvIaV6M865gRuJ7HdyZqEWgcENxgKHazD5jgkoFkYUu0ZNJ4cSm4kCalS7KvLLbthlDARBYiufg98PNYttZm-1ljVglqHs-yPKBejHj8NVJ58QJQbOTXl7mtzYY/s1600/103_6450a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTV-D-Sb-zHnSnnLslvIaV6M865gRuJ7HdyZqEWgcENxgKHazD5jgkoFkYUu0ZNJ4cSm4kCalS7KvLLbthlDARBYiufg98PNYttZm-1ljVglqHs-yPKBejHj8NVJ58QJQbOTXl7mtzYY/s320/103_6450a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the last displays is about the long anthropological history of
the region. This includes articles and images from the Fremont Indians - an
unfortunate name I feel as it reflects the name of the river, named after John
Charles Frémont - a man distinctly not Native American. The local people were
related to the Utes and Navajo, so it would be nice to have a name that
reflected this culture, but that's my own, personal opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCkZY8hwfXH6YL3pDe7GL3JW5BLILt4rGQ4-q3UoswF1Jup8PFaf26s2bRJVgMb19CMzrXy46AOqzOcDGpCQYT02OJXc0XpzxNunZ7XI_8zQKNswadQ5Q0o2uGOrG4GWhkAGfyMuUoE8/s1600/103_6488a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCkZY8hwfXH6YL3pDe7GL3JW5BLILt4rGQ4-q3UoswF1Jup8PFaf26s2bRJVgMb19CMzrXy46AOqzOcDGpCQYT02OJXc0XpzxNunZ7XI_8zQKNswadQ5Q0o2uGOrG4GWhkAGfyMuUoE8/s640/103_6488a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Sc_N-ICXTpfnJj0BVZdyP_6-TCgz0xwBrymwKAZOIm-9qG7fUm9r8SM6Lhqv3AZO-g7o9LIaZY3IJ6AlnKTHMHRHTy39ZeHFzBpMzRX5tAlqQhdAOaETTHbkJJ1bJp1G82_-bbRvF_U/s1600/aaa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Sc_N-ICXTpfnJj0BVZdyP_6-TCgz0xwBrymwKAZOIm-9qG7fUm9r8SM6Lhqv3AZO-g7o9LIaZY3IJ6AlnKTHMHRHTy39ZeHFzBpMzRX5tAlqQhdAOaETTHbkJJ1bJp1G82_-bbRvF_U/s320/aaa.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once outside, there is also a garden walk, containing over a dozen life-like
models. These are not just dinosaurs, but numerous prehistoric creatures, including pterosaurs and models of <i>Mochops</i>, which I might be
mistaken, but could be the only life-size models on display anywhere (I could be
wrong about this, so please let me know if I am).<br />all in all, a great museum, well worth a visit.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0496 E Main St, Vernal, UT 84078, USA40.4553291 -109.5198100999999714.9332946 -150.82840409999997 65.9773636 -68.211216099999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-27103443655810583442016-12-10T03:51:00.000-08:002016-12-10T04:29:36.512-08:00Jurassic World- The exhibit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj_KQ0EdnPIyYgEw0DRZ25TTm-cyfF2vsIs49xxcj4gjdJhdIwYT7zyv5enz7sN44qSZzYaTQhjy1-ZcOhH642Mntohq7UpVGYamxqzrhF8dSJIosYp1fahLG2PZJAdprr1exg42W9OCU/s1600/P1010106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj_KQ0EdnPIyYgEw0DRZ25TTm-cyfF2vsIs49xxcj4gjdJhdIwYT7zyv5enz7sN44qSZzYaTQhjy1-ZcOhH642Mntohq7UpVGYamxqzrhF8dSJIosYp1fahLG2PZJAdprr1exg42W9OCU/s640/P1010106.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaGGJVSk7_tF246yGRoslo76Z_FJMkhMvIIUOgqJCdL-aFsyzjg5bTrqatUG5lqSzKH7WZ4UIGTG2oN_AQNWYzY2gpuAQF2dboHxxIqZLd6Nz4i90JFgs6IiM7Ggo7PXnZpbJhl8n5JI/s1600/20160912_105242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaGGJVSk7_tF246yGRoslo76Z_FJMkhMvIIUOgqJCdL-aFsyzjg5bTrqatUG5lqSzKH7WZ4UIGTG2oN_AQNWYzY2gpuAQF2dboHxxIqZLd6Nz4i90JFgs6IiM7Ggo7PXnZpbJhl8n5JI/s320/20160912_105242.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The 4<sup>th</sup> highest grossing film of all time,
Jurassic World was always going to spawn a lot of merchandise, and the largest
and possibly greatest is touring the world as we speak. Opening at Australia’s
Museum of Victoria (and currently on display at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia),
I was lucky enough to see Jurassic World: The Exhibit before it finished its
run in Melbourne.</span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXf_KZ4jMefTjj0gVO6bXx4VZIhyFM-cEGp_IAS73bMKFTopKUCXYpGez7Be_svtoFYo4Co6ZgiyojsqMQssEQQMFOSgffS0MBD9eP-98neNXAwowb55kIJvrS1gLS7aF-FbzEmo-7bc/s1600/P1010103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXf_KZ4jMefTjj0gVO6bXx4VZIhyFM-cEGp_IAS73bMKFTopKUCXYpGez7Be_svtoFYo4Co6ZgiyojsqMQssEQQMFOSgffS0MBD9eP-98neNXAwowb55kIJvrS1gLS7aF-FbzEmo-7bc/s640/P1010103.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Journey is a clever one. To start with, I found myself
lining up outside the exhibit with a handful of people near a couple of life-like Velociraptors that
had seemingly escaped and were hanging around a shipping container. I can only
assume this is where the park was holding the goats it feeds the T.rex.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZnAchPRo7GkQIGot8niguVybEa7d4sCysr0Pyr7kxKVdCLjBtsnOABiI4TE43mJVhUuxIKS6NOdhtdA9WbU9VQvsWTjZy7S1TsVOIrRdml-RrvjytDjcQwzwbYX4ct4f3ozjLhpMJiU/s1600/P1010108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZnAchPRo7GkQIGot8niguVybEa7d4sCysr0Pyr7kxKVdCLjBtsnOABiI4TE43mJVhUuxIKS6NOdhtdA9WbU9VQvsWTjZy7S1TsVOIrRdml-RrvjytDjcQwzwbYX4ct4f3ozjLhpMJiU/s640/P1010108.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdxBxpk5niuY2rluME893lvxsBAIBXtggy-pvP6agdcuFdiXNVMYfNjF2UihONg3b2x1xesiemyp1bG7BQB_cTbA4-NUiOHwNToGKBCvMHQhIUMvGcCTNi3jdniEzKis-PVu_201ByL8/s1600/P1010115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdxBxpk5niuY2rluME893lvxsBAIBXtggy-pvP6agdcuFdiXNVMYfNjF2UihONg3b2x1xesiemyp1bG7BQB_cTbA4-NUiOHwNToGKBCvMHQhIUMvGcCTNi3jdniEzKis-PVu_201ByL8/s320/P1010115.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When it is time to enter, the first thing you find yourself
in is one of the vessels sailing across to the island of Isla Nublar. You learn
about weather conditions on the island and a few of the highlights (in reality
you are being creatively held back while the tour before you clears the first
exhibit), and after only a few minutes the doors open and you find yourself at
the gates to Jurassic World.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaxj-PwAHwBKOwkOJ_1yeoknBlSOoNirjxr5mzOCdQ2M9QfXWJIKtK_RT2L2944ylRL0fw1nDD_JBl0p97FzueeojJ0gIfREf5a7whfLdVvVMkFG2AdPNt5OXcpB4BiJGWDT8_DYkNzRM/s1600/P1010125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaxj-PwAHwBKOwkOJ_1yeoknBlSOoNirjxr5mzOCdQ2M9QfXWJIKtK_RT2L2944ylRL0fw1nDD_JBl0p97FzueeojJ0gIfREf5a7whfLdVvVMkFG2AdPNt5OXcpB4BiJGWDT8_DYkNzRM/s640/P1010125.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Inside is an enormous wooded area with a life size
Brachiosaurus eyeing off and reacting to the gathered crowd. I must admit I did
hang back and have a look at everything between groups and I still am not sure
if the Brachiosaur was reacting to me or was on a set pattern. Either way, it
was pretty cool.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPC71a_Q9K1wMXx7eCV9h4JjThkeBjWCADPN5xMA2pQ_T9nAIML91jusaLjheRjplEZlLbJ-SikScXAu5p3L7bv6k0dtHnRU09GTRgBDfEG5ZvTIE1X3Gt0FfzLGIMyi-zErhuvOc2p4/s1600/P1010150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPC71a_Q9K1wMXx7eCV9h4JjThkeBjWCADPN5xMA2pQ_T9nAIML91jusaLjheRjplEZlLbJ-SikScXAu5p3L7bv6k0dtHnRU09GTRgBDfEG5ZvTIE1X3Gt0FfzLGIMyi-zErhuvOc2p4/s320/P1010150.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Something to keep an eye out for is the Parasaurolophus
exhibit. When I first walked past the dinosaur was moving and doing stuff far
back in its display, but later I noticed the dinosaur comes right out and interacts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next is the enormous (and possibly oversized)
Pachyrhinosaurus in its pen. I was amazed at the range of motion this one
exhibited and was happy to stand there for some time and watch, but there was
more of the park to be explored and I was off.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxblZevoDW9ylQZu_t32c1cC--GALPn2IdjkWHD25VnfqvJ0IS8LokdK1FcSm6cyxqmsWG4bVh_BZRHyR7MGg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSgr6clZLRGCN5_8FDWopHXeSgbSzBUM_XlLz1afIzIKliWuknCFvP0d9rEtEooeKPM5PbFhAhWIL5jRlqmgE5F_Z4iNpxrqsS_kWKWNtK72TetHTDvEA3gaoHChlCqNHx2JKsQI8_ys/s1600/P1010176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSgr6clZLRGCN5_8FDWopHXeSgbSzBUM_XlLz1afIzIKliWuknCFvP0d9rEtEooeKPM5PbFhAhWIL5jRlqmgE5F_Z4iNpxrqsS_kWKWNtK72TetHTDvEA3gaoHChlCqNHx2JKsQI8_ys/s320/P1010176.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Soon you enter the Jurassic World’s center of operations. Here you
could explore the technology that helped create the park, and you get to
interact a number of displays and even help create your own dinosaurs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBAyj1JQMT3BmKjNQrEKg_AlLhTpTySsDkhb2A1UURA3tZ1GbytHk-JytvpPlbwSLKZoQdf_jgg7d7Dy4PK4EPPtmqInTLPDReCtuocPCIsJ8FSnBMOz2WFYgZDIf6cprJcqI_Jx3pMw/s1600/P1010165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBAyj1JQMT3BmKjNQrEKg_AlLhTpTySsDkhb2A1UURA3tZ1GbytHk-JytvpPlbwSLKZoQdf_jgg7d7Dy4PK4EPPtmqInTLPDReCtuocPCIsJ8FSnBMOz2WFYgZDIf6cprJcqI_Jx3pMw/s640/P1010165.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It took
me a while to notice at the far end there was a large screen counting down to
what has to be the jewel of the display, the Tyrannosaurus rex paddock.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Zi7cXY-nCWBnDSj98tH3qWBNgOEYVrGYqZUWDwtn2cp37Ep-zp6of2TM8FBAKDUATvUV_0boM8mXniiezApwmk4l11uZf7MoTMfZofpx9ybal6iMXocPgqN3EuvQPuww4E26Ni76oHc/s1600/P1010178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Zi7cXY-nCWBnDSj98tH3qWBNgOEYVrGYqZUWDwtn2cp37Ep-zp6of2TM8FBAKDUATvUV_0boM8mXniiezApwmk4l11uZf7MoTMfZofpx9ybal6iMXocPgqN3EuvQPuww4E26Ni76oHc/s640/P1010178.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once the gates to the paddock opened you walk along a security
fence with a truck at the far end. Here you wait and watch as a simulated storm
hits the park and, a lightning flash reveals the T.rex.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWINNiXXsAcP3PBu9bmvNouP4yP6veWvvBaC0hhrUJHsY0ZYLTVHqxh8EmjRgmilFbl96A07Gn0jVFpVjInnuqp11CQVPj4Qj0rqC5ts1hMFEVX9BPFMNlaobCdHViGwmL9DwHuyowYOY/s1600/P1010210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWINNiXXsAcP3PBu9bmvNouP4yP6veWvvBaC0hhrUJHsY0ZYLTVHqxh8EmjRgmilFbl96A07Gn0jVFpVjInnuqp11CQVPj4Qj0rqC5ts1hMFEVX9BPFMNlaobCdHViGwmL9DwHuyowYOY/s640/P1010210.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It stalks forward,
investigates the truck, almost flips it over, roars a few times, possibly eats
a goat (that could be my imagination), then heads back. I loved it- I loved it
so much I stayed and watched it a number of times.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimIOEsLQBYoEFmcdrmwT_YTTfw2LFtZGWz9V_d4eyCgBo8vTW2XjJ1BDu5pPR7GMMLIHCg8CqQ018uym2r-WR8nG7sSQezM9HqLcuAIhYKUuOKcK2FSjBe2aJEcI1coVZiSkTV7tdiz_8/s1600/P1010224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimIOEsLQBYoEFmcdrmwT_YTTfw2LFtZGWz9V_d4eyCgBo8vTW2XjJ1BDu5pPR7GMMLIHCg8CqQ018uym2r-WR8nG7sSQezM9HqLcuAIhYKUuOKcK2FSjBe2aJEcI1coVZiSkTV7tdiz_8/s640/P1010224.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9ln8tHSAzZbV3-GTqqPMXnu9-0gRzl9JWDtbfue-NUB9QNPaRstd3CqtaiaULJMWhJr5VWZq-HBM7PoaJRdR8Hx_xZM8LSg62Z10n9rBMr504ZeXLErYdiwdD2VdwxD0LK1bbwyk1JQ/s1600/P1010271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9ln8tHSAzZbV3-GTqqPMXnu9-0gRzl9JWDtbfue-NUB9QNPaRstd3CqtaiaULJMWhJr5VWZq-HBM7PoaJRdR8Hx_xZM8LSg62Z10n9rBMr504ZeXLErYdiwdD2VdwxD0LK1bbwyk1JQ/s320/P1010271.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The final display is an enormous stegosaurus in its paddock.
Everything is sunshine and fun and a pleasant video interpreter starts telling
you about the dinosaur until a warning klaxon goes off….something is wrong. Suddenly
the light changes, the stegosaur goes wild and the Indominus rex escapes its
paddock. This is all very exciting and the attack goes for a while so you get
to have a good look at both animals, though again you could also stay and watch
it a few times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTB_avAI5MD5_kGJNXNh3Gm5RmFdeZKqet8V9j4rz9AYkR_tFrolvNTWyRsGfYd6c9u3BLrphHbxgA7xZgyw7hk5U6sNDd3zAbneGV1e-ce8USZEPNz0DpbjXVV6i7rCYT0kky-JWGQGM/s1600/P1010179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTB_avAI5MD5_kGJNXNh3Gm5RmFdeZKqet8V9j4rz9AYkR_tFrolvNTWyRsGfYd6c9u3BLrphHbxgA7xZgyw7hk5U6sNDd3zAbneGV1e-ce8USZEPNz0DpbjXVV6i7rCYT0kky-JWGQGM/s640/P1010179.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is almost the end of the exhibit. There is an exhibit
display that explains a lot of the science behind the park and the dinosaurs;
we also got a rundown of Australian dinosaurs, something I am sure the museum
had put together and not part of the actual exhibit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkB0U-4R0-hq4XckakYrcxeFVauQIWGIAaHmAfHCLgDcwl6p-vMZm3OyA2vYvy4ZiukPR5se8prWuFQWSy9fFk2WuGuSNqOvLiFy5dSHOsfBIwY8oWZgFLN0sETi4S61gGH_9XOO2eyo/s1600/P1010247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkB0U-4R0-hq4XckakYrcxeFVauQIWGIAaHmAfHCLgDcwl6p-vMZm3OyA2vYvy4ZiukPR5se8prWuFQWSy9fFk2WuGuSNqOvLiFy5dSHOsfBIwY8oWZgFLN0sETi4S61gGH_9XOO2eyo/s640/P1010247.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I liked it, a lot. The animatronics or top shelf and show a
wide range of motion. There are also some clever pieces that add to the
experience, and there is also more merchandise for sale in the shop than you
can shake a raptor at.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-54041565564373770242016-07-27T21:08:00.000-07:002016-07-28T19:48:54.976-07:00American Museum of Natural History Part One, The Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2xR2fI7kZKfiaZM4ZDvo7Pjr3OAURmVMF5ODF_U-ARnNTbSwpzttErNT8ci1x45C19dbH1XzgAhAkkvLv04qCxSZSz5ScS_zxwjxoBbw5KdsVdBr8AuSpdhVsA6-bc6LqMsB8Xf671A/s1600/new+york+day3-pt1+003a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2xR2fI7kZKfiaZM4ZDvo7Pjr3OAURmVMF5ODF_U-ARnNTbSwpzttErNT8ci1x45C19dbH1XzgAhAkkvLv04qCxSZSz5ScS_zxwjxoBbw5KdsVdBr8AuSpdhVsA6-bc6LqMsB8Xf671A/s640/new+york+day3-pt1+003a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">If you’re going to the American
Museum of Natural History (AMNH), make sure you go there via the subway, this
way you won’t miss the amazing AMNH station, with its fossil strewn walls and
murals of living creatures.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxuYpk5ZqbhQNlyewTbosxXuK15pnPCcsQdIiFdQzENYxgf7GC7NDnW5vWC5PIeefQCy4Nu6UIh9PKEoRvOvab1jjrHXVYR9OhSx7mg8K7i1_dPTIhvmQw3ymcA-9HeNZcP6qmPfO3wU/s1600/new+york+day3-pt1+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxuYpk5ZqbhQNlyewTbosxXuK15pnPCcsQdIiFdQzENYxgf7GC7NDnW5vWC5PIeefQCy4Nu6UIh9PKEoRvOvab1jjrHXVYR9OhSx7mg8K7i1_dPTIhvmQw3ymcA-9HeNZcP6qmPfO3wU/s640/new+york+day3-pt1+004.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjk9WUJxgxMNO6kk-DAs4DsU3sI78WcpFEUpAHwBr5CZCRM3hwe35Xe5qEcPnYNM5jZTOfIaGfq6RLi7iwKqMgZZuKMoI90Wjc9zNyOIYsCcT382W3VM-SIwptUZzvue4Wb9lcwBv8MAI/s1600/NY+UN+2+497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjk9WUJxgxMNO6kk-DAs4DsU3sI78WcpFEUpAHwBr5CZCRM3hwe35Xe5qEcPnYNM5jZTOfIaGfq6RLi7iwKqMgZZuKMoI90Wjc9zNyOIYsCcT382W3VM-SIwptUZzvue4Wb9lcwBv8MAI/s320/NY+UN+2+497.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The station is full of artwork,
and the stairwell has been designed as though you are descending through
geological time the deeper you go (81<sup>st</sup> street entrance) or diving
into the ocean (79<sup>th</sup> street entrance). It’s a great way to start off
your visit. The station also has its own entrance into the museum, helping you
miss those nasty summer holiday crowds.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktnVo03m-xo7OGB8S5ZyQTNLSM0BpxU2S5SCLJTow8YxFukB9LpqjDjiUYcYzr8MWbZObybAcHmMaZoyPxcpReXOCwc-BxYbsqmQE9Ma-Rl-0W-ZL36qT214pARamdZMRPK9rFAgWdqA/s1600/new+york+329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktnVo03m-xo7OGB8S5ZyQTNLSM0BpxU2S5SCLJTow8YxFukB9LpqjDjiUYcYzr8MWbZObybAcHmMaZoyPxcpReXOCwc-BxYbsqmQE9Ma-Rl-0W-ZL36qT214pARamdZMRPK9rFAgWdqA/s640/new+york+329.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The one problem with this is you
won’t walk into the museum through the main foyer, which has to be one of the
great thrills of your visit, so another plan might be to enter through the
front doors and use the subway entrance to leave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxja7A7onpTUXk9GSGVhFmk0Uiff2V3_n0tMrELBsCiIDnXJeyq8wph5xYT7TwIUW4OEfaL3qr38GZsxqYFUtr82l8AQpjojjIiB3FV3tksBqS97DvJZkSfuy_Lav5UovZbTJw56EboOA/s1600/new+york+day3-pt1+326a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxja7A7onpTUXk9GSGVhFmk0Uiff2V3_n0tMrELBsCiIDnXJeyq8wph5xYT7TwIUW4OEfaL3qr38GZsxqYFUtr82l8AQpjojjIiB3FV3tksBqS97DvJZkSfuy_Lav5UovZbTJw56EboOA/s400/new+york+day3-pt1+326a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A New York landmark since 1967,
the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda is a massive, cavernous hall that is so large it
manages to dwarf the world’s largest freestanding dinosaur exhibit. In the
middle of the room is a mother <i><b>Barosaurus</b> </i>rearing up on her hind
legs to defend her baby from an approaching <b><i>Allosaurus</i></b>. You can
walk around the entirety of this display with its backdrop of the hall and the
stunning rosette filled roof.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyRirob8dGyfu2Q7EYhDBxpqloePBrtlzhwW9yGNgyJ6EdySE8andva611IB26_LsMXDFPG7WlgnF9oxYeBHmL9ocS_DNyQRwvgM8EgIVvhBsj8nqjrczdt5wIulK0UqXz2KqzP8FDfY/s1600/new+york+day3-pt1+340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyRirob8dGyfu2Q7EYhDBxpqloePBrtlzhwW9yGNgyJ6EdySE8andva611IB26_LsMXDFPG7WlgnF9oxYeBHmL9ocS_DNyQRwvgM8EgIVvhBsj8nqjrczdt5wIulK0UqXz2KqzP8FDfY/s640/new+york+day3-pt1+340.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">From the rotunda you can pass
through a number of doors that will completely change the way you visit the museum,
so instead of suggesting a way to go, I’m just going to highlight the displays
on each floor of the museum. As this is one of the world’s major displays, I
don’t think doing it in one post will do it justice, so it will likely take two
or three, with each part focusing on one of the major palaeontology displays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Dt-gY009B_YyNGo3ghjrF8D9Njsp8mLXzqcKnaFGqyOi5nKjtwRZK8yeWGw5KiPi_eBSxu8BigJ3Cp7p79ABHmjRit09RLDeKwGWuH1FxxconLGthAmfhhP25bpbCPmDeWaUHpmjDqI/s1600/NY+UN+2+396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Dt-gY009B_YyNGo3ghjrF8D9Njsp8mLXzqcKnaFGqyOi5nKjtwRZK8yeWGw5KiPi_eBSxu8BigJ3Cp7p79ABHmjRit09RLDeKwGWuH1FxxconLGthAmfhhP25bpbCPmDeWaUHpmjDqI/s640/NY+UN+2+396.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs</span></span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGd04XjdntdZzkmPJjxfBwu0O_-bkHp2KYnwD6ilpODQxD7pJ5HgY4L6g4XAOQ2R5EMRgRW_u6yIuQx0CXVzRuQC6l8Bq2rR901UKFQBJpUhPGvfhB_m8IHcO9JPQxPrxVwd-U4uqjDDo/s1600/NY+UN+2+363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGd04XjdntdZzkmPJjxfBwu0O_-bkHp2KYnwD6ilpODQxD7pJ5HgY4L6g4XAOQ2R5EMRgRW_u6yIuQx0CXVzRuQC6l8Bq2rR901UKFQBJpUhPGvfhB_m8IHcO9JPQxPrxVwd-U4uqjDDo/s320/NY+UN+2+363.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Confusingly called ‘Bird-hipped’ dinosaurs with a pubic bone that points toward the back, t</span>he museum has an extensive
display of ornithischian dinosaurs here on the 4<sup>th</sup> floor, including a number of
favourites, including an extensive ceratopsian collection, crowned with a
complete <i><b>Triceratops</b></i> skeleton.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0uyd4TuX0iGVyLAd8hZJupAeP0MyQor_sEqouhP8isA1TeucIWQg590_Z0QItAlSkrfyXnDDslbdZ_OaBtRmwvqWz0tbFsjHE6C556HfoKjS_D_n-z30Cs6fDSk6k3AvCbTQdHOu-CJw/s1600/NY+UN+2+335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 27pt;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0uyd4TuX0iGVyLAd8hZJupAeP0MyQor_sEqouhP8isA1TeucIWQg590_Z0QItAlSkrfyXnDDslbdZ_OaBtRmwvqWz0tbFsjHE6C556HfoKjS_D_n-z30Cs6fDSk6k3AvCbTQdHOu-CJw/s640/NY+UN+2+335.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaFjCJQ4rC7XNNMRe3W1EhzfD3R6WG8m1EJhe6nUk9XyaqtYrv4hX5gF2UyMPUEZbw2VLcRe9z9zIhPkunosuDC9WITgiJi8lyc6_kLX_LPioAGQTChMSS1xYAWTy-JpAGpOwUHlO3Fk/s1600/NY+UN+2+349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaFjCJQ4rC7XNNMRe3W1EhzfD3R6WG8m1EJhe6nUk9XyaqtYrv4hX5gF2UyMPUEZbw2VLcRe9z9zIhPkunosuDC9WITgiJi8lyc6_kLX_LPioAGQTChMSS1xYAWTy-JpAGpOwUHlO3Fk/s320/NY+UN+2+349.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks
to the various expeditions the AMNH sponsored, most famously the Mongolian
expedition under the command of the original Indiana Jones, Roy Chapman Andrews,
there is an amazing display of <i><b>Protoceratops</b></i>
fossils, including a growth series from in fact to adulthood. The only other
similar display to this I have seen is a ceratopsian skull series at the Museum
of the Rockies.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUXmT9e9kp35MiU7DMMU49bTpr5X6BVY3utzYZlEYWa7j70Y1Q5GqTEQjTXszbht3F47LuuEo0wxlYCpAJxAkosnrvdxCrb0jR2KEN_C9_Vx4VaStOGmMBSNqyrAirCwUDT7oQN6Edo8/s1600/NY+UN+2+486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 27pt;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUXmT9e9kp35MiU7DMMU49bTpr5X6BVY3utzYZlEYWa7j70Y1Q5GqTEQjTXszbht3F47LuuEo0wxlYCpAJxAkosnrvdxCrb0jR2KEN_C9_Vx4VaStOGmMBSNqyrAirCwUDT7oQN6Edo8/s640/NY+UN+2+486.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBvHqN8f_T8Q5b2vSqw4MxErzaMmP2ZpSuMl8Zuyd1WkZT_V9lUs7NesMu3N7rhbvzdRU1RLE9LXtQPH0Y-obFSDxSTf1a3OCM31UPY6O7wkvKhp51lXvjPWFc9Cj493kgW-1mLWiwgGQ/s1600/NY+UN+2+484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBvHqN8f_T8Q5b2vSqw4MxErzaMmP2ZpSuMl8Zuyd1WkZT_V9lUs7NesMu3N7rhbvzdRU1RLE9LXtQPH0Y-obFSDxSTf1a3OCM31UPY6O7wkvKhp51lXvjPWFc9Cj493kgW-1mLWiwgGQ/s320/NY+UN+2+484.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBrjvxNZDJvmMmXM0jBjBvN2bBLBIGUpm2tEWcbC3I6-wvoKnO8DNMfwPwn8vtqiHTOBOd4QF1EnM0C9wORt9LAoZPE_LUSkNzZ3RI4wScNpW3X6omB3M9CHGUZcUNfKX4rub8ABDFkQ/s1600/NY+UN+2+376.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 27pt;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBrjvxNZDJvmMmXM0jBjBvN2bBLBIGUpm2tEWcbC3I6-wvoKnO8DNMfwPwn8vtqiHTOBOd4QF1EnM0C9wORt9LAoZPE_LUSkNzZ3RI4wScNpW3X6omB3M9CHGUZcUNfKX4rub8ABDFkQ/s400/NY+UN+2+376.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is (or was at the time) a
display about Andrew’s trip into Mongolia just outside the gallery. Along with
a number of fascinating articles is the flag that flew above one of the
vehicles on displays.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">For me it was the </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-indent: 27pt;"><b>Styracosaurus</b></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"> (a childhood favourite) that
I found myself gazing at. That skull is astonishing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nIg0N0g7Lm46vXpWa__CNVWW5dRvmcP0seXJFp1JIKbXjaU5E2UlH2lJK6FWMwdyh1-wCWTjWxhgD2nDErBxKE9KPheoo8Y1ow6ttZYaLUh8aB0RId8dQ0MbmlDnl9lCCtysFKqi3Vc/s1600/NY+UN+2+288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nIg0N0g7Lm46vXpWa__CNVWW5dRvmcP0seXJFp1JIKbXjaU5E2UlH2lJK6FWMwdyh1-wCWTjWxhgD2nDErBxKE9KPheoo8Y1ow6ttZYaLUh8aB0RId8dQ0MbmlDnl9lCCtysFKqi3Vc/s320/NY+UN+2+288.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Almost all the ornithischian are
represented. There is a very nice <i><b>Edmontia</b></i>
skeleton, an <i><b>Ankylosaurus</b></i> tail club
and <i><b>Sauroplotea</b></i> armoured body. There is
a <i><b>Pachycephalosaurus</b></i>, <i><b>Psittacosaurus</b></i> and a bipedal <i><b>Camptosaurus</b></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7zqmXzm_yj6TUCI7CQQ7nCm7mZsre-SePAFdZscibhDzilPVqej-PK0SHwCp0HJglrdPweHlO8njvYeL6h9u_A5IpSyWTTRQ8K0a6JrBufvhHawCcOQWNa2aD_3jc-IKUHVh5E1Jxbg/s1600/NY+UN+2+302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7zqmXzm_yj6TUCI7CQQ7nCm7mZsre-SePAFdZscibhDzilPVqej-PK0SHwCp0HJglrdPweHlO8njvYeL6h9u_A5IpSyWTTRQ8K0a6JrBufvhHawCcOQWNa2aD_3jc-IKUHVh5E1Jxbg/s400/NY+UN+2+302.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Stegosaurus behind glass...</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i><b>Stegosaurus</b></i> skeleton is great, but hidden behind glass and
highlights one of my great issues with the entire display….glass! There are
glass walls and glass panels and glass signs and glass walls and, running along
both sides of the room are large glass windows. This means that, at almost
every time of the day sunlight is streaming though these windows and it is extremely
difficult to get a photo without at least one glass pane reflecting the light
filled window. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudH2rrguWgSnMeY5jG7MywfI3pSQe5TnIHq5ACJKhTSzPeqV3LTHf8dgvY3uW7vMENiZaUKJPCuXTlEQewljmdadwXtUpI_t3hIp0C__ErUlv93VRuNYGrIOcT-5YMb-F-6eRnotzlVY/s1600/NY+UN+2+305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudH2rrguWgSnMeY5jG7MywfI3pSQe5TnIHq5ACJKhTSzPeqV3LTHf8dgvY3uW7vMENiZaUKJPCuXTlEQewljmdadwXtUpI_t3hIp0C__ErUlv93VRuNYGrIOcT-5YMb-F-6eRnotzlVY/s400/NY+UN+2+305.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>...and the difference without the glass.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">Though not an issue for the
general public, for paleo fans it can become a little annoying when you cannot
get a clean picture.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-et2grvz657vZJllvcgqnbOCAxxxEqMvBA3D-RtWgsiIewy3tPrq59s71HzxrPRKQKzzaDnnCjixxP6giOrjyTGJGw1n9rqoZVxwsvoxeYGy7xLd_kFTU5_xU-7ovBXu5nIPcbnudak/s1600/NY+UN+2+327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-et2grvz657vZJllvcgqnbOCAxxxEqMvBA3D-RtWgsiIewy3tPrq59s71HzxrPRKQKzzaDnnCjixxP6giOrjyTGJGw1n9rqoZVxwsvoxeYGy7xLd_kFTU5_xU-7ovBXu5nIPcbnudak/s320/NY+UN+2+327.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The major component of the
display, however, are the numerous hadrosaurs skeletons. Rising to the roof and
dominating the room are the two <i><b>Anatotitan</b></i> skeletons. Once called <i><b>Anatosaurus</b></i>, <i><b>Diclonius</b></i>, <i><b>Claosaurus</b></i>, <i><b>Hadrosaurus</b></i> and <i><b>Trachodon</b></i> (to name a few). To be fair, it has been a few years
since I have visited the AMNH, so there is every chance these skeletons have
gone through another name change to <i><b>Edmontosaurus</b></i>.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykmczekXyC-lPtJdX2p8TYemh0vgf9OllA08kjClDVW1et-2_Fu1jWJ71hubmXrlkfIrO3f092DgrZibyYbeDWOri7BZc_8O7va5sOxtbb5YR6cC7bqSZ5LkV26c6gOeuWm4s_vclDhU/s1600/NY+UN+2+400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 27pt;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykmczekXyC-lPtJdX2p8TYemh0vgf9OllA08kjClDVW1et-2_Fu1jWJ71hubmXrlkfIrO3f092DgrZibyYbeDWOri7BZc_8O7va5sOxtbb5YR6cC7bqSZ5LkV26c6gOeuWm4s_vclDhU/s640/NY+UN+2+400.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">These two skeletons still hide a
secret from the time when these dinosaurs were being fist discovered and
mounted in museums. Today we understand that bipedal dinosaurs walked with
their tails hanging high, as a counter-balance, but previously it was believed
many dinosaurs walked and stood like a kangaroo, with the tail acting as a
third leg and resting on the ground.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkcuq6ZAZEfmiwfWVIuLgdJV6YLaePhH1qAR3KkxIA1-OprAYiOZAmZbSSBECHrIVtEjHgXSJC_6wwFmwf3ThS59gcZ4cVaMYAtTxHtCly00S5it0c7qLz64UhYZKElrp7kQWVCnpPoA/s1600/NY+UN+2+385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkcuq6ZAZEfmiwfWVIuLgdJV6YLaePhH1qAR3KkxIA1-OprAYiOZAmZbSSBECHrIVtEjHgXSJC_6wwFmwf3ThS59gcZ4cVaMYAtTxHtCly00S5it0c7qLz64UhYZKElrp7kQWVCnpPoA/s400/NY+UN+2+385.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">Though many older museums have
updated their displays to reflect this, the AMNH hadrosaurs are still standing
there the way they always have, with their tails on the ground.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;">The gem of this hall is the
fossil classified as AMNH 5730. This mummified hadrosaur fossil can be found
lying just before the <b><i>Edmontosaurus</i></b> duo, and was unearthed by fossil hunter
Charles Sternberg and his sons in 1908.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobVblPtyB0fFBW_2VkUOlY-Iq6LTxjmlIvj_KHeDc81Li2BbSg0ZZqqXSzFf2wvliJBz9BGmasUuoHIJ2uSTtC2nFpj_f7ji-TLHtPkL4rzl1M6DsYPNImuafAdMb9mL_Hf0QO8_eqRU/s1600/new+york+399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobVblPtyB0fFBW_2VkUOlY-Iq6LTxjmlIvj_KHeDc81Li2BbSg0ZZqqXSzFf2wvliJBz9BGmasUuoHIJ2uSTtC2nFpj_f7ji-TLHtPkL4rzl1M6DsYPNImuafAdMb9mL_Hf0QO8_eqRU/s400/new+york+399.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also on display are skeletons and
skulls from many hadrosaurs such as <i><b>Corythosaurus</b></i>,
<i><b>Parasaurolophus</b></i>, and <i><b>Lambeosaurus</b></i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcayCNv4T41iSRu_55JqaTMWFxf-HxYyvYR3-QYeW9MlCE3k9N8DY_jJAUws-yiaykySPTXLOc-xZMU3aVof611HW7g8LsFobe1wavHX508vCGgvUc6igV2HdjkQQjkbA6qD_HoJ-4yys/s1600/new+york+day3-pt2+066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcayCNv4T41iSRu_55JqaTMWFxf-HxYyvYR3-QYeW9MlCE3k9N8DY_jJAUws-yiaykySPTXLOc-xZMU3aVof611HW7g8LsFobe1wavHX508vCGgvUc6igV2HdjkQQjkbA6qD_HoJ-4yys/s400/new+york+day3-pt2+066.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Not Dum Dum!</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the 3rd floor, after several
rooms and corridors filled with OK displays, including a large north American
Indian display which I personally found a little disappointing (nothing really
wrong, it just didn’t ‘grab me’ is all), you will finally snake your way to a
room filled with children screaming at ‘DUM DUM!’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I just didn’t have the heart to
remind everyone that Dum Dum was the character played by Ben Stiller….not the large monolithic head from Easter Island that sits at the end
of this room.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYT4PHvP-KrdWtPyIeq41oxW0Aj_Afjt5Vzw0nWbKncuya6p66BE_jOB7al_iG8cROxXOr3pzT0PeARrnQcIoeHtUF0382O5z4mYYFsjvs5Za9Jtgw-08PO4BxIF3LT1HXU5KL2Ex43mc/s1600/new+york+day3-pt2+030a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 27pt;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYT4PHvP-KrdWtPyIeq41oxW0Aj_Afjt5Vzw0nWbKncuya6p66BE_jOB7al_iG8cROxXOr3pzT0PeARrnQcIoeHtUF0382O5z4mYYFsjvs5Za9Jtgw-08PO4BxIF3LT1HXU5KL2Ex43mc/s640/new+york+day3-pt2+030a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Be warned that many floors
actually have upper and lower galleries, and these can be easy to miss. For
example the 3rd floor is the only way to into the top level of the African
mammal display, which has possibly my favourite exhibit in any museum, the
display of African hunting dogs. I will talk more about the numerous life-like
displays the museum is famous for later, but this one deserves special
attention. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The pack stands on a rise, all
looking into the far distance for prey. The way this display is put together
you truly feel like you’re peering of into the distant horizon, but remember,
the wall is only inches in front of the dog’s noses. It is a fantastic example
of false perspective and shows you the skill that goes into these museum
displays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidytYFqtR1NlDvMKHIecezDqQrC8TRrCcYbJ2tePM3zeWR0bSUEVUvE1f-OHtMnhTUppBAV4qc0HItone1JnGQVgmPXtTRJfU_lVUYp66gLGoPb0f3cQmNiKoNENi_yatq1YkjdD9bSvk/s1600/NY+UN+2+379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidytYFqtR1NlDvMKHIecezDqQrC8TRrCcYbJ2tePM3zeWR0bSUEVUvE1f-OHtMnhTUppBAV4qc0HItone1JnGQVgmPXtTRJfU_lVUYp66gLGoPb0f3cQmNiKoNENi_yatq1YkjdD9bSvk/s400/NY+UN+2+379.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">End of part one.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA40.7813241 -73.97398820000000815.259289599999999 -115.28258220000001 66.3033586 -32.665394200000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-66863379490170036802016-07-19T04:52:00.000-07:002016-07-19T05:24:24.657-07:00Sydney Supanova Pop Culture Expo, 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FVz-8qPs62fg29HG3arUjqDUoGXUkEy5xox5HpLJLN0DDhxpbdJPc0DWTmGaixqtGhWahtbNvAUxPzCrJBFNmrGTRbgHf3K3Isllw6iK6BbCh5_mLTY7bLC3dLI-tci6vXKnbe_ZxCU/s1600/supanova-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FVz-8qPs62fg29HG3arUjqDUoGXUkEy5xox5HpLJLN0DDhxpbdJPc0DWTmGaixqtGhWahtbNvAUxPzCrJBFNmrGTRbgHf3K3Isllw6iK6BbCh5_mLTY7bLC3dLI-tci6vXKnbe_ZxCU/s640/supanova-logo.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Covering a comic convention might seem like a strange
thing to talk about in a blog about natural history, but there are often some surprising
things and people to be found at these events.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For example I recently attended the Sydney Supanova
convention, held between the 16<sup>th</sup> and 18<sup>th</sup> of June, 2016
at Sydney’s Olympic Park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a great location for a convention as it is
surrounded by hotels, as well as parking and close to public transport lines.
One added bonus, the ANZ stadium was just across the road from the convention
and my favourite NRL team, the Parramatta Eels were playing Russel Crowes South
Sydney Rabbitohs. Living in Canberra, I never really get to see my Sydney based
team play, so this was a treat I was not going to miss out on (we smashed them
by the way, 30 to 12). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDI5ZW4wq6KRn3B9ADbcfpTK59btDOJBd5_zUqu4NT9jTDhihz1CgrRqT5j4F8TOOQ1dVwybYT2O302EJuVdr948PU44QjVRw6yxfj6PdlToM-X7IU1HK2Pb_20er-__cXQoQgf4Ca5o/s1600/P1010533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDI5ZW4wq6KRn3B9ADbcfpTK59btDOJBd5_zUqu4NT9jTDhihz1CgrRqT5j4F8TOOQ1dVwybYT2O302EJuVdr948PU44QjVRw6yxfj6PdlToM-X7IU1HK2Pb_20er-__cXQoQgf4Ca5o/s640/P1010533.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>ANZ Stadium, just before the game.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I only point this out as the Olympic complex is huge,
with numerous things going on every weekend. If you do decide to visit the
Supanova convention in Sydney, its worthwhile checking out what else is on over
the entire weekend. There are concerts and sporting events and numerous other
things going on that may well add great value to your trip.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDuIpZWtIIp6Bl0B2lbpWWwUkH3UAaUDzam5PUp5L_dVcYMbTkrzVE1QLXyv9ZzzpPZcPreAF9gxfTda_F5nXZw8EPHoydEuz6x8kdzivDs0EoEFsxNh4BYqKsgBXLrsw_408bgr86ws/s1600/13819554_1307218372639750_1680006184_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDuIpZWtIIp6Bl0B2lbpWWwUkH3UAaUDzam5PUp5L_dVcYMbTkrzVE1QLXyv9ZzzpPZcPreAF9gxfTda_F5nXZw8EPHoydEuz6x8kdzivDs0EoEFsxNh4BYqKsgBXLrsw_408bgr86ws/s400/13819554_1307218372639750_1680006184_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Retailer room, there was another<br />room at the far end, equal in size.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Supanova itself has grown greatly since its beginnings.
I used to work in comic shops and ran tables at these early conventions, which
at the time were mostly about comics, collectible cards and action figures.
Today it is a true media convention, with TV, movies, anime, and of course
cosplay becoming a very large part of what’s going on. There was even a wrestling
ring in the middle of the convention with wrastlin’ going on throughout the
day.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9viVFC6_ek29KLIMjeI1GWfX2PPaMCs6DFKfwgderX6ftxUrRdREly64qz0JI_Jxwae1-_BZanuCHqak10mluT-6FRvmNe7GoCDkAWQISZ-XbDySU87-BcY3jOIaBFq7M9WuddVzOqQ/s1600/13817342_1307218209306433_1204321123_n+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9viVFC6_ek29KLIMjeI1GWfX2PPaMCs6DFKfwgderX6ftxUrRdREly64qz0JI_Jxwae1-_BZanuCHqak10mluT-6FRvmNe7GoCDkAWQISZ-XbDySU87-BcY3jOIaBFq7M9WuddVzOqQ/s320/13817342_1307218209306433_1204321123_n+%25282%2529.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Has anyone seen Francis?</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I will admit the line was enormous to get in at the start
of the day -but- that line moved incredibly quickly considering the volume of
people, and as you are surrounded by hundreds of participants in costume, you
will hardly notice the time as you are constantly looking in awe at the effort
someone has gone to on their costume. There really were some incredible ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPmGKVnf_erBKMyweA0p9XwqVlqhYFAGTa_bgQyzTaMEx6c64hIntsC1R0uDtxss3Ff_7VLZXi-lby7LRbo7YV6XpWjYLlNMF4mH_XZJvO3O6-mfiDBxg-14PVi3-PQzfq-DluPEJ800/s1600/92219996c4d9d690e756bf1956f73dac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPmGKVnf_erBKMyweA0p9XwqVlqhYFAGTa_bgQyzTaMEx6c64hIntsC1R0uDtxss3Ff_7VLZXi-lby7LRbo7YV6XpWjYLlNMF4mH_XZJvO3O6-mfiDBxg-14PVi3-PQzfq-DluPEJ800/s320/92219996c4d9d690e756bf1956f73dac.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>All rights remain with the <br />publisher. This is only used <br />for education purposes.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As for all things prehistoric, there were a number of
comic dealers carrying the various dinosaur comics that have been released over
the year, including a great selection of the older adult comic magazines such
as Eerie, Creepy and the like. These often carried great stories, drawn by
artists such as Corben and Frazetta, and often contain covers of unlucky women
having their clothes torn off by some out of control dinosaur. It’s truly unfortunate
how often this seems to happen to time traveling ladies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjgSzwFYNIZMFEDupHdNStjx0vZjBrRlktkm8Jib-fJoGKu9AVg3cvDgMUQmnPPC5UxetCdByQWKE5v6c4VfCTh9J_Qs9ygf6GMxDdlvLrstbW7-tsk0vsJdJw94v5cEimKZz7jg4a74/s1600/download.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjgSzwFYNIZMFEDupHdNStjx0vZjBrRlktkm8Jib-fJoGKu9AVg3cvDgMUQmnPPC5UxetCdByQWKE5v6c4VfCTh9J_Qs9ygf6GMxDdlvLrstbW7-tsk0vsJdJw94v5cEimKZz7jg4a74/s640/download.jpe" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All rights remain with the publisher.<br />This is only used for education purposes.</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">The reason I was keen for this convention, however, was
that one of my favourite comic artists from when I first started collecting comics
was going to be doing a signing.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-DsmkAT8zJ2kLCsa_J_HRSHdWRG4vrya00ZYI1CYQmbadSmAljn3tAw5QwEm9R_56SKF5ZnLOuBF2TV3voQd6IR3GDMQFvEgzsUwpct8V-qkbg08zJJt_egL1IWOhsR6wTBgRNnVCR8/s1600/Adams+1986+image+of+Wolverine%252C+inked+by+Terry+Austin%252C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-DsmkAT8zJ2kLCsa_J_HRSHdWRG4vrya00ZYI1CYQmbadSmAljn3tAw5QwEm9R_56SKF5ZnLOuBF2TV3voQd6IR3GDMQFvEgzsUwpct8V-qkbg08zJJt_egL1IWOhsR6wTBgRNnVCR8/s320/Adams+1986+image+of+Wolverine%252C+inked+by+Terry+Austin%252C.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All rights remain with <br />the publisher. This is only <br />used for education purposes.</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Arthur Adams exploded onto the comic scene with a MARVEL mini-series
called ‘Longshot’ in the 1980s, which quickly grew into a fan favourite. He
followed this up by a series of iconic images, including one for Wolverine,
which soon appeared as a standee in comic shops all over the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Adams is a big fan of King Kong and dinosaurs, which
explains his own series, ‘Monkeyman and O’Brien’, containing Axwell Tiberius, a
10-foot-tall super-intelligent gorilla-like being from another dimension. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Not only did I get to meet Adams and get him to sign one
of my favourite comics he’d drawn, but we had time for a short chat. He mentioned
he had seen The Prehistoric Times magazine and was happy to do a future
interview for the mag. Me…all I kept thinking was…’Its Arthur Adams, I’m
chatting with Arthur Adams’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPQIMmwjH8X64BMlGi19bQYCsrAa3qq-Twt742uO6ghH39LhVtCtL4CHMotxpqJXIjz6Lcns6iP-HcwMbD-VpcuUCO3nLcJc1KajRO0cBl33BzmqVryla5JXAPZZR7EnkEb3jKz-acLk/s1600/P1010010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPQIMmwjH8X64BMlGi19bQYCsrAa3qq-Twt742uO6ghH39LhVtCtL4CHMotxpqJXIjz6Lcns6iP-HcwMbD-VpcuUCO3nLcJc1KajRO0cBl33BzmqVryla5JXAPZZR7EnkEb3jKz-acLk/s640/P1010010.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also at the convention was Frank Cho, an artist that has
been making a name for himself lately for his work at MARVEL (especially the
Avengers), and comic book covers. For us dino fans, Cho is probably more famous
for his newspaper comedy comic strip, Liberty Meadows. This strip often
contained story lines with dinosaurs and Kong-like apes….and often both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmTsdxBo3q0k9-z7blwTUuytqGUXEBV9oWOCb9BDfOADUC85UhWikNSbp52DOYmeGVKMRn1j6sSgxxxvYO_tX4mkVx8yIlgBHUjR6ftpNCm9cOXrJoIj29Vhb7C2OYZQhCizX7z1X_W0/s1600/365251.full.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmTsdxBo3q0k9-z7blwTUuytqGUXEBV9oWOCb9BDfOADUC85UhWikNSbp52DOYmeGVKMRn1j6sSgxxxvYO_tX4mkVx8yIlgBHUjR6ftpNCm9cOXrJoIj29Vhb7C2OYZQhCizX7z1X_W0/s640/365251.full.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All rights remain with the publisher.<br />This is only used for education purposes.</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had got to meet Frank at the Baltimore Comic convention,
and as his table was busy every time I passed by, I was happy to try and catch
him when he had some free time and a moment to chat. Sadly (though not for him
I am sure), he was busy whenever I passed, so missed my chance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xLlWqPFx6xUon1AGHJfsym2kvhSF9cb7C5jxJSl5UwJ1XDxjxZE-F_ob1VvVgDCyvwa-GDOdqMShC745sZObrlYzFL5kMQVLhFlPN2gULKaPoH293rItNPUwt7ry_LH_fTkanRCCP_o/s1600/P1010024+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xLlWqPFx6xUon1AGHJfsym2kvhSF9cb7C5jxJSl5UwJ1XDxjxZE-F_ob1VvVgDCyvwa-GDOdqMShC745sZObrlYzFL5kMQVLhFlPN2gULKaPoH293rItNPUwt7ry_LH_fTkanRCCP_o/s320/P1010024+%25282%2529.JPG" width="216" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Later in the day things were quieter, and I finally got over
to the Weta workshop display, and oh what a display. On either side, enormous
carved dwarfs stood towering over everyone, looking as though they had just
been ripped right out of the Hobbit set.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Throughout the day various artists from the production company
signed the fantastic art books Weta is renowned for releasing from the various
films they have been involved with, and I got a chance to chat with Daniel
Falconer, a Weta writer and designer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNC5Te_bLNZj4IsucdggZmHzc_8s_XvmeUKzCea75AQhx2YlulDOKbbx5_eK9yN9H2dryBW0JogzmQFSKTmF8foelBJoPODf9BYx0inzDFR4lVcN5khZE6UKODtwmddzf-Pllz6rmHpXw/s1600/P1010026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNC5Te_bLNZj4IsucdggZmHzc_8s_XvmeUKzCea75AQhx2YlulDOKbbx5_eK9yN9H2dryBW0JogzmQFSKTmF8foelBJoPODf9BYx0inzDFR4lVcN5khZE6UKODtwmddzf-Pllz6rmHpXw/s400/P1010026.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><b>Daniel Falconer and myself.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was astonished to find out the Weta crew are aware of
the Prehistoric Times mag I write for, and we had a great chat about the
dinosaurs and other prehistoric critters that appeared in Peter Jackson’s King
Kong. Their interest in palaeontology should not be such a surprising as the
name ‘Weta’ comes from a family of large, spiny prehistoric crickets that can
still be found in New Zealand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sadly, Daniel admitted Weta is not working on the
upcoming Kong film, which is a shame as the stuff they had produced for the
2005 movie was great stuff. Still, as I mentioned, many of those who work at
Weta are dinosaur fans, and we organised to create a questionnaire survey to find
out what prehistoric trigger helped guide so many talented artists into the
field they have chosen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdjheTHKQQJhSu-e2b5AUh2jJXhzgkdSHY21q1UCBSSI7GwpchfUAVrZuidMxqyiB4hHGENwfpjbZeaN-eXh9ogbIGgKDzxRgdVcWFL6a7xqzLBkw_UEUQTbLGkCpPdsrPfCltgltUjA/s1600/13814657_1020760041365372_1834863794_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdjheTHKQQJhSu-e2b5AUh2jJXhzgkdSHY21q1UCBSSI7GwpchfUAVrZuidMxqyiB4hHGENwfpjbZeaN-eXh9ogbIGgKDzxRgdVcWFL6a7xqzLBkw_UEUQTbLGkCpPdsrPfCltgltUjA/s640/13814657_1020760041365372_1834863794_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><b>Daniel Falconer's fictional dinosaur <br />catching a young bird</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">These days Supernova is more like San Diego Comic Con
than the comic shows it came from, it’s now a pop culture event, drawing fans
and professionals from a number of fields. As the conventions are now held in
Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, as well as Sydney, you may want to visit
the next one as you just never know who you are going to get to talk to.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_PXB61fqOCFABL0_lvsQUwyyb2cYN_O2XOJPfod6xLPtlF2iRezJyfB3AAoWMkMPPaabsqU1a0QvFKrvih2bPAXzrvbYsOb6XzDzArAn58fvyvpZVFnGi4BIeAdMcc51O1e2u5KRgCc/s1600/13713418_1307218385973082_1260538899_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_PXB61fqOCFABL0_lvsQUwyyb2cYN_O2XOJPfod6xLPtlF2iRezJyfB3AAoWMkMPPaabsqU1a0QvFKrvih2bPAXzrvbYsOb6XzDzArAn58fvyvpZVFnGi4BIeAdMcc51O1e2u5KRgCc/s400/13713418_1307218385973082_1260538899_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqowyy3Jf8w9oSg_X-_4gRHgXJXpZXKZay0mxT_n7-hlrRSpTl7XcuW2lI7rHgsL8r745GNIlI2TRlAgubShKH8CZZe53SUfVfK-_ZWgjKMI1TqNLIRVWXcNb1O4dGtJazcjME151u_RI/s1600/13816958_1307218315973089_1365329106_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqowyy3Jf8w9oSg_X-_4gRHgXJXpZXKZay0mxT_n7-hlrRSpTl7XcuW2lI7rHgsL8r745GNIlI2TRlAgubShKH8CZZe53SUfVfK-_ZWgjKMI1TqNLIRVWXcNb1O4dGtJazcjME151u_RI/s400/13816958_1307218315973089_1365329106_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127, Australia-33.84801 151.06488000000002-33.900766000000004 150.98419900000002 -33.795254 151.14556100000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-31325728474987980802016-06-12T01:17:00.001-07:002016-06-12T01:36:12.703-07:00The Sedgwick museum - Cambridge pt1.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first day of our circumnavigation of the UK led
us through Cambridge, and I was keen to stop by and visit the famous university’s
natural history museum. <br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCD3CLROv-9OzMfKkOnPQuO1-Z8XN5LQf6qzrd3_BL8RpUSCgg23XY519M9IlUbfjES-ShNem_Q5KiGTMRI63-m56VNzRY_XR-UplZLze1pVyuhUVB_4ogCHbqnZOD8bMpC0YR9fnRuKU/s1600/day+one+and+two+137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCD3CLROv-9OzMfKkOnPQuO1-Z8XN5LQf6qzrd3_BL8RpUSCgg23XY519M9IlUbfjES-ShNem_Q5KiGTMRI63-m56VNzRY_XR-UplZLze1pVyuhUVB_4ogCHbqnZOD8bMpC0YR9fnRuKU/s640/day+one+and+two+137.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipu6SuyKe6p7AXrYlLi6ZrFoItUqAEcu-XlPYgu7MO9GyiK2y5POpGJIEiQKIV6EWrRwuJ9ASSNZ2tAkRwAjhlsIi235jLeYkor_oz0tsb9KUeF2i1B6iRTkVbyCfMNssXsCsZY0t6ET0/s1600/day+one+and+two+193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipu6SuyKe6p7AXrYlLi6ZrFoItUqAEcu-XlPYgu7MO9GyiK2y5POpGJIEiQKIV6EWrRwuJ9ASSNZ2tAkRwAjhlsIi235jLeYkor_oz0tsb9KUeF2i1B6iRTkVbyCfMNssXsCsZY0t6ET0/s320/day+one+and+two+193.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cambridge is a great walking city, with cobbled streets
and lanes packed with spired buildings and wide, green courts lined with ancient
trees. These streets were very busy when we arrived and the reason for this
became evident when we noticed large numbers of people walking around in gowns -
it turns out we were there during graduation. This proved to be good timing for
us as we had the run of the museums.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmrgYrGFSb_vRDVGZsmquusSKIhPlaTpVdLp3MKPdhSUtkXi0R8YOISy_JrVm3gYRTynMw07JVeMRld555YQg7u5FoftprSSCuoTq3C_m0MxkrkCYG6Qjg9f4FhBCKtTUQ6rLpGj6MbI/s1600/day+one+and+two+133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmrgYrGFSb_vRDVGZsmquusSKIhPlaTpVdLp3MKPdhSUtkXi0R8YOISy_JrVm3gYRTynMw07JVeMRld555YQg7u5FoftprSSCuoTq3C_m0MxkrkCYG6Qjg9f4FhBCKtTUQ6rLpGj6MbI/s320/day+one+and+two+133.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dr John Woodward was a late 17</span><sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> and
early 18</span><sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> century scientist who, upon his death, bequeathed his
natural history collection and a substantial amount of cash and land to the University
of Cambridge. This led to the Woodwardian Professorship of Geology (still a
valid chair today) and the Woodwardian museum at Cambridge. Today this museum
is part of the larger Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This makes Sedgwick one of the world’s oldest
museums, with its origins dating back to 1728. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQsjDp1SlShT3fc1S_aQZt20bCDK3GEJZ0Jq-enP1B1ejcBz09L3WTiZ4Wvw5oyDlNzZH-60FsflXi5kUjyMEMw1QdO44zkaCZNnWuzwT3mu0ZpkKjHhq6P8XBFU0IoZqvXqN6ierKog/s1600/day+one+and+two+032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQsjDp1SlShT3fc1S_aQZt20bCDK3GEJZ0Jq-enP1B1ejcBz09L3WTiZ4Wvw5oyDlNzZH-60FsflXi5kUjyMEMw1QdO44zkaCZNnWuzwT3mu0ZpkKjHhq6P8XBFU0IoZqvXqN6ierKog/s640/day+one+and+two+032.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Home to around 2 million geological specimens and
fossils, the museum is ‘</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">a major teaching
and research resource in the Department of Earth Sciences.</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">’ </span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHS6LIeWqV6qEsX1WhacKrECrguCpjtZZemZDHInSRjffooEpK4eM_KiXdJxZUU9dzYMclsiGRUGTCQsKuILxk1jko9_SGdDVzmSWVkY4-vZWVNCeWgsWiFwBujiMut90koYdm08fzuTM/s1600/jo+day+one+and+two+205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHS6LIeWqV6qEsX1WhacKrECrguCpjtZZemZDHInSRjffooEpK4eM_KiXdJxZUU9dzYMclsiGRUGTCQsKuILxk1jko9_SGdDVzmSWVkY4-vZWVNCeWgsWiFwBujiMut90koYdm08fzuTM/s320/jo+day+one+and+two+205.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The front door is at the end of a rather grand
double staircase, with bison statues on one side and bears on the other. Inside
the display is like stepping back in time- in a good way I assure you. Sure
there are modern displays of ichthyosaurs, dinosaurs and ancient mammals, not
to mention a number of modern dinosaur replicas- such as a copy of the skull
from Stan, the T. rex - but these all seem almost secondary to the gems in the
old style display cabinets- and when I say old style, I’m not kidding.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWW0qQFiXIONDYjY0e7lI_3OrK9hObFaBXPOr9B4gOS66N8HuGBFBZl63leBnw3cWjjgl-MxArZHufnn9ASf5SJo1nK-u2rvw9vTBAMsaQL4KqrgkTEUwVIHbx1soXTJNi1HGvZu_g56E/s1600/day+one+and+two+127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWW0qQFiXIONDYjY0e7lI_3OrK9hObFaBXPOr9B4gOS66N8HuGBFBZl63leBnw3cWjjgl-MxArZHufnn9ASf5SJo1nK-u2rvw9vTBAMsaQL4KqrgkTEUwVIHbx1soXTJNi1HGvZu_g56E/s640/day+one+and+two+127.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGojhm5nS5tI6D_JaP58zLxUYlkEa0jjCNRqYSv0vt4CgQrApc6vcIMHURsdlfvI2RRUFlA38MXDGpp4Ar62l4v_5Xp2cvOcms3i9LSb4Sg03qEDoRt6IJRYbaLMLfTGc_uPd6gypqogM/s1600/day+one+and+two+031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGojhm5nS5tI6D_JaP58zLxUYlkEa0jjCNRqYSv0vt4CgQrApc6vcIMHURsdlfvI2RRUFlA38MXDGpp4Ar62l4v_5Xp2cvOcms3i9LSb4Sg03qEDoRt6IJRYbaLMLfTGc_uPd6gypqogM/s320/day+one+and+two+031.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The display is split into two wings, with the
Mesozoic fossils on one side and older Palaeozoic fossils on the other.
Standing between the two is a life size bronze statue of Adam Sedgwick, one of
the fathers of modern geology and the man who first recognised and proposed the
Cambrian and Devonian Periods. Highlighting this, the statue holds a geological
hammer in one hand, while in the other outstretched hand he holds that
universal symbol for fossils everywhere, a trilobite. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhco6QERCIJ7497qJyIfb3RtU5gjm00913SDs3ClTW6fNMahQS14ujnE0gY0BKREQqWcPROwWswYt6YlLHqKE9QXo5nMi37GenIrrXWg4oeIByeKv3RqKo1sv3JYc_k-n0yodLyp8z8iec/s1600/day+one+and+two+041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhco6QERCIJ7497qJyIfb3RtU5gjm00913SDs3ClTW6fNMahQS14ujnE0gY0BKREQqWcPROwWswYt6YlLHqKE9QXo5nMi37GenIrrXWg4oeIByeKv3RqKo1sv3JYc_k-n0yodLyp8z8iec/s320/day+one+and+two+041.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Charles Darwin was Sedgwick’s most famous student,
and there is a large display in the museum of the fossils the naturalist brought
home from the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">HMS Beagle</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> voyage.
These tiny treasures were given to the museum after Darwin’s death.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This and many other displays are amongst the great
enjoyment of this museum to a paleo-nerd. Not only have many items kept their
original labels, some now centuries old, but just to read some of the names of
those who collected them is a thrill.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdp3hG48EeRdU3OUOl-HmNPGnv8rTy_lxsu7n7j2X3gJv0TQoLyhwH9mSiCPWCJM-5R55dme1PPFbcBYS4i1PlqZ76mlHhwygikTnaEXVz1euq40dOHxTjxyABsji7XGwV3qSggY_qSQY/s1600/jo+day+one+and+two+309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdp3hG48EeRdU3OUOl-HmNPGnv8rTy_lxsu7n7j2X3gJv0TQoLyhwH9mSiCPWCJM-5R55dme1PPFbcBYS4i1PlqZ76mlHhwygikTnaEXVz1euq40dOHxTjxyABsji7XGwV3qSggY_qSQY/s640/jo+day+one+and+two+309.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXpQYB0L_iwcOiMfQwvDTbGQ8hiHnRwF_l1XBg4wXV2hwlnvSp1cnY5K1LrZSDHCHMBw0qFuEBsLkz3gMw4c02vKIdqvAv1nI_KdA9cn8uMOPo1o27khgiR8XhYz3_hNM5VQsLHMyoMc/s1600/day+one+and+two+122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXpQYB0L_iwcOiMfQwvDTbGQ8hiHnRwF_l1XBg4wXV2hwlnvSp1cnY5K1LrZSDHCHMBw0qFuEBsLkz3gMw4c02vKIdqvAv1nI_KdA9cn8uMOPo1o27khgiR8XhYz3_hNM5VQsLHMyoMc/s320/day+one+and+two+122.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s all well and good to read about the great men
and women of palaeontology, but to actually see specimens collected by Agassiz,
Huxley, Cope, Leidy, Buckland, and the dame of English palaeontology, Mary Anning.
</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2uGO1_3qgyvu1ZH5LngxL0VVNV7XMcQO_uhtw9cx7x397uCHDofpNHzwIoropDdWNJUpjM_BoCAUHQ6wS1OpfW9KVeAYO6776fDbJ3GCgmpikojtVjbXLzts6ANexPJIc9dWznGezuQ/s1600/jo+day+one+and+two+340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2uGO1_3qgyvu1ZH5LngxL0VVNV7XMcQO_uhtw9cx7x397uCHDofpNHzwIoropDdWNJUpjM_BoCAUHQ6wS1OpfW9KVeAYO6776fDbJ3GCgmpikojtVjbXLzts6ANexPJIc9dWznGezuQ/s320/jo+day+one+and+two+340.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Though there are fossils from all over the world,
including some rare Burgess Shale specimens, most of the fossils on display are
from regions around the UK.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGYbkwEb3SQXOIvWmYx5NYbCYAZLYMC6F2AzL6plweYt-QXeCj3cfdXnTidGdq5kV5hc0gl_k_rshx-1rcJt76ByTIDNfdYoQyyY3Jub1wrrxphx9xB__U-d5i3JTKCofjyHH-spAGDA/s1600/day+one+and+two+208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGYbkwEb3SQXOIvWmYx5NYbCYAZLYMC6F2AzL6plweYt-QXeCj3cfdXnTidGdq5kV5hc0gl_k_rshx-1rcJt76ByTIDNfdYoQyyY3Jub1wrrxphx9xB__U-d5i3JTKCofjyHH-spAGDA/s320/day+one+and+two+208.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The most iconic of these early dinosaurs was Iguanodon,
one of the first found and described, explaining why there is a stone carving
of one standing guard over the coat of arms above the front door (the second
animal I judge to be a giant sloth). There is also a complete skeleton towering
over the front door to the museum. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Museum’s website takes up the story of its
skeleton: ‘</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">we have a letter sent on 26 October
1825 by Dr Gideon Mantell (the discoverer and describer of Iguanodon) to
Professor Adam Sedgwick. The letter came with a parcel of specimens, including
... " casts of the best teeth of the Iguanodon in my collection; and of a
horn (which you well doubtless remember) which the French [experts] declare is
the bony base of a horn of a saurian animal – of course I shall claim it for
the Iguanodon." Some of these original specimens are exhibited nearby</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">.’</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVdKHRTPKiMGujQC84lFXAvmHCDuaeiJBKR_Dav1CWt3LpLYgZDLpQNJb3FF9NmyN4GmQ7tpEHdEUb088r1Qd_nErA62-q19pL1Z9-VlX2uczaFIo0ZxpxXZVUDVxhTYB7shkVUWHfv0/s1600/day+one+and+two+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVdKHRTPKiMGujQC84lFXAvmHCDuaeiJBKR_Dav1CWt3LpLYgZDLpQNJb3FF9NmyN4GmQ7tpEHdEUb088r1Qd_nErA62-q19pL1Z9-VlX2uczaFIo0ZxpxXZVUDVxhTYB7shkVUWHfv0/s320/day+one+and+two+001.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The museums specimen is the cast of <b><i>Iguanodon bernissartensis</i></b>,
one of the complete individuals found by Louis Dollo, who: ‘</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">described these dinosaur remains in the
1880s and kindly offered to Cambridge (through King Leopold II) a cast of one
of the best Bernissart Iguanodon skeletons. The rearing pose of the animal
conforms to Dollo’s original conception of the animal, but we now understand
(through the work of a former Director of the Sedgwick Museum) that it would
have normally walked with a more horizontal pose</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">.’</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are not that many dinosaur skeletons left in
the original kangaroo-pose, so for that alone the Iguanodon is worth a look.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0EW3UWbt145OKLsWEQAvJ-7AH3P9qVBQJZhmobqqJ0rhgp6g7P24UsVvinQEc0JW6Er8OHK5Qag05ZDrlSLevnxiOggjpOQ13GJMRl0gfm3b9X_0tKJkKBaGLU7bi2K26AdHyxbY2ms0/s1600/jo+day+one+and+two+291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0EW3UWbt145OKLsWEQAvJ-7AH3P9qVBQJZhmobqqJ0rhgp6g7P24UsVvinQEc0JW6Er8OHK5Qag05ZDrlSLevnxiOggjpOQ13GJMRl0gfm3b9X_0tKJkKBaGLU7bi2K26AdHyxbY2ms0/s640/jo+day+one+and+two+291.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large;">The other species to start the world wide craze for dinosaurs in the 1820's was William Buckland's <b><i>Megalosaurus</i></b> and the museum proudly displays a skull fragment of <b><i>M. bucklandi</i></b>, a dinosaur that has been recently renamed <i><b>Duriavenator bucklandi</b></i>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4iJqTgu-a3GfbUe8cfYJbYVmXYV1IStJA5XPtdxDbQSpk2qzKInCQLsK8Zk1AdXVemGZoqekKWNqZSfpRrD_neMcIzCIjK1bysqYKTaru4bLIaIFQWL5tWlStw6JvMgJRCzk18_0DjI/s1600/day+one+and+two+009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4iJqTgu-a3GfbUe8cfYJbYVmXYV1IStJA5XPtdxDbQSpk2qzKInCQLsK8Zk1AdXVemGZoqekKWNqZSfpRrD_neMcIzCIjK1bysqYKTaru4bLIaIFQWL5tWlStw6JvMgJRCzk18_0DjI/s640/day+one+and+two+009.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgiqYELlVrtrGpufV-xQmZ7sB-EW_1BXyc-cU6W7PrdZNARCVkJAJ3aH7liRMgWKyjCi1SBlJ49Uqm7G20VtDyEHjRpf2rLNaf7cKEdOM8ms6HhKedMBnAkW4byXL-MhgdWYHA9f69Uc/s1600/day+one+and+two+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgiqYELlVrtrGpufV-xQmZ7sB-EW_1BXyc-cU6W7PrdZNARCVkJAJ3aH7liRMgWKyjCi1SBlJ49Uqm7G20VtDyEHjRpf2rLNaf7cKEdOM8ms6HhKedMBnAkW4byXL-MhgdWYHA9f69Uc/s1600/day+one+and+two+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgiqYELlVrtrGpufV-xQmZ7sB-EW_1BXyc-cU6W7PrdZNARCVkJAJ3aH7liRMgWKyjCi1SBlJ49Uqm7G20VtDyEHjRpf2rLNaf7cKEdOM8ms6HhKedMBnAkW4byXL-MhgdWYHA9f69Uc/s320/day+one+and+two+040.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The museum is really like a greatest hits album from
the golden age of palaeontology. Row after row, cabinet after cabinet are brimming
with fossils from the quarries of Europe. There are German pterosaurs; along
with ichthyosaurus and pliosaurs from Whitby, Devonian fish from Canada,
ancient stromatolites from Australia and tusked dicynodonts from South Africa- prehistoric
remnants from the once global spanning English empire.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirTxIv6G3I18m8L5_VKVRfynuq4AUTqjCTQ_teclpqHZPcfBlp2TtUaNxXvVcIZRHhcj6fKzMgfzgkQ4OjcM-NTWmiTIz2Z3E4oDwFoRaB5VY8WA8M5JbEkZySiiaritRvZeNIkQYWU-s/s1600/day+one+and+two+043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirTxIv6G3I18m8L5_VKVRfynuq4AUTqjCTQ_teclpqHZPcfBlp2TtUaNxXvVcIZRHhcj6fKzMgfzgkQ4OjcM-NTWmiTIz2Z3E4oDwFoRaB5VY8WA8M5JbEkZySiiaritRvZeNIkQYWU-s/s640/day+one+and+two+043.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
</span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUbSpdEj_1i6JeReWrU7wqsJizpXyH6od2kxsw-w92AghWOJ2t3r-p0CSva_DQb9oTegTF8FY4vKVFx9rIAQiqQiIxT_1DKvIR2QT7vyIy4335QDbUQi5RmEM30yOl-DWZdvBhU_9EGY/s1600/day+one+and+two+181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUbSpdEj_1i6JeReWrU7wqsJizpXyH6od2kxsw-w92AghWOJ2t3r-p0CSva_DQb9oTegTF8FY4vKVFx9rIAQiqQiIxT_1DKvIR2QT7vyIy4335QDbUQi5RmEM30yOl-DWZdvBhU_9EGY/s320/day+one+and+two+181.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is also worthwhile taking a walk outside all
around the building as there are a number of gargoyles and stone depictions of
prehistoric life everywhere.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CIeIDXTCLB6Um5L0qBat0igWu0t8mFGlJwFyMYlk2zzgmIu6AUclEKhSAKFn8yBRWIrP0BaBx3iwiId7-9oAMJ07hqsiInNTLZC85YhX58SdM7lO0CLb7qT0oo8yr-wdJyWtN6TLCKI/s1600/day+one+and+two+207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CIeIDXTCLB6Um5L0qBat0igWu0t8mFGlJwFyMYlk2zzgmIu6AUclEKhSAKFn8yBRWIrP0BaBx3iwiId7-9oAMJ07hqsiInNTLZC85YhX58SdM7lO0CLb7qT0oo8yr-wdJyWtN6TLCKI/s640/day+one+and+two+207.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences can be found AT University of Cambridge, Downing Street Cambridge. Admission is</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"> </span>free, and it is open from 10am to 1pm, then 2pm to 5pm Monday to Friday; and 10am - 4pm on Saturdays. The museum is closed on Sundays and some public holidays so check the museums website for these on:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large;">www.sedgwickmuseum.org</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0Downing St, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB2, UK52.2029333 0.1210570000000643652.2026293 0.12042650000006436 52.2032373 0.12168750000006437tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-47196793005181434222016-04-09T22:22:00.000-07:002016-06-11T20:35:34.096-07:00Utah Part 2. Red Fleet State Park<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDbwzxTvj-OD9S0O-STPKe6vJo1FNacjsRLtTDuXoFB2YpmOpdQY8vAYuHK6gwpc-DFSonY8_evF8w3091j64DvuD_4WXMaW3WDjxSqpuQjebrRpINqLhsXWDSF0ATq1H-xn-8H8-I4Y/s1600/103_6814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDbwzxTvj-OD9S0O-STPKe6vJo1FNacjsRLtTDuXoFB2YpmOpdQY8vAYuHK6gwpc-DFSonY8_evF8w3091j64DvuD_4WXMaW3WDjxSqpuQjebrRpINqLhsXWDSF0ATq1H-xn-8H8-I4Y/s640/103_6814.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Utah is a great place for dinosaur fans.
Not only do you get to drive through a town called Dinosaur that literally has
streets named after some of the most iconic species found in the region, you
also pass through Vernal- a small town whose main street is literally lined
with dinosaur advertising signs right out of the long gone America of the 50s. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8b_wbakXafLOo40w8CwnD1vlnsA6H1HCfhXoTkNtK6gEWTfFi2PHDJsN_PE4IziANSB53qiU5FQz59GpuMKBd25dJcIRNzKLnuezWAkX1b6jcsMHsG68gWrr-a0yoaTY4thaRM01CmY/s1600/103_6164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8b_wbakXafLOo40w8CwnD1vlnsA6H1HCfhXoTkNtK6gEWTfFi2PHDJsN_PE4IziANSB53qiU5FQz59GpuMKBd25dJcIRNzKLnuezWAkX1b6jcsMHsG68gWrr-a0yoaTY4thaRM01CmY/s320/103_6164.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Vernal is also home to the Utah Field House of Natural History, but we shall
talk about that later. The road to the National Dinosaur Monument also passes
through the town, as well as the road to the Red Fleet State Park and the field
of dinosaur footprints it contains.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirz4Gk1yIIsxIFQ0hfj15fhwj0Y2ajfqtEIEIimlqb0TUgV6-yz0JeHu3j_MFLhIyFgc6zBJGvj4ANjKQAHkfztT8_zYCkyafeVdezb4MpXHkryfX1KXS-326CtUiQ0PNG20PBdYaraB0/s1600/103_6760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirz4Gk1yIIsxIFQ0hfj15fhwj0Y2ajfqtEIEIimlqb0TUgV6-yz0JeHu3j_MFLhIyFgc6zBJGvj4ANjKQAHkfztT8_zYCkyafeVdezb4MpXHkryfX1KXS-326CtUiQ0PNG20PBdYaraB0/s400/103_6760.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is only a dozen miles from Vernal,
and you drive through some very pretty country, so the trip passes quickly. The
car park is well signed, and so is the walking path to the footprints - there
are even dinosaur prints painted in certain locations to ensure you cannot get
lost.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The walk is great- small ravines of
weathered rock past real desert plants, desert cactuses and gnarly, ancient
desert trees. There is enough geology to poke a stick at, and signs explaining
what you are, or are about to see.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistSPWEd3Nu5X6wvYRbgCwYKFkc7zfGAr6yN6i-8mKq1B-dQ_SAuJco0yiVtto9dAWd2wCU0gVjcZwlnIxUZ2b40l-9nDdlDnqIsk2_XDNKDzOreDV-y-tftZMtt0ksAz9Y-AopHTrFs4/s1600/103_6764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistSPWEd3Nu5X6wvYRbgCwYKFkc7zfGAr6yN6i-8mKq1B-dQ_SAuJco0yiVtto9dAWd2wCU0gVjcZwlnIxUZ2b40l-9nDdlDnqIsk2_XDNKDzOreDV-y-tftZMtt0ksAz9Y-AopHTrFs4/s640/103_6764.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now I should point out in my current
research it seems the fossil footprint location has had an upgrade, with more
signage to help you work out what you are seeing. I did not have any trouble
finding them at the time, though I had been to similar sites in Arizona, so had
a fair idea what I was looking for.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjOTw8zubD48IrUCT5iBegDiRADe60lc3L0Q1-S5E0OvbBJKNa2wVXqQq1ZZQ8hnHJu4F-7XaxsFTelk2KvpRmi90O_iA-Kfo3FuMS1IuDiecunuhfonILaCU9-B0xBx-bRe0UBIjG58/s640/103_6745.jpg" width="640" /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sadly I had just had a great chat with
one of the people working at the nearby natural history museum, who mentioned
someone had recently attacked the fossils, and some did indeed seem to be
damaged. There are still plenty of great prints, but while I was looking around
I could see a small part where someone had indeed been naughty. I even found a
single small footprint a little way off the formation, broken away from the
main layer of rock, and lying where it seemed to have been dropped. I turned
the little fossil over and hid it in a spot, then later contacted the museum
and told them where it was so they could go out and save it.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6XTt-5mVJTyvKnnYelpazSwWBuIbwTtGqXUlSYfQoHiGTwEE9XVlYloSzJPtfoWL0SAwYS1Tm-DwbHuTLzjlO3RtAxRgLaEhrmCYh7iwMAcWPZepk-INMktkXZGwAAKbgE0KUsHe180/s1600/103_6879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6XTt-5mVJTyvKnnYelpazSwWBuIbwTtGqXUlSYfQoHiGTwEE9XVlYloSzJPtfoWL0SAwYS1Tm-DwbHuTLzjlO3RtAxRgLaEhrmCYh7iwMAcWPZepk-INMktkXZGwAAKbgE0KUsHe180/s640/103_6879.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I honestly do not know if that was the
right thing to have done, but there was every chance someone was going to carry
it away, or it was going to be either lost or destroyed- perhaps both- so I
think it was a good thing to do and the museum seemed to appreciate it.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9tJJXfrQNTNDcwhuggRHrNrkSk94j8yZ2S35MzpDemiMRxzgYQSD18WDvphdJDYXCEymiNEecStq_bw9BCj21FVYl7-n2bC9VUM_VMCUgqFc83h9Yt_Pozy0iTGHPRNzJ8HlvQk9e7dE/s640/103_6821.jpg" width="480" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWuxwpcXmZX9RzNWayXldOcS5adaAu5X6nHUaR94RfWQEJ75hBrSGh0Vq3luq0gZHMlbDX_ryBodfdj4_R0RRs_fv3kE62se_CF5FcfnWC4tIFY0eYgYQbDWtxZbmhBo9vEJyOqU0NAXU/s1600/103_6820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWuxwpcXmZX9RzNWayXldOcS5adaAu5X6nHUaR94RfWQEJ75hBrSGh0Vq3luq0gZHMlbDX_ryBodfdj4_R0RRs_fv3kE62se_CF5FcfnWC4tIFY0eYgYQbDWtxZbmhBo9vEJyOqU0NAXU/s640/103_6820.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The amount of tracks you can see depends
on the season. They lie beside the park’s water reservoir, which rises and
falls throughout the year. This of course means when there is more water in the
lake, there are less fossils to see, and when the water falls, it exposes more
of the track ways.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpRcR48IRgqIfsbL2YoN2IlwvxtupJimy3_1VBH5ONecZhQ5Mt55MlT2oXQNig70et-oPizoWGZJkcBzClwjUgzGTzymHC1U7WkQ7pC3fAas7sNSKACyWOSGPRGRWODGkvX4y_-6I1Q0/s1600/103_6866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpRcR48IRgqIfsbL2YoN2IlwvxtupJimy3_1VBH5ONecZhQ5Mt55MlT2oXQNig70et-oPizoWGZJkcBzClwjUgzGTzymHC1U7WkQ7pC3fAas7sNSKACyWOSGPRGRWODGkvX4y_-6I1Q0/s640/103_6866.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As the footprints are merely impressions
in the rock, they are of course the exact same colour as the rock and easily
missed. A bit of water and the prints show right up, however, and it’s easy to
see long lines of tracks made from a single dinosaur walking along the
floodplain that once lay along this part of the state 200 million years ago.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9py76QAhKudX-EfKDm3ZH-bc3CsCg3ZOpV9xBtmpsvoMIQ59bXDVwNa3Lv3ZU04fahWTmZf4rcPE4MRe2vCUUmY1F4V5hKwB-FQwVRqi-74OguLV47BQJYEE52f5GvkRWN46nAVy01Y/s1600/103_6905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9py76QAhKudX-EfKDm3ZH-bc3CsCg3ZOpV9xBtmpsvoMIQ59bXDVwNa3Lv3ZU04fahWTmZf4rcPE4MRe2vCUUmY1F4V5hKwB-FQwVRqi-74OguLV47BQJYEE52f5GvkRWN46nAVy01Y/s400/103_6905.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
</span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most of the footprints seem to belong to
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dilophosaurus</span></i><span style="font-size: large;">, a large theropod from
the Early Jurassic and one of the star critters from Jurassic Park. Remains of
the dinosaur have been found across the northern hemisphere, and possibly even
in India- meaning they were present on Gondwana as well as Laurasia. </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;">Unusual for a dinosaur species, it would
seem </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dilophosaurus</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> is known almost
equally from footprints as well as fossilised remains, with identical tracks
like the ones in Utah being found in Arizona, Sweden, Poland and possibly Massachusetts.
</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW90oAmm8TfAni-YQYCZMrtuFfd2Ao7IgVOGDSlt_iiIzOjjBtPNSkWIAbqjQPr1zYnB8-3LhC_eXeG-H3nVk6oS-lf7x3pdtwayv2PPZLOfhRV69vf_809AZSI5oU45xZ0StPgwROc_Q/s1600/103_6825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW90oAmm8TfAni-YQYCZMrtuFfd2Ao7IgVOGDSlt_iiIzOjjBtPNSkWIAbqjQPr1zYnB8-3LhC_eXeG-H3nVk6oS-lf7x3pdtwayv2PPZLOfhRV69vf_809AZSI5oU45xZ0StPgwROc_Q/s400/103_6825.jpg" width="300" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;">One of these Massachusetts impressions deserves
special attention as it seems to show a spot where a </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dilophosaurus</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> sat down. There is a clear body print and footprints,
and for a while it was thought little grooves around the spot where it had sat
were feather impressions. Today it’s believed these were more likely cracks in
the drying mud the dinosaur sat in.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back to Utah. As I said, the Carpark is
a good one, with a number of amenities, including toilets, but the important thing
to do when you visit is bring water with you. The footprint site is located in
a desert, and though the walk is short, during summer it’s going to be hot and
if you miss the track, well then, you have just found yourself lost in a
desert- not a good thing to do without water.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxCeVkHoxBRtyWfgu56e4lnJ2zjj78a_uycGvBn_S_wNUiQNwJkehYjhu8dyOX3ZSmgQKLQPsZQ0kal-k_Owaxx2fag9lvKvnIxqDNC4p7k2mzpKK5DQOqkP6PjtOP4tZV8O2zrEZFTk/s640/103_6909.jpg" width="640" /></span></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0Red Fleet Reservoir, Utah 84078, USA40.5788912 -109.4273987000000340.530650200000004 -109.50807970000002 40.6271322 -109.34671770000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-32276741893707965272016-03-12T03:28:00.000-08:002016-06-11T20:41:29.243-07:00Journey through Prehistoric NSW. Part one<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Organising a bunch of meetings at
a number of rural museums, some of the staff of the National Dinosaur Museum
jumped in the car for the (roughly) 800 km round trip to visit the Age of
Fishes museum at Canowindra, the Australia Fossil and Mineral museum at
Bathurst and the Wellington Caves in Wellington. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5miRx3bstrNzsKP5VwuqZIAd1YiFeB-Rr49sYQrj_RkTCrADXnsvL0dq-jI1QmEhrmsgc0DrB-YXU6RcbUrAZyPsJpdzWYdldSeN70mXSDDtV198ZnGIDf_tO6kSC06Tx_SP-zxcVx2g/s1600/P1010443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5miRx3bstrNzsKP5VwuqZIAd1YiFeB-Rr49sYQrj_RkTCrADXnsvL0dq-jI1QmEhrmsgc0DrB-YXU6RcbUrAZyPsJpdzWYdldSeN70mXSDDtV198ZnGIDf_tO6kSC06Tx_SP-zxcVx2g/s640/P1010443.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Heading out into rural NSW on a
hot 36 °C (97 °F) day, we drove through Cowra, a region where the armoured
placoderm fish, <em>Cowralepis</em>, was unearthed in Devonian rocks. After a meeting
with the great staff at the Age of Fishes (more about this later), we headed
for Bathurst but found ourselves somehow closer to Wellington. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOW1_HUMCYyUrRQ3j1oYNhjz1vNjOO3ogOBo5T9LfHabDdkmlX-5TZd1Uwh5_D3caI_PQ_fPEZThM13ZhJMWfel7WOHGxZmHFAGL8-U1KOau6AGkKjpbeRXMwrQJhnI2l_RAnwhrgAQZM/s1600/P1010446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOW1_HUMCYyUrRQ3j1oYNhjz1vNjOO3ogOBo5T9LfHabDdkmlX-5TZd1Uwh5_D3caI_PQ_fPEZThM13ZhJMWfel7WOHGxZmHFAGL8-U1KOau6AGkKjpbeRXMwrQJhnI2l_RAnwhrgAQZM/s400/P1010446.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Deciding to
visit here first, then the Bathurst museum on the way home, we headed north and
soon found ourselves driving through a strange landscape of sunburnt grasses
covering rolling hills.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We soon drove through a small
town, Molong, and on the other side began noticing large, weathered boulders
crowning a number of hills; boulders that looked a lot like limestone- a
renowned fossiliferous rock. When some of these appeared on the roadside of the
barbed wire fences we had been driving beside since the town, we all agreed it
was time to get out and have a look. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49ME31jVNj4dffU5VwDtK7Cp_y5kIPjTKwVz_LAUgKwlJMjS6l-VhNogr8VfObih9p-6mhrzEHFSXq0dRKQqX5DqXvmYLPFINklazaH3wZf3hyphenhyphenPLfvdc_kxMzufS3fvq5rp6tkRfqaO8/s1600/P1010444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49ME31jVNj4dffU5VwDtK7Cp_y5kIPjTKwVz_LAUgKwlJMjS6l-VhNogr8VfObih9p-6mhrzEHFSXq0dRKQqX5DqXvmYLPFINklazaH3wZf3hyphenhyphenPLfvdc_kxMzufS3fvq5rp6tkRfqaO8/s400/P1010444.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Parking the car under the nearest tree to keep the thing out of the sun,
we began inspecting the closest rocks. These were human sized boulders (at
least, they may have been, they were partially buried), made up of a very hard,
grey rock. Though these had mostly plain rock faces (there were a few
interesting inclusions), we soon came across a large limestone boulder of a
lighter colour. Here, we struck pay dirt.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZ1PEgOn62dee42ER-xCyKeV_PAFLG7V_jmV2pdG6C-BfrSYKh8EP_E8KFXcrM5r1xy15hhQJcr-cdyBnao943Dt_tT323kzgz9-dGvctYUEFI0nNXMDWMLZxnL3Zw6qM2ABPYy4ymJc/s1600/P1010449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZ1PEgOn62dee42ER-xCyKeV_PAFLG7V_jmV2pdG6C-BfrSYKh8EP_E8KFXcrM5r1xy15hhQJcr-cdyBnao943Dt_tT323kzgz9-dGvctYUEFI0nNXMDWMLZxnL3Zw6qM2ABPYy4ymJc/s640/P1010449.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This boulder was not only full of
corals and shards of shell, there was a great layer of bryozoans, a marine
creature that lives in colonies and resembles coral, though they are not
actually corals. Sadly, this rock was far too large to place in the car and
bring back to the museum, so we locked in the location on the GPS and will be
heading back out to pick up the piece to put on display at the NDM, so keep an
eye out for that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhydj62_wCP_34sT-0r7M-4t_Wn9ATPJn-6goCzhGAe10DqCZLaATjdPbGxCjf8iTqiWXqDuG61k9wNws8XNb5ZLHyvIpyrT1XEcgcJZ4jXz5IanX5XNgJmHoY2Lcx8e0Lo_qTUtVPHrA/s1600/P1010448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhydj62_wCP_34sT-0r7M-4t_Wn9ATPJn-6goCzhGAe10DqCZLaATjdPbGxCjf8iTqiWXqDuG61k9wNws8XNb5ZLHyvIpyrT1XEcgcJZ4jXz5IanX5XNgJmHoY2Lcx8e0Lo_qTUtVPHrA/s640/P1010448.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Time was short so we were soon on
the road and heading for the Wellington Caves, which I will cover in the next
article.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have done a little
investigating, and the location seems to have been a large reef system during
the Silurian, but we will hopefully know more once we bring the rock back.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcey3x7UYu0blFvx1z1fN3u8FxM5MwFVJqUKKu1-tXyTzPia1zDBjLiPt5LQnSogQ117s_K0vn_doAw8TPcgsgqQJGkuaAyhFyz1CMiKtcjXACQ9zmGl5sUDBxD9g-HVSSgGzEI9uugw/s1600/P1010454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcey3x7UYu0blFvx1z1fN3u8FxM5MwFVJqUKKu1-tXyTzPia1zDBjLiPt5LQnSogQ117s_K0vn_doAw8TPcgsgqQJGkuaAyhFyz1CMiKtcjXACQ9zmGl5sUDBxD9g-HVSSgGzEI9uugw/s640/P1010454.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxcaPKpMQABTJfNiW7el_IFQukdroJloWFt0Fn_jqhJDKPxe-UFJMcZcxOdXLBWgO4PXVc2m3S4jBGHSjA4FMOvTwINflrkBAexi4df7zjUlC_DrgEEqPyzJCRztBW2olmFRDo-WbnSY/s1600/P1010451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxcaPKpMQABTJfNiW7el_IFQukdroJloWFt0Fn_jqhJDKPxe-UFJMcZcxOdXLBWgO4PXVc2m3S4jBGHSjA4FMOvTwINflrkBAexi4df7zjUlC_DrgEEqPyzJCRztBW2olmFRDo-WbnSY/s640/P1010451.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com2Molong NSW 2866, Australia-33.0922899 148.87123150000002-33.5178729 148.22578450000003 -32.666706899999994 149.5166785tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-5165507583127585472015-11-16T02:58:00.002-08:002016-06-11T20:50:00.972-07:00THE FICK FOSSIL AND HISTORY MUSEUM<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbn8sRcQ1MvdaZV-hpQChsGfDKh2zjJsDDL8Hjnsd2lKr3rLlI1tITRAZ4Wwh5Ht3sNnTjOFgl_TXqqpzppMhXXTvn9C9AJxhwVwOkmG2espzkMfZUjqIq8aZGOkHBJpwlFU9PMeKJKB8/s1600/104_1218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbn8sRcQ1MvdaZV-hpQChsGfDKh2zjJsDDL8Hjnsd2lKr3rLlI1tITRAZ4Wwh5Ht3sNnTjOFgl_TXqqpzppMhXXTvn9C9AJxhwVwOkmG2espzkMfZUjqIq8aZGOkHBJpwlFU9PMeKJKB8/s640/104_1218.jpg" width="640" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Driving through the Great Plains one of the constant
features along the highway are the monster billboards highlighting local
features you are approaching (or at times still nowhere near), and one we were
desperate to visit was the Prairie Dog Town, whose numerous ads announced the presence
of a living 5 legged cow. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OgU_sef9UYdEVguKH1qttLcNCIBkmk_DLvox97Sv8_Dt7Swj1dUx6t7uCJ5iE2nFgwR7DL3rfN_wh8lxs4pFPsC1BRJ2QlIhKhPTyUjvoDQ_v9Exk7GSmsBsKPTCqkgLWHF7wToXEP8/s640/104_1179.jpg" width="640" /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pulling off the highway and into the tiny town of Oakley we
could not miss the huge statue on the only high ground for miles. Riding his
favourite horse "Brigham" as he rides down a bison is the bronze
statue of Buffalo Bill. This is an unusual statue as walking up the crest of
the hill where it stands are numerous information displays and even short radio
announcements you can listen to about the Buffalo hunter and the history of the
region.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxvy7mTaRnCKwpLBPp1WnY6OEM1xcb-QkH_p4RPP2yuXgda1DAg2ZllcObKpNH7ebiHSCxiYxVngS9vBPeFOCzR_oj6SEP0B0FdVLm3UtPQAhg9Ils090DnJIMUBRXkjO65bHZVyA2OM/s640/104_1213.jpg" width="640" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the smaller museums I was happy to find while
exploring the vast grasslands of the US was The Fick Fossil and History Museum,
which Wikipedia states: “</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">is a museum that
displays large dinosaur fossils from Kansas, many old tools, mineral specimens,
and shell and mineral folk art</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.” Sadly this is not true, or at least was
not an accurate description during my visit. While the museum does display
fossils of many prehistoric creatures, nowhere do I recall seeing a dinosaur.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9prOZ24VpWHik1fSUR5liMnSOcAjJAJCeQ_byfKQ9yv1aufUPQvajTJzKm8MWdELyvImkIHfPFrQLdfVDOzjKyjCxvWbtLuYtN_oFyf0_vJB5RvvnORiBkR_5i3z3lr8pT9PTYLALr3Y/s640/104_1219.jpg" width="640" /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Fink museum is located in the same building as the local
Oakley library, and was built after the town was given an unusual donation by
Ernest and Vi Fick in 1972 of a number of fossils and artworks - and strangely
a number of artworks containing fossils. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0y2mOVDD5R3zAoOtBa45zKEuqzPhxqU76024PfdSQ5LTC_9_dSE-SPDNgu4BL7oagi375tkjffG2M2wcVmPNM9Yzp8NZBGbOBSqC3DuVKI-ob-Yi67muUgw35PCj_IZzvQnD7wMMYMU/s320/104_1242.jpg" width="240" /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPNtoArJ4ZRxcyY1mv7FtMjIu1bU3hyHNZKS8af3u7Nqbmn_yZdRHlk4QWeg0eHGlhy20gH5EWuKT0lx3aHY5K6OY9OH1MbELX7tgRD_T1K7ERM1Zncgf2zKcwb8YVb9O3nQwoItiRrY/s1600/104_1241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPNtoArJ4ZRxcyY1mv7FtMjIu1bU3hyHNZKS8af3u7Nqbmn_yZdRHlk4QWeg0eHGlhy20gH5EWuKT0lx3aHY5K6OY9OH1MbELX7tgRD_T1K7ERM1Zncgf2zKcwb8YVb9O3nQwoItiRrY/s400/104_1241.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">During the Late Cretaceous much of central USA lay under the
Western Interior Seaway, which created vast beds of chalk that so many of the world’s
most famous marine fossils were discovered lying within. Amongst the fish,
turtles, sharks and birds have been found long necked plesiosaurs and numerous complete
mosasaurs.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rVftPf7QvLG55eI98LGNsZeoH-ZC4ISrpl39mL2D-JL0PLjUb-yanG92pFqF5OLOAIeQhEW8qSnMUZsI6FycQ__y1rLTGJCXUDXG59KTnoXJcby_xMuwLgHiRdAvufzeDUPtDdyebD4/s640/104_1284.jpg" width="640" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because so many marine fossils are found around the region,
the Ficks collected some of the more common fossils and added them to their artwork.
Some of the landscape paintings they created contain hundreds of fossils; and
often these make up everything, including the trees my favourite by far is the
enormous shark made up from thousands of fossil shark teeth.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoajV3GsF6-r_lF-QC2jPloPy0VG8z7mbeCqvzM2erDQthFU_W1O5DX9Fmwv-yRnKXZix73qkpw9TbFWu2vDbVS5m_hVTIZ1iJI7N72PCJf_KL6KcXFwiI2CwVUitQPzVs8mRYZ9Ekz8/s1600/104_1236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoajV3GsF6-r_lF-QC2jPloPy0VG8z7mbeCqvzM2erDQthFU_W1O5DX9Fmwv-yRnKXZix73qkpw9TbFWu2vDbVS5m_hVTIZ1iJI7N72PCJf_KL6KcXFwiI2CwVUitQPzVs8mRYZ9Ekz8/s400/104_1236.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiogVXU-lUqE611XP0j2_wHpLsbW2gc_EcX9PqZLwoTGK-K-BVUXCQu_0f6CJ9UeYPdG1xMICx5zMUu1BGMNrBFm9o9F3tI7WEdo2NzVwdByJPu_ydKREd4J3u9078uKhEdzZ9LCNAKU/s1600/104_1237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiogVXU-lUqE611XP0j2_wHpLsbW2gc_EcX9PqZLwoTGK-K-BVUXCQu_0f6CJ9UeYPdG1xMICx5zMUu1BGMNrBFm9o9F3tI7WEdo2NzVwdByJPu_ydKREd4J3u9078uKhEdzZ9LCNAKU/s400/104_1237.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7fVUdxlI0RiR7vmp2PzX__k3gbJ11ji3dzbZEfPoRN_1JS_QdhAvZ_F0xA8Avwm-KSYEDD-Qr2Ad7AmzEEB0qxF1JM4yDhPuVi646TbEJYaX_Wh3wAdSsTKbQKCe-1KVmoSR0TcD1u58/s1600/104_1283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7fVUdxlI0RiR7vmp2PzX__k3gbJ11ji3dzbZEfPoRN_1JS_QdhAvZ_F0xA8Avwm-KSYEDD-Qr2Ad7AmzEEB0qxF1JM4yDhPuVi646TbEJYaX_Wh3wAdSsTKbQKCe-1KVmoSR0TcD1u58/s320/104_1283.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also on display are is one of the world’s oldest known
mosasaur fossils, along with a 15 foot </span><i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Xiphactinus Audax</span></b></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> specimen that had been
prepared by well-known Kansas fossil-hunter, George Sternberg.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are some items of interest not to be missed, including
the complete paddle from a Plesiosaur that may contain the evidence for why
only the paddle was found. Running across the large bones of the reptiles
flipper are a number of large grooves, believed to be from the teeth of an
attacking mosasaur. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5TKUgr49GMNrId18pVHmSVS-ZHPClSGsr6Y9esbZHX42jSDDyHUHfA6xqObwmMtWg8uOrPZ5H1_gU6QlMsouiwkslv41ow3C-bLj0LdI4Vuv6h5gb9owhgKwgBi2BqQajBo9slESHFM/s640/104_1306.jpg" width="640" /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a local museum, many of the specimens were found and
donated by local residents, and the displays often proudly announce who found
the item and any story that went along with the fossil and its finder.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1BKFlDsT8TMUjW6oUQFKFy_lUG_AqiemXngWOjMXSLLWBc8QWg1jTxWR4WCC5tCgWVaU1EBvinXNce-RDiYVqsWvOoi7KT7ujXs6ke0KOAb5q07BGdGgiAWa90Lw6ZQOlrdLLu6clzo/s640/104_1225.jpg" width="640" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Discover Oakley website points out it is not only
fossils that can be seen at the museum either. The display proudly: “houses
replicas of Oakley’s first Depot, a sod house, Prather’s Creamery, and Oakley’s
General Store. The museum also houses a large, impressive collection of rocks
and minerals from the Oakley area and around the world including the remains of
ancient tombs!”</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSIGkVA2JEE2uHRsI_uA_CSZob8d1O54ljg6KWHZLI7G7clPVuuQUg4leEe19qTiL2IXKHTMSKu_5gWUZZmRSkFV4n_jXfVpMDH0U4G1u_CZKDqK6xMuRecg8WJ8_9iVg219a48Dnnp0/s640/104_1267.jpg" width="640" /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.discoveroakley.com/">http://www.discoveroakley.com</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">...by the way, I never did get to see that 5 legged cow!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClRyyVPEubPLjPBWxLwlXiwP8JZPOOwbPqIn7ckMXZEM4pQr4NRIVp18DI1B0aASp9QtNCRhbTMYAvxLediLX_KhzS8q15_S-RK8IgAnEvVwB8kT_2pywWgOc6pxPFHN3nbdJd-GPdI0/s640/104_1391.jpg" width="640" /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Entry is free- as for hours, it is likely bet to contact the museum to find out when it is open as it seems to have limited operational hours during winter. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">the museum can be found at: </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">700 W 3rd St, Oakley, KS 67748, United States</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<nobr><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">PH +1 785-671-4839</span></nobr></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com2700 W 3rd St, Oakley, KS 67748, USA39.1277116 -100.860508139.1276636 -100.8605871 39.1277596 -100.8604291tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-88876988524419872072015-04-01T21:21:00.000-07:002015-04-01T21:21:11.413-07:00Uffington White Horse - On the Road in the UK, Part Three<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtLNPdz8T6OvoWYQ6SIdPhSPct1GdZXnYmSiiFdv_LG2m9PikAh30JIEMAPn1pRD8i2VPDTNayvA227uT5VWB2uywssXEknb-fiAiiD_8gXVuY3agNDFSDM3bvMD1GNFQ4O-SxKnPFHk/s1600/10987444_10205451074653081_8716779029817992696_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtLNPdz8T6OvoWYQ6SIdPhSPct1GdZXnYmSiiFdv_LG2m9PikAh30JIEMAPn1pRD8i2VPDTNayvA227uT5VWB2uywssXEknb-fiAiiD_8gXVuY3agNDFSDM3bvMD1GNFQ4O-SxKnPFHk/s1600/10987444_10205451074653081_8716779029817992696_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQ9BYEhqXK_wk19luOXggozdz-nt7e_D5IxgiqIuSo63I4tNPnmlPXLMOiaWLQ6y8NlEsd_GeMqRPZIbJjNXRzFkco4Yaq-L5oElsY7zOBWPjojbSP96r0t3KB2VQ-GKfoTI-DewtDKA/s1600/1618560_10205451059292697_2505614332406515351_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQ9BYEhqXK_wk19luOXggozdz-nt7e_D5IxgiqIuSo63I4tNPnmlPXLMOiaWLQ6y8NlEsd_GeMqRPZIbJjNXRzFkco4Yaq-L5oElsY7zOBWPjojbSP96r0t3KB2VQ-GKfoTI-DewtDKA/s1600/1618560_10205451059292697_2505614332406515351_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">13 days into our circumnavigation of the UK, having already
driven through north England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, we had every
intentions of visiting one of the largest air shows in the world, the Royal
International Air Tattoo. Held at the RAF Fairford at Gloucester, unfortunately
a week of solid rain had led the organizers to cancel the 2008 show and so our
plans changed. </span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was hard to be too disappointed, however, as the
cancelation gave us a chance to visit one of the most iconic prehistoric sites
in the UK. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8bYTU-CadahfqeQdflWhxY0oWQYEcuP8MYyoRSZO6pmRFvEvSZSYoGoPsnIWk1k0I1D7wWYdpNisOu4opB4j7GnwozgkmQw_uUAeT5UGpzhyphenhyphenIXVDC6-RFhUhVtOh4txtDIJNNEGBgcU/s1600/10422549_10205451074093067_8864357786800508706_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8bYTU-CadahfqeQdflWhxY0oWQYEcuP8MYyoRSZO6pmRFvEvSZSYoGoPsnIWk1k0I1D7wWYdpNisOu4opB4j7GnwozgkmQw_uUAeT5UGpzhyphenhyphenIXVDC6-RFhUhVtOh4txtDIJNNEGBgcU/s1600/10422549_10205451074093067_8864357786800508706_n.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The famous White Horse at Uffington is situated in the
county of Oxfordshire and is the oldest hill figure in Britain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The horse was thought to have been built
during the early Iron Age, or possibly first cut into the ground as far back as
1000BC- placing it in the Bronze Age and an astonishing 3,000 years old. Unlike
most other white horses in the UK (which are more recent) paleoanthropologists
and archaeologists have found Iron Age coins with depictions of a strikingly
similar image in the region, all but confirming its existence at the time. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIekkDgR5E58V6B0Gtkc9sGQgFsfjPLrGB1Rq-JbwgHfdzRE4SE2ldU2gyXRBezaGVR1WYB1jyCuK04zR3A4778Egz_o_9iyrtip3ja3gxScl7XXhwCP-b75oMNDFfcEaceBdWYz6Y2Js/s1600/988945_10205451073533053_3123594483027717323_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIekkDgR5E58V6B0Gtkc9sGQgFsfjPLrGB1Rq-JbwgHfdzRE4SE2ldU2gyXRBezaGVR1WYB1jyCuK04zR3A4778Egz_o_9iyrtip3ja3gxScl7XXhwCP-b75oMNDFfcEaceBdWYz6Y2Js/s1600/988945_10205451073533053_3123594483027717323_n.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhygNBk_kLJMjZWCvl26rDArgP8LFedWWhxrHwNc2PUBYJ430TuaKyiGiG4YcJdskraAIsBiXfYGPISExHumxtwbkKtxsKgOkGyxsu4vCa_GWtoxrDYDtLktWQByiwuWCpFugkRIcPUk68/s1600/10505499_10205451072773034_2293539524951999151_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhygNBk_kLJMjZWCvl26rDArgP8LFedWWhxrHwNc2PUBYJ430TuaKyiGiG4YcJdskraAIsBiXfYGPISExHumxtwbkKtxsKgOkGyxsu4vCa_GWtoxrDYDtLktWQByiwuWCpFugkRIcPUk68/s1600/10505499_10205451072773034_2293539524951999151_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">An examination of the soil at the bottom of one of these
lines using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (which measures radiation levels
in soil) later confirmed the image had indeed been built in the Late Bronze
Age.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To visit the horse we drove up Lambourn Valley Way to the
car park. From here there is a path along a gentle slope, which gets a lot
steeper as you get closer to the horse. The entire complex is far larger than
you’d expect, so wear comfortable, non-slip shoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6rccUakbCvkOH71Ke_zupLLgc0BF2SWK8BWCXn0UCeHFNfchmWRd-y9lQiVtfICaqhTJEgxJ2mJ5d8aG9TfpL1CZkL48Xb0oqxnCb98HJzqD4FriPn-6vl5V8iO34hmW3L8yaUhJV2o/s1600/11050231_10205451074213070_6642195434181509669_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6rccUakbCvkOH71Ke_zupLLgc0BF2SWK8BWCXn0UCeHFNfchmWRd-y9lQiVtfICaqhTJEgxJ2mJ5d8aG9TfpL1CZkL48Xb0oqxnCb98HJzqD4FriPn-6vl5V8iO34hmW3L8yaUhJV2o/s1600/11050231_10205451074213070_6642195434181509669_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NOTE: Make sure you also close any gate you pass though as
the area has a lot of sheep, which are natural lawn mowers I’m assuming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OUsnvT3hlR_7rAjCw7FR8jyv5DU0mWf3wyg0q8aquGGWjz6W27O-znGjNoOEp89rJArMs2XyafdMW3A8RHCVYVIwIaeav08yMAQyGU3jhd8dFUHmQf_EdLjIushKLUJ0lDWSEwpF2Uk/s1600/10983153_10205451060652731_3972081383187731606_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OUsnvT3hlR_7rAjCw7FR8jyv5DU0mWf3wyg0q8aquGGWjz6W27O-znGjNoOEp89rJArMs2XyafdMW3A8RHCVYVIwIaeav08yMAQyGU3jhd8dFUHmQf_EdLjIushKLUJ0lDWSEwpF2Uk/s1600/10983153_10205451060652731_3972081383187731606_n.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The horse itself is 114m (374ft) long, giving you an idea
how large and steep the hill is; in fact once at the top you get a commanding
view of the countryside as far as the eye can see. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can see so far that in
one area I could see a large storm, while on the other side of the hill was
fine sunshine.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMFNTkO8VOnh98lX1Zwfhyphenhyphend5orwfFRyG-EHkAcNSKorUGjhnj3oawOFID0y9Wk7ghdkF_ozYYT8uyCyDFBB9pRdlYAmmdtSYvanYhhZHCmwLQLGStSjIw4D0wOMRtLgnp-r1Aa_xUUn8/s1600/1484499_10205451063532803_741555137274477598_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMFNTkO8VOnh98lX1Zwfhyphenhyphend5orwfFRyG-EHkAcNSKorUGjhnj3oawOFID0y9Wk7ghdkF_ozYYT8uyCyDFBB9pRdlYAmmdtSYvanYhhZHCmwLQLGStSjIw4D0wOMRtLgnp-r1Aa_xUUn8/s1600/1484499_10205451063532803_741555137274477598_n.jpg" height="332" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJQP-zJQDZak_6hI6kZDmPpcHLEYqWSKXkpJb06CxZPP07XQg_rhfSHNoYW6_AxgQOHqzkuI2RgEm7U7di4Utj7lvxgdITZkOtIoj8-Snj6rN0R6z3DOXlvvU6pcueUKK0pmDwVKnc1A/s1600/10329248_10205451066172869_1439801377004124846_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJQP-zJQDZak_6hI6kZDmPpcHLEYqWSKXkpJb06CxZPP07XQg_rhfSHNoYW6_AxgQOHqzkuI2RgEm7U7di4Utj7lvxgdITZkOtIoj8-Snj6rN0R6z3DOXlvvU6pcueUKK0pmDwVKnc1A/s1600/10329248_10205451066172869_1439801377004124846_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was also so high (geographically speaking) I still managed
to get a bit of an air show when a RAF Hercules buzzed the hill, possibly
flying back from the distant air base. Indeed the hill - which is the highest
point in Oxfordshire - rises so steeply from the patchwork landscape below it
is regularly used by paragliders to launch into the air.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnrQ5EoV4FM48sAkJ7m95wd2HFGk1iokcbnpeDQpcLdDZEfzXvLF2xmjzq6VmyFOA2H91nIeBUir9LpriQzKDfVPadYrHDG0WODms6dyzohpvkB2wCqeShoGaRpDL89hYiffZLxa2vDM/s1600/603837_10205451066492877_5650162533748191815_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnrQ5EoV4FM48sAkJ7m95wd2HFGk1iokcbnpeDQpcLdDZEfzXvLF2xmjzq6VmyFOA2H91nIeBUir9LpriQzKDfVPadYrHDG0WODms6dyzohpvkB2wCqeShoGaRpDL89hYiffZLxa2vDM/s1600/603837_10205451066492877_5650162533748191815_n.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is no barrier protecting the horse, which has been the
subject of clowns either destroying the image or adding to it (at one point the
horse was given a rider to the horror of those charged with its upkeep), so you
need to be a little careful, but it’s also amazing to be able to get this close
to the real thing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtL7MwPPmkIwBh-JRqDAVuIUuxkVA8zmNwvHUb0DtzXGPiImziR5ePr9kpdMaWy9g-vF8UmJtm_S8b41ptUsJwUpfJGeFWsK50xG2SfXKm86rJ1e2rLkjrXEwYtzXUrS_3XqPwj-8cZSA/s1600/11025798_10205451069972964_2616583696906440584_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtL7MwPPmkIwBh-JRqDAVuIUuxkVA8zmNwvHUb0DtzXGPiImziR5ePr9kpdMaWy9g-vF8UmJtm_S8b41ptUsJwUpfJGeFWsK50xG2SfXKm86rJ1e2rLkjrXEwYtzXUrS_3XqPwj-8cZSA/s1600/11025798_10205451069972964_2616583696906440584_n.jpg" height="400" width="287" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The hill is a protected site, and used to be ‘scourged’
every 7 years to keep the image crisp and clean. Without this upkeep the horse
would quickly fade from view. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This work
is done by officials from National Heritage. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The chalk itself has been dated to the Cretaceous, making it
around 80 million years old.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Though there had been rain all week, I was lucky enough to
head up to the horse in patchy sunshine, and it was a great stroll. The path is
well worn, the natural grassland mostly manicured- I assume from the numerous
sheep- and the air was alive with butterflies and bees. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFc06RYnU6zkmI-ZiEFc_iJLMtvi5ROsDH1WVw_5MM6DS4eN5vad7BDdzUKQawGr_qbQkYhDHi500h2aNoCqtfw6dUeIkr1mARV7i5j7b8nSO2PZfXltyRl93Kx06SgX9UAcp6wjDM5A/s1600/11026124_10205451063812810_7409620126523037113_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFc06RYnU6zkmI-ZiEFc_iJLMtvi5ROsDH1WVw_5MM6DS4eN5vad7BDdzUKQawGr_qbQkYhDHi500h2aNoCqtfw6dUeIkr1mARV7i5j7b8nSO2PZfXltyRl93Kx06SgX9UAcp6wjDM5A/s1600/11026124_10205451063812810_7409620126523037113_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Along the path from the carpark there is a view just before
the horse of an interesting Pleistocene geographic feature. It is believed the
valley running just under the Horse’s head, known as The Manger, was formed
during the Ice Age as melted ice water ran away from the hill. This is known as
a ‘dry valley’ as there is no evidence of a river or creek that could have
formed the depression, indicating it was created during the Ice Age by a
glacier or melted ice. The name comes from the legend that it is in this large
grassy depression where the White horse feeds at night. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPvkIAsa9LE30sUIy-FXMEga7o8eYkEWz2_1AC29yMAvJ9Wzv_AtUYTPGe3J1PXoxElEIBsWEXrqgkA7zLicDsxOjp1X4rzRUbN2d_2_5WF0OcZlYOL2gmP-tdLIRSaJwMBnB7wMkWXM/s1600/10460724_10205451064132818_2758335128778749958_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPvkIAsa9LE30sUIy-FXMEga7o8eYkEWz2_1AC29yMAvJ9Wzv_AtUYTPGe3J1PXoxElEIBsWEXrqgkA7zLicDsxOjp1X4rzRUbN2d_2_5WF0OcZlYOL2gmP-tdLIRSaJwMBnB7wMkWXM/s1600/10460724_10205451064132818_2758335128778749958_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the far end of the valley are also the ‘Giant Stairs’; a
series of step-like structures that were also most likely formed from melted
ice water (called avalanche chutes) . There is also a series of large levelled out
platforms, possibly formed by prehistoric farmers to create terraced crop beds.
Apparently there also use to be a wheel of cheese chasing competition down the
side of the Manger, and standing at the top and looking down I realised there
are just some things I will not do for dairy products. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSplkJcaFS9649KlWsn2EanrTgsEmX0X9MdeysqEWk47yYZYbIYxWHbymvSpc8qrZ2NP1w-Lc11tc6HKQFbQeQI5Z0Ij_An2jtxXygGCKQWraTMTlffynNkjGcIwk_iDR6zNhPHDw5OiY/s1600/10431501_10205451068332923_2922996013833334130_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSplkJcaFS9649KlWsn2EanrTgsEmX0X9MdeysqEWk47yYZYbIYxWHbymvSpc8qrZ2NP1w-Lc11tc6HKQFbQeQI5Z0Ij_An2jtxXygGCKQWraTMTlffynNkjGcIwk_iDR6zNhPHDw5OiY/s1600/10431501_10205451068332923_2922996013833334130_n.jpg" height="394" width="640" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdM5MSDrMmomEm_xQffBhIsdMO5ujw8GEeh6v4VNdt5SDsiaNXu-aSIGNz2wSnSH55iOxIOe0zEF-fbON66r63UzJJc_Tj-zX7BN9OeNp5ujq2IyeCct2UcG3f0_euzr1qzYiaEQ6HVwk/s1600/11001860_10205451073013040_5487278178494940335_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdM5MSDrMmomEm_xQffBhIsdMO5ujw8GEeh6v4VNdt5SDsiaNXu-aSIGNz2wSnSH55iOxIOe0zEF-fbON66r63UzJJc_Tj-zX7BN9OeNp5ujq2IyeCct2UcG3f0_euzr1qzYiaEQ6HVwk/s1600/11001860_10205451073013040_5487278178494940335_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Further up the hill is the Bronze/Iron Age fortress called Uffington
Castle, likely placed there for its commanding views. Sadly I was totally
unaware of its existence when I visited and happily wandered past it. I do not
recall anyone heading up towards it at the time, nor any signage along the path
pointing it out, so just keep it in mind if you ever get the chance to visit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><strong>Dragon Hill</strong></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBghq_t611EHeCQJSaS4cuuOZoOnsutBxyc_CYIb7c5hSax26_u5NC0WNvUeC5W3spOJCo6-EaicnnuJa6Zq_XvErKREvH2CAamjOHuAuJaYZMOB2VIEfvZOfB3qFpMeCrVmVR9dXj7Hc/s1600/11026148_10205451070732983_3424704582466665880_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBghq_t611EHeCQJSaS4cuuOZoOnsutBxyc_CYIb7c5hSax26_u5NC0WNvUeC5W3spOJCo6-EaicnnuJa6Zq_XvErKREvH2CAamjOHuAuJaYZMOB2VIEfvZOfB3qFpMeCrVmVR9dXj7Hc/s1600/11026148_10205451070732983_3424704582466665880_n.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the foot of the hill the White Horse sits on is Dragon
Hill. This is a natural formation made of the same Cretaceous chalk as the
horse, which at some point had its peak levelled off to create a wide, flat
platform.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In mythology this small hill is where Saint George
confronted and slew the great dragon. Even today there is a large exposed patch
of the white chalk the hill is made from, and legend tells us this is where the
blood of the dragon spilled, burning the ground and making it forever barren. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTT8Un7N1MrtUAGTh2Lmg4kGrNdn1BBZcbvT8qMsYGGgtlyVBcnz_qQ6TZqWYO4VrAjK5d6TZNg1oMWMXdfCi-eDWUFwJ5ApNWc3vjV2cB0m-oyYCMNtkfmqVG7lXTxIx_tK2YHvzZ0Y/s1600/11024698_10205451134614580_690758741704935480_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTT8Un7N1MrtUAGTh2Lmg4kGrNdn1BBZcbvT8qMsYGGgtlyVBcnz_qQ6TZqWYO4VrAjK5d6TZNg1oMWMXdfCi-eDWUFwJ5ApNWc3vjV2cB0m-oyYCMNtkfmqVG7lXTxIx_tK2YHvzZ0Y/s1600/11024698_10205451134614580_690758741704935480_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The association of both features has led some to suggest the
White Horse above is not actually a representation of a horse at all but is in
fact the slain dragon- others suggest it might be a fox.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNknIk7A9fT5rnOiOwzYb441cnGAdEEMtekQddr9yXxR59zTaQsn9PxIAk9hL6eAVksRniOcZztKVVMElHXbnMpaY4I7AsbYwksJw0pukPGocUT40lzkctdyhZt_HbmWDi1mNvRJqurRo/s1600/11037719_10205451066612880_3468860862421955938_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNknIk7A9fT5rnOiOwzYb441cnGAdEEMtekQddr9yXxR59zTaQsn9PxIAk9hL6eAVksRniOcZztKVVMElHXbnMpaY4I7AsbYwksJw0pukPGocUT40lzkctdyhZt_HbmWDi1mNvRJqurRo/s1600/11037719_10205451066612880_3468860862421955938_n.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dragon Hill has also been suggested as the final resting
place of Uther Pendragon, linking the feature to the legend of Uther’s son,
King Arthur. This hill is a natural structure, so it likely has nothing to do
with any sort of burial. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrkZmXZwTEFXXOW0MuwTv-1BZEi3jpjxyRhxCsJyd_mnAQynEMMGDHxwT8A-k05tlu8ZdR30sT8oIBGo7CGoZ_nHhccl8lmeGpMPPfa1-5JFQlI5f1atSm2FK22qACbMa4JgkxCYxhpg/s1600/10996272_10205451064852836_5434505651026028006_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrkZmXZwTEFXXOW0MuwTv-1BZEi3jpjxyRhxCsJyd_mnAQynEMMGDHxwT8A-k05tlu8ZdR30sT8oIBGo7CGoZ_nHhccl8lmeGpMPPfa1-5JFQlI5f1atSm2FK22qACbMa4JgkxCYxhpg/s1600/10996272_10205451064852836_5434505651026028006_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are walking to this spot from the White Horse, make sure you take your time as the path down the hill is insanely steep and you don’t want to imitate a rolling cheese; and though there are stairs cut in places, it is still steep. The path also crosses Dragon Hill Road, which cuts between both formations, so keep an eye out for vehicles when moving along the road.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhyphenhyphenvMjt5gwjPoNZt-IYWdBSa9U4I1_EhzshcXqu68sy2PE-buuEFt3pDQbFQkdSAjk_eUb7DUDWluYGZR_2bbKIi5jl3TrGyYuLAGzpHm-yP0v1G1zRhEkv5LSNn_fT7ZssL9Q7vmwqU/s1600/11032517_10205451076453126_7935898620389625169_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhyphenhyphenvMjt5gwjPoNZt-IYWdBSa9U4I1_EhzshcXqu68sy2PE-buuEFt3pDQbFQkdSAjk_eUb7DUDWluYGZR_2bbKIi5jl3TrGyYuLAGzpHm-yP0v1G1zRhEkv5LSNn_fT7ZssL9Q7vmwqU/s1600/11032517_10205451076453126_7935898620389625169_n.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com2Uffington, Faringdon, Oxfordshire SN7, UK51.6010755 -1.560179800000014426.079041 -42.868773800000014 77.12311 39.748414199999985tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-82210946551059481002015-03-04T19:01:00.001-08:002015-03-05T15:36:48.985-08:00Lyme Regis- On the Road in the UK, Part Two<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>WARNING: This region is dangerous, with rock falls
and land slips occurring regularly. Any visit to the area must be done so with
caution!<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jhGlkb-Ik-kpnb0iTlYAASVE2-J36j72Dj2yGEuGlowDr2tAr_tT0u-L_M79AgaABs64-cI4tJIi75GWD-B98vxhyphenhyphen02anWN87PBB-0R9r5_Hsokno678hWd8BLlvpouDoTN5xDOF4Ek/s1600/182025_1786678863549_504911_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jhGlkb-Ik-kpnb0iTlYAASVE2-J36j72Dj2yGEuGlowDr2tAr_tT0u-L_M79AgaABs64-cI4tJIi75GWD-B98vxhyphenhyphen02anWN87PBB-0R9r5_Hsokno678hWd8BLlvpouDoTN5xDOF4Ek/s1600/182025_1786678863549_504911_n.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Running along the southern edge of England is the
Jurassic Coast, made up of cliffs and beaches spanning the entire Mesozoic
area, is one of the world’s most famous fossil landscapes. It is also home to
possibly the world’s most famous tongue twister.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘She
sells seashells on the seashore</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shells she sells are seashells, I'm sure</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if she sells seashells on the seashore</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I'm sure she sells seashore shells.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYl8yBe-DmfHPQgfhqjX93FC8LQiLcEJvWrH1n9myt7prqTXpNeZWor4E2qNpgnx6EbCoP9iEksAKfbaMZOxWtfiC1riwGrsZF_v32y_I4Vgs1VWjunuOtkuLgtXNJsRxo4jvXNSv3FQ4/s1600/220px-Mary_Anning_painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYl8yBe-DmfHPQgfhqjX93FC8LQiLcEJvWrH1n9myt7prqTXpNeZWor4E2qNpgnx6EbCoP9iEksAKfbaMZOxWtfiC1riwGrsZF_v32y_I4Vgs1VWjunuOtkuLgtXNJsRxo4jvXNSv3FQ4/s1600/220px-Mary_Anning_painting.jpg" height="320" width="232" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Produced by Terry Sullivan in 1908, this familiar
construct describes how Mary Anning sold the sea shells she’d collected along
the early Jurassic Blue Lias cliffs of the region, and is an odd little account
of the origins of the modern science of palaeontology. Mary had grown up in a
poor family, so to make money the young girl had begun selling the fossil
shells she collected along the local shoreline. The Napoleonic war had stopped England’s
gentry from travelling to the continent, forcing the rich to holiday in local rural
regions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The business was a dangerous one and Mary was nearly
killed in 1833 during the landslide that took the life of her dog. Her efforts
soon bore fruit when she began discovering more than just the spiral form of
ammonite shells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary soon unearthed the
world’s first ichthyosaur skeleton, along with plesiosaurs and even a
pterosaur- the first known outside of Germany. These were all purchased, and
many can still be seen today in London’s Natural History Museum (NHM). Even
today Lyme Regis is a source of many fine monsters from the Jurassic seas.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkiACJwoZCys86Dy0EuJ5HS8ccVqLfoV_WXu1zl1zoVCf3bUElLxWcKM8xfM3Gky7v2N__UAE0lHGIuVoVolYh6Prv9OB-Wh241KYqx6dGaYhhAJoK-byOZ5Knm7dtdeSfWPvivsWe024/s1600/Duria_Antiquior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkiACJwoZCys86Dy0EuJ5HS8ccVqLfoV_WXu1zl1zoVCf3bUElLxWcKM8xfM3Gky7v2N__UAE0lHGIuVoVolYh6Prv9OB-Wh241KYqx6dGaYhhAJoK-byOZ5Knm7dtdeSfWPvivsWe024/s1600/Duria_Antiquior.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Duria Antiquior- note all the poo- Coprolites were a common fossil studied at the time.</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mary Anning would also be associated with the
world’s first image of a prehistoric landscape. The ‘Duria Antiquior’ was a
watercolour painted by the English geologist, Henry De la Beche, in 1830. It
was based on many of the creatures from the ancient seas of Dorset that Mary
had unearthed.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the geologist discovered Mary Anning was
struggling financially, he ordered a number of lithographs to be created, the
sale of which was to benefit the collector. Even though Mary had discovered
many of the world’s greatest fossils at the time, the science was dominated by
men who proved happy to mine her for information, and just as happy to publish
this without crediting any of her discoveries. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTx2sf_weLeZBVwmlUxVHwlHpAcduJjriFRls3PJojZHV8QLz9UwBp8xjmCiL5Z8-2NFYbBL4QFR13CM3rzZi2-KEw5qTskKTvv_cCnjXWdxp_O-JXHNnN8ri6xEJu9JPLl4_dISpxoo/s1600/181977_1786694583942_1497811_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTx2sf_weLeZBVwmlUxVHwlHpAcduJjriFRls3PJojZHV8QLz9UwBp8xjmCiL5Z8-2NFYbBL4QFR13CM3rzZi2-KEw5qTskKTvv_cCnjXWdxp_O-JXHNnN8ri6xEJu9JPLl4_dISpxoo/s1600/181977_1786694583942_1497811_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For myself, sadly I would only have a few very short
hours to visit the region and really had to get a boogie on as it’s a large
area and we had places to be. ‘The Pearl of Dorset’ was formerly a major English
port, but today is more known as a tourist destination, and not just for
dinosaurs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Cobb is a large harbour wall to protect the town
and harbour from violent storms and sea surges. This structure appeared in Jane
Austin’s final novel, Persuasion, and is a real favourite of the author’s fans,
often calling themselves Janeites. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOzxeEDmyNlx9V2LHQVZmDS5tkL7e-Ts1bpUTEDwzHVySrTbg8OWf7kReXUBJgXYxhCaOZWTKlrYgxUaKqHd3_qUDflbspDIpo-QzPmr8oobdnfzpAurSECMk80L8wUd7TBb9MMBRWKM/s1600/180541_1786693103905_6169356_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOzxeEDmyNlx9V2LHQVZmDS5tkL7e-Ts1bpUTEDwzHVySrTbg8OWf7kReXUBJgXYxhCaOZWTKlrYgxUaKqHd3_qUDflbspDIpo-QzPmr8oobdnfzpAurSECMk80L8wUd7TBb9MMBRWKM/s1600/180541_1786693103905_6169356_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Parking: The town itself is small with narrow
streets, and though there is a parking lot, it seems to fill up quickly on busy
days, so expect to do a lot of walking. This is also true for the shoreline as
the city is situated on top of a hill, meaning you need to head through the
city, down the main road (which isn’t that steep), and down the hill and ramp to
water level.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCfnewKH4jEyd3zLYFrtSjtcLCeXXeigg73f5kZ1EBVwcz2YmdyVqHJ4ITuFwen46fMX0ppTrzKr9w-OHXxui3scrYyPJO9ZkyJmCjlIOJmAgn7y-KQPtT9dfFsM6asyyqTGiiOzmgb8/s1600/180369_1786694143931_1069534_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCfnewKH4jEyd3zLYFrtSjtcLCeXXeigg73f5kZ1EBVwcz2YmdyVqHJ4ITuFwen46fMX0ppTrzKr9w-OHXxui3scrYyPJO9ZkyJmCjlIOJmAgn7y-KQPtT9dfFsM6asyyqTGiiOzmgb8/s1600/180369_1786694143931_1069534_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best fossil bearing rocks are easily seen. Just
head a few hundred meters up the beach where you can clearly see layers of
rock along the cliff face that were formed during the Mesozoic,
and you’re there. </span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2GeED1WyuQ-uLXb41-DaENVEZ41dFn2Q3-oDZYvVIEhcxVa-u5xLWZBxIzuJSUcU94vKZl1vU03Rnawh6LO1AwrucWYPhmJnss23wjRJeeD4LCnWin-clkYaJ6ROpTIfTDpyN1LyiK8/s1600/179805_1786692023878_830225_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2GeED1WyuQ-uLXb41-DaENVEZ41dFn2Q3-oDZYvVIEhcxVa-u5xLWZBxIzuJSUcU94vKZl1vU03Rnawh6LO1AwrucWYPhmJnss23wjRJeeD4LCnWin-clkYaJ6ROpTIfTDpyN1LyiK8/s1600/179805_1786692023878_830225_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can also guarantee there will be people fossicking, so just
follow the crowd. Much of the cliff is limestone, itself made from the shells
of microscopic organisms, so it’s important to look at every rock, and this means you don’t
really need to go near the cliff as you can see things like ammonites everywhere.
</span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7jsL9DCrgtd_CPvBT1pvYhCuucMO3rsHNcpp21chwsXoMChiLRpm9zc0E5LH_vcpqlRFt_2aAVAIZ0pVPwPWLm5T_9VlaR40PwNG4gVaKl3PZRwuFrZNqdE5plii8O8tZBt7btU9ziw/s1600/182729_1786680743596_5117059_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7jsL9DCrgtd_CPvBT1pvYhCuucMO3rsHNcpp21chwsXoMChiLRpm9zc0E5LH_vcpqlRFt_2aAVAIZ0pVPwPWLm5T_9VlaR40PwNG4gVaKl3PZRwuFrZNqdE5plii8O8tZBt7btU9ziw/s1600/182729_1786680743596_5117059_n.jpg" height="403" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is important to note because, as I said at the start, <strong>this area can be
very dangerous</strong>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVepeWoSz1JjU176WDII5WAxuuq-kXgPmIhyphenhyphenyOi-07yStvmJLjSJN7886DXQKRwef_m6luKdsFicHIwGvaaHQrOu0OGc1GFNKevtymSWjeMp1NaLYS5_rczipp6w6iZveEWfUw-dlUfms/s1600/180605_1786682023628_3746639_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVepeWoSz1JjU176WDII5WAxuuq-kXgPmIhyphenhyphenyOi-07yStvmJLjSJN7886DXQKRwef_m6luKdsFicHIwGvaaHQrOu0OGc1GFNKevtymSWjeMp1NaLYS5_rczipp6w6iZveEWfUw-dlUfms/s1600/180605_1786682023628_3746639_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVepeWoSz1JjU176WDII5WAxuuq-kXgPmIhyphenhyphenyOi-07yStvmJLjSJN7886DXQKRwef_m6luKdsFicHIwGvaaHQrOu0OGc1GFNKevtymSWjeMp1NaLYS5_rczipp6w6iZveEWfUw-dlUfms/s1600/180605_1786682023628_3746639_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I assume I was there at low tide as the ocean was a
fair distance from the cliffs, and between each was a wide, flat layer of rocks
that were easy to walk across. There were also plenty or rock pools, leading to
me to believe at high tide this area would be underwater.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURUNq2OXlQX5eo883GDNXCjm1IAyouaNkZqG6v0ZE3IUhcxAVT4PVJNySR7eO3p5xLW31pvL7NtmKD5_lUSpKWh6FGjg6nA-gnrlyikv_-khBkvrqyhtUTI6Z7_SvNmxVWwIhPcPv6fg/s1600/182453_1786683503665_6655803_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURUNq2OXlQX5eo883GDNXCjm1IAyouaNkZqG6v0ZE3IUhcxAVT4PVJNySR7eO3p5xLW31pvL7NtmKD5_lUSpKWh6FGjg6nA-gnrlyikv_-khBkvrqyhtUTI6Z7_SvNmxVWwIhPcPv6fg/s1600/182453_1786683503665_6655803_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I said, I
only had a short time, but I was there long enough to find a few hand-sized
ammonites, and I was more than happy with that. </span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGQtKuwWYxIFypy_X2AmlP5A1S3DX2alzQjqrLUeoTo44AgTpe60cTGsBvOt-hCtQSXGckenxJzljPya82OpfGN4BHmdM5EvtBBJ3f0cuXOv0zIvfIANT9UeQyP0r3fUdkgcgnuxeupU/s1600/182673_1786683743671_7119461_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGQtKuwWYxIFypy_X2AmlP5A1S3DX2alzQjqrLUeoTo44AgTpe60cTGsBvOt-hCtQSXGckenxJzljPya82OpfGN4BHmdM5EvtBBJ3f0cuXOv0zIvfIANT9UeQyP0r3fUdkgcgnuxeupU/s1600/182673_1786683743671_7119461_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could see some enormous
ammonites contained in some large rocks, and as I had nothing to break these
open, and in truth was not sure what the rules where for collecting fossils (I
did find myself thinking, if its ok to take these, then why are these beauties
still here?), so I was happy enough just to grab a photo.</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlkKOBesoah43HH0EfaJFtOcuIYezWI7cNxCJIUkenwHZ3fk01d2Wy2Nxg703BCTAYeidEr2iC90V_XKuqttaHHowIweRIRV7H1vmwKmLUyFdGUlZFZ97SoniHRIC66vQVbLX44WhZkQ/s1600/180345_1786683023653_7969172_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlkKOBesoah43HH0EfaJFtOcuIYezWI7cNxCJIUkenwHZ3fk01d2Wy2Nxg703BCTAYeidEr2iC90V_XKuqttaHHowIweRIRV7H1vmwKmLUyFdGUlZFZ97SoniHRIC66vQVbLX44WhZkQ/s1600/180345_1786683023653_7969172_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">All too soon my time was up and it was back up the
hill and into town. Everywhere you look there are references to fossils, even
the street lights are curled and contain an ammonite spiral inside….classyyyyyy.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxCGOujyIj9aKylG3LC4MNeDGjbqB2t4gGpw6Yi37QqTnNOuVnrKlStUnaF5oBQFPgDK6adZAX4aGXxrdM8ecx2AjhJbRAzcWjdRHAoCQLuxGdJRXrEKOsj0ykHhmQlODUKBY44Bnf9Q/s1600/180413_1786694983952_7775415_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxCGOujyIj9aKylG3LC4MNeDGjbqB2t4gGpw6Yi37QqTnNOuVnrKlStUnaF5oBQFPgDK6adZAX4aGXxrdM8ecx2AjhJbRAzcWjdRHAoCQLuxGdJRXrEKOsj0ykHhmQlODUKBY44Bnf9Q/s1600/180413_1786694983952_7775415_n.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are two museums in town, but sadly both were
closed (it was getting late in the day by the time I got back from the beach).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqRsBJOl5pdjWRdMlR6u1jUuVz8Dls08gMoiKgKJ-ymaiToz_XWrJLv-aE2lYYQArnB7Da28bW1WKR4IWNcBe5fCSwccprzDmEqFLlikp1-2_Xkh9B2guBLHBxLln7ojMTbM7R-oLYWU/s1600/181917_1786693863924_1272341_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqRsBJOl5pdjWRdMlR6u1jUuVz8Dls08gMoiKgKJ-ymaiToz_XWrJLv-aE2lYYQArnB7Da28bW1WKR4IWNcBe5fCSwccprzDmEqFLlikp1-2_Xkh9B2guBLHBxLln7ojMTbM7R-oLYWU/s1600/181917_1786693863924_1272341_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Lyme Regis Museum is built on Mary Anning’s home
and store from where she sold so many fossils. The building looks amazing and I’m
sorry I missed it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6tzb7p7jm1NrZXZMAoyBqeFKZk0zKdcn6ybhziPgPmjYIfN1OIX4nUDOCZ9m4cmdVIsZ6teK8rvid6v1H972uqed4ZS75vxexmpe32BX58mCJq_OHS6-FitFTk_JnKNNylkFPVeFTpcI/s1600/180545_1786679143556_6202905_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6tzb7p7jm1NrZXZMAoyBqeFKZk0zKdcn6ybhziPgPmjYIfN1OIX4nUDOCZ9m4cmdVIsZ6teK8rvid6v1H972uqed4ZS75vxexmpe32BX58mCJq_OHS6-FitFTk_JnKNNylkFPVeFTpcI/s1600/180545_1786679143556_6202905_n.jpg" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk/in-the-museum/fossils-and-rocks-of-lyme-regis"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">http://www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk/in-the-museum/fossils-and-rocks-of-lyme-regis</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dinosaurland Fossil Museum is a privately run institution,
and contains not only great examples of local fossils, but some dinosaurs as
well.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The town is also home to The Fossil Workshop, a
commercial operation that not only prepares and sells fossils, but runs fossil
walks- so they may be well worth a chat before you go as they may be running an
excursion. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.fossilworkshop.com/index.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">http://www.fossilworkshop.com/index.html</span></a></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqwxLTwfh4seBdzgNyLwmpVnhJ2Z18x_u3etrInNxZsjAwBAAkD2yBV_nY59YNta54yQniyKNCPFJvnr6ZFYoQ2VsBfk1fy-ECkHZl9Plb-I3ulRbut0VRaNLy14N8KLLD_xD50SwSy9I/s1600/181993_1786689783822_2775636_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqwxLTwfh4seBdzgNyLwmpVnhJ2Z18x_u3etrInNxZsjAwBAAkD2yBV_nY59YNta54yQniyKNCPFJvnr6ZFYoQ2VsBfk1fy-ECkHZl9Plb-I3ulRbut0VRaNLy14N8KLLD_xD50SwSy9I/s1600/181993_1786689783822_2775636_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
</div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com1Lyme Regis, Dorset, UK50.725156 -2.936639000000013850.7050535 -2.9769795000000139 50.7452585 -2.8962985000000137tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-77548463615131985512015-01-09T19:30:00.000-08:002015-01-09T19:30:37.349-08:00The Dinosaur Museum- Dorchester (On the Road in the UK- Part One)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjjbxIk8wT7JhfkkeKCBWT2cA3a3OMpFkzUOgI49YM1JN5b41UiTCEy1ysK0gjdfDzckigNXwBFo09Rn4M9LqQvTZFVf9s7pEe8AykrZKn2YjA8HF5CipCvMHb7jtyZQ83A5xcGbc3PY/s1600/cornwall+840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjjbxIk8wT7JhfkkeKCBWT2cA3a3OMpFkzUOgI49YM1JN5b41UiTCEy1ysK0gjdfDzckigNXwBFo09Rn4M9LqQvTZFVf9s7pEe8AykrZKn2YjA8HF5CipCvMHb7jtyZQ83A5xcGbc3PY/s1600/cornwall+840.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I want to be kind here, so let me explain. I work at a private
museum and know full well the limitations of creating something for the general
public without the mechanisms public organisation enjoy. There is no copy or
graphics department to have print up your scripting, nor are there the teams of
professionals to help filter and create information and content. At a private
museum there is usually one person and the best printer they can afford who,
between serving at the front counter or talking to visitors, sits at a desk and
bangs this stuff out as quickly and accurately as they can.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkY89GXCJnE5PUbpk_E8fDysdSZLcMir_k0xsH21lxTH4mudNk-9r9rVCJ7NdkxJmd1XhoKNbpWS10uiM_2DQqm5YnQu1PH0RO3S7PEfDp3q1pB0JwIqIgUUE2VbERtz8fyc789gWytU/s1600/cornwall+844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkY89GXCJnE5PUbpk_E8fDysdSZLcMir_k0xsH21lxTH4mudNk-9r9rVCJ7NdkxJmd1XhoKNbpWS10uiM_2DQqm5YnQu1PH0RO3S7PEfDp3q1pB0JwIqIgUUE2VbERtz8fyc789gWytU/s1600/cornwall+844.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next is the problem of the actual displays. As a private
organisation very few government institutions take you seriously (or are
sometimes outright hostile), thus any display you have found, created or bought.
All of this costs money and the only money a private museum has is whatever
comes through the door. Public institutions have the bonus of public funding
and collections- often created over centuries of exploration and millions of
tax dollars spent. There is no back room in a private museum where you can go
and grab a few items collected by a scientist in the 19<sup>th</sup> century to
create a new display- often all you have is already on show, and getting
anything new can be a real struggle. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Odt6dMpNdS2eXaFYzboAdXngAoaD6PmJItijtREiA9XD7k5Xeb7Es97JMnr5N5dGjDqR8qnsORziEYr9U9WqvDvITLG9FNxWWhz5Q8Yv1scrbAi6LkM8NbcaJhq5iwArJkH-iqiK1Kk/s1600/cornwall+871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Odt6dMpNdS2eXaFYzboAdXngAoaD6PmJItijtREiA9XD7k5Xeb7Es97JMnr5N5dGjDqR8qnsORziEYr9U9WqvDvITLG9FNxWWhz5Q8Yv1scrbAi6LkM8NbcaJhq5iwArJkH-iqiK1Kk/s1600/cornwall+871.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Location, location, location. A private museum does not have
the simple support of a building supplied to them by the local or national
government. Often these private museums may be in a building built for some
other purpose (the National Dinosaur Museum is in what was originally a
gemstone museum and is lucky for that reason); but the simple benefit of not
having to pay rent- or perhaps only a stipend to the government who is happy to
have the building occupied, cannot be discounted. Private museums have to rent
whatever is at hand, and the cheaper the better, on a building likely less
accessible to the public. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJjkE57-9z16UuzKOaOw_JPMApB9EH_e5wnHhGUesZPNR4gYbdSwxkY9YibAESntdbmRkZcY2G2scWgbcRhnCTIqQ5eAkEYqUV5dl0z5Lij80PVbcXhpbflLZeNqRhgwhVrhbIUyqWgs/s1600/cornwall+857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJjkE57-9z16UuzKOaOw_JPMApB9EH_e5wnHhGUesZPNR4gYbdSwxkY9YibAESntdbmRkZcY2G2scWgbcRhnCTIqQ5eAkEYqUV5dl0z5Lij80PVbcXhpbflLZeNqRhgwhVrhbIUyqWgs/s1600/cornwall+857.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Richard Owen under the stairs</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</span><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">If you want your museum in a spot where the tourists are, this is obviously going to cost a lot, and budgets are always tight. You are also rarely going to have permission to adapt this building to your needs, it is a rental after all and the owner doesn’t want you knocking down walls or bricking up windows, so you need to adapt your displays to the building, not the other way round.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge25UFguSWrPzDduKOaTyjEwe15E9zF51VCOKlQVvRLtuV2iUF5DQoV7RNxPiz8xJOHVNT5sYFpsCapAjBmH04joFc-gefY6SmUfiZo8TijcDOk2GpnQl4LK3OzCciCEtrZQkf1X8qwOU/s1600/cornwall+858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge25UFguSWrPzDduKOaTyjEwe15E9zF51VCOKlQVvRLtuV2iUF5DQoV7RNxPiz8xJOHVNT5sYFpsCapAjBmH04joFc-gefY6SmUfiZo8TijcDOk2GpnQl4LK3OzCciCEtrZQkf1X8qwOU/s1600/cornwall+858.JPG" height="274" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are also limited opportunities for donations. If you
are lucky locals fall in love with your organisation and rally to keep it
going, but never in the way for public institution, which get the added bonus
of being in the public eye. Government funding means government advertising as
well, and co-operation between public institutions at a level a private museum
only dream of. They also have far more access to grants- and all of this is
often on top of an admission charge just like a private museum.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOED4H7zvAl4HNvwGwgFrqrXQqZQC7NoQxgMDnBOQrnqrDC4Zvr6JlfGJYqxsLvH84GOWLamUmsIrLan7owzbWaGaGF5l8zmsunwOVQUfoKuYabIF7ZIzh7A2VWHkuBDkc8gBqOjf_bvU/s1600/cornwall+874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOED4H7zvAl4HNvwGwgFrqrXQqZQC7NoQxgMDnBOQrnqrDC4Zvr6JlfGJYqxsLvH84GOWLamUmsIrLan7owzbWaGaGF5l8zmsunwOVQUfoKuYabIF7ZIzh7A2VWHkuBDkc8gBqOjf_bvU/s1600/cornwall+874.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really do
sympathise…</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">…that said. In 2008 we were completing a circumnavigation of
the UK and stopping at as many of the locations I had spent my childhood reading
about as possible. Just the idea of taking a car and driving much of the
coastline of the islands brought gasps of horror from many of the locals I had
befriended. For some English traveling is something you do overseas, not within
your own country, so driving to the next town, much less the next county or
country is something they just don’t do. The idea of driving from London to
Scotland (a journey of around 7 hours) is staggering to them, and it was hard
to explain that in Australia that’s how far it is to the local shops….ok, not
true…but I live in Canberra and the next big cities are Sydney (a 3-ish hour
drive away) and Melbourne (8 hours), so long distance driving is just something
all Australians do. </span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVY93eHjjj4uRZYpU9r21v6E3_zowmA3i433LqGFYgV6RHGbXrcdLGc1HlZVzuWUqlIsK_dvqr4yHF0LBuiKz7vk4r2CPasCD7hHREk6lS0q5leoZJj9YU6BBOQt_aVEHKkBKZG5Zk40U/s1600/cornwall+854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVY93eHjjj4uRZYpU9r21v6E3_zowmA3i433LqGFYgV6RHGbXrcdLGc1HlZVzuWUqlIsK_dvqr4yHF0LBuiKz7vk4r2CPasCD7hHREk6lS0q5leoZJj9YU6BBOQt_aVEHKkBKZG5Zk40U/s1600/cornwall+854.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A check list for a museum groupie.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcta_VV5Nzdi3fwo7IcEXyRv3WX0mgRf-hV3mJJybT2BiQ0xeun0OP8LI1D42zTT_DigRdZg76IMPxMiEE6yxDgJOILB6hvr1X3kNSR0b5tYXlKWsQeHFG0P9O7I5lOplO7tEc8U-cbHc/s1600/cornwall+855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcta_VV5Nzdi3fwo7IcEXyRv3WX0mgRf-hV3mJJybT2BiQ0xeun0OP8LI1D42zTT_DigRdZg76IMPxMiEE6yxDgJOILB6hvr1X3kNSR0b5tYXlKWsQeHFG0P9O7I5lOplO7tEc8U-cbHc/s1600/cornwall+855.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because of the strange L-shape of the mainland, we did this
in two trips, with the first heading from London to its most westerly point,
Land’s End. This journey would take us past Lyme Regis, a location all fossil
fans will know (and a blog for another day) and a lot of great, ancient
castles. The drive also took us through Dorchester.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlj9uXxz8iM4ITD9_SHWuvfWVXCCtiIWfXsj6NZ1nmkBc6xvq-f2DC43IsmAE8gd42uAHS2t3LQjJCg9gs44gV0t1rEcUNN8LzP8c6RpTAmgC-xn7EQN8xCeYeH5P5TdRv1v2BHXSHDG8/s1600/cornwall+876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlj9uXxz8iM4ITD9_SHWuvfWVXCCtiIWfXsj6NZ1nmkBc6xvq-f2DC43IsmAE8gd42uAHS2t3LQjJCg9gs44gV0t1rEcUNN8LzP8c6RpTAmgC-xn7EQN8xCeYeH5P5TdRv1v2BHXSHDG8/s1600/cornwall+876.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before any drive I do my homework as there is nothing worse
than getting home and realising you missed something cool or important that had
been near your path, but you had been unaware of at the time. A number of the
smaller, ‘boutique’ museums I have visited only happened because I looked for
what was in the area we’d be visiting and working out beforehand how I could
fit it into our route. </span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTA23Tpl8oUgrSlJmw_zXD2SdX_7zrfLC8asQWc-TJbk-bD5jh2dDDMfd_wkA1mNkkrpoQfGaKW1pA38bVxl6frUzjs3XPfxdrUqnKIlKGKshkP6reaJ65V8Vycyuo7RAUW0ldoK9_szk/s1600/cornwall+842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTA23Tpl8oUgrSlJmw_zXD2SdX_7zrfLC8asQWc-TJbk-bD5jh2dDDMfd_wkA1mNkkrpoQfGaKW1pA38bVxl6frUzjs3XPfxdrUqnKIlKGKshkP6reaJ65V8Vycyuo7RAUW0ldoK9_szk/s1600/cornwall+842.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I know this all sounds obvious, but remote regions often
have fewer roads and often you need to carefully plot out your path or else you
could find yourself wasting hours of travel retracing your steps to get to these
distant locations. This is also especially true if you are visiting places
where the roads close due to seasonal weather (I’m looking at you Wyoming).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsXq2Hkf6gv11Tz8x_5l9uzGYtNIDmUEU18PlKXTJwZGA3WqbRyC4WsYrVjPTF-dUeEpQtODO6uKJ__lJyziE86qN2iGVIa8r0b3XS28e0ENzLcwX1Yc-NeCpUPua8xwutiptqDzKymM/s1600/cornwall+864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsXq2Hkf6gv11Tz8x_5l9uzGYtNIDmUEU18PlKXTJwZGA3WqbRyC4WsYrVjPTF-dUeEpQtODO6uKJ__lJyziE86qN2iGVIa8r0b3XS28e0ENzLcwX1Yc-NeCpUPua8xwutiptqDzKymM/s1600/cornwall+864.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Before any trip I sit down and draw out a map and work out
the actual time needed to get places, both by distance and time. This map is
always with me on the journey. I also have a note book with these details in it
so that I can quickly write down notes that will be in sequence- this means at
a later date I know exactly what order things occurred in, and perhaps reminds
me of some information not in the thousands (and I do mean thousands) of photos
I take. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkOpH371zaU6a2OLwNtNhdxwfGrOb_fZMhtwokkdIyYcv4IsE1fchNxhMPw0Oaocuv6LRpd6_H72G87QjIG2aD_UN1l8PPg0JJmICTnH7LD4w43l4wV29enVpVhE5tu_M5On3Dna6gB8/s1600/cornwall+850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkOpH371zaU6a2OLwNtNhdxwfGrOb_fZMhtwokkdIyYcv4IsE1fchNxhMPw0Oaocuv6LRpd6_H72G87QjIG2aD_UN1l8PPg0JJmICTnH7LD4w43l4wV29enVpVhE5tu_M5On3Dna6gB8/s1600/cornwall+850.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s also a good idea to check closing and opening times and
add these to your notes. For example sometimes a museum may close at 5, but last
admission is at 4, or it closes at midday during the quiet season or is closed
on a Monday, so you need to be aware of all these things or else you’re going
to travel a long way only to be greeted by a closed sign. It happens. I missed
out on the Venice Natural History museum as I visited on the only day it was
closed, and worse, I could have gone the day before but had left it until the
end of my trip. Italy is a long way to go not to see something, and it’s a
lesson I learnt well.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3SfasiopuL3vimquWFt3K4z2sk0EybG4xEAooVvEFoTcYw-c0Y8q9MFoZIyt4YDAg4A8lt-LLOWU416IpCdTcXyj-tgLGC3YryIONvDAkWeHgWEj7CQ86ZOBSL4PukTDtaSyrxGJ4SQ/s1600/cornwall+848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3SfasiopuL3vimquWFt3K4z2sk0EybG4xEAooVvEFoTcYw-c0Y8q9MFoZIyt4YDAg4A8lt-LLOWU416IpCdTcXyj-tgLGC3YryIONvDAkWeHgWEj7CQ86ZOBSL4PukTDtaSyrxGJ4SQ/s1600/cornwall+848.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You may have noticed so far I really haven’t talked much
about the Dorchester museum…well I was hoping the images would say everything
that needed to be said.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYalhYCkGq66vGdzV_BadXn2bHjiEVnlq6azVvrhMhtwE8L1hhca9wMT77oD4sMtyewq_lCwCVCgeKFf2ewFxoqONFk4QhiOl-88dYLxztRPruvF1SvxQ4lLqYsTfyrv3Tk6ixwxDQ6U/s1600/cornwall+849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYalhYCkGq66vGdzV_BadXn2bHjiEVnlq6azVvrhMhtwE8L1hhca9wMT77oD4sMtyewq_lCwCVCgeKFf2ewFxoqONFk4QhiOl-88dYLxztRPruvF1SvxQ4lLqYsTfyrv3Tk6ixwxDQ6U/s1600/cornwall+849.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ok, here we go. The museum’s own website claims:</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Britain's original
and award winning attraction, The Dinosaur Museum located in Dorchester, the
county town of Dorset, only 7 miles from the Jurassic Coast is a great day out
for all the family! Close to Dorset's World Heritage Jurassic Coast. The
Dinosaur Museum opened in 1984, in Dorchester, gateway to Dorset's World
Heritage Jurassic Coast. From the very beginning visitors loved its novel and
innovative approach to dinosaurs, and it quickly became the Town's foremost
visitor attraction bringing, over the years, millions of dinosaur hungry
families and schools to the county town</i>.’ </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg24sbpGp9WcYL-GELHgMo4jGbRdDjokcpAPEH7v8bBQmItt6D-GHTHQmSgXCvQUHvAeXad4r_chUSHh7k_BMExhUOXbljYaLB64E1PV6XW_50fCvaCCrx_D7UVu0HBsIkw8sUfu13B2Lk/s1600/cornwall+851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg24sbpGp9WcYL-GELHgMo4jGbRdDjokcpAPEH7v8bBQmItt6D-GHTHQmSgXCvQUHvAeXad4r_chUSHh7k_BMExhUOXbljYaLB64E1PV6XW_50fCvaCCrx_D7UVu0HBsIkw8sUfu13B2Lk/s1600/cornwall+851.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>A Dire Wolf's penis bone....you use what you've got!</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The museum is small and many of its displays are handmade
(read into that what you will), it is also in the UK, where there are very few
opportunities to see fossils and dinosaurs. It does have some hands-on stuff
and some older, quaint displays. It also has a fine shop with a lot of fossils
and dinosaur models for sale.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_XazV-mfLZl4juijEcHtgeW4o9ptUR6J3XlWcHdoyxqRiJlOYKBJDY7mG7jAN8oud7YOpzOIWNbE3YVeuFpQNWpLC0oQPJQpYyRxC36Z2SJlCn_NlcNl5-XXOdWXSkFqaPZf3r0fSWk/s1600/cornwall+860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_XazV-mfLZl4juijEcHtgeW4o9ptUR6J3XlWcHdoyxqRiJlOYKBJDY7mG7jAN8oud7YOpzOIWNbE3YVeuFpQNWpLC0oQPJQpYyRxC36Z2SJlCn_NlcNl5-XXOdWXSkFqaPZf3r0fSWk/s1600/cornwall+860.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One true gem the museum displays is a ‘Dinosauroid’. In 1982
the Canadian palaeontologist, Dale A. Russell, speculated that if certain
intelligent dinosaurs like Troodon had survived the K-TP extinction, there was
a chance they’d have continued to evolve into something vaguely familiar. They
had large brains (for a dinosaur) and manipulating hands, suggesting their
evolutionary path may have become a little more like an ape than a reptile,
perhaps even allowing them to develop an opposable digit at some point. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hg6ZiExj5pnDS6iLkzn5SNidW3Rb60-eqzYDDX9XRVbK2aHRR18vwpi9W10BZG_AP7AS-CRo9mXkv9ghv38hWQdDoOOJ0z4aG0QyuWNwBonLavJspRVqiohUzVIgtF175uM6hfyBJIg/s1600/cornwall+862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hg6ZiExj5pnDS6iLkzn5SNidW3Rb60-eqzYDDX9XRVbK2aHRR18vwpi9W10BZG_AP7AS-CRo9mXkv9ghv38hWQdDoOOJ0z4aG0QyuWNwBonLavJspRVqiohUzVIgtF175uM6hfyBJIg/s1600/cornwall+862.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Though the idea of a humanoid dinosaur has been debunked by
many, it is still an interesting moment in palaeontology and creates a great
talking point- and that seems to be this museum’s strength. Though they don’t
have the enormous skeletons or cutting edge technologies of some of the world’s
great museums, they tell the story of their local region, the Jurassic coast,
and for that the museum should be applauded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_Sxr0C4IcqblxjF8zic0ZVkIoAurvXxLYiTBwOQljsgwSftOvKuSQTaW7jNGT1EVVtE9e4YaxlCwL77i5DL_zlcl6RxcJxl4chw_BXptELgC8TXlq-XGMhpr7jHmjGyFIc_n57J-zBU/s1600/cornwall+853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_Sxr0C4IcqblxjF8zic0ZVkIoAurvXxLYiTBwOQljsgwSftOvKuSQTaW7jNGT1EVVtE9e4YaxlCwL77i5DL_zlcl6RxcJxl4chw_BXptELgC8TXlq-XGMhpr7jHmjGyFIc_n57J-zBU/s1600/cornwall+853.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mary Anning, </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>who made the region famous.</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you don’t go in expecting the world, but a sweet
experience of a museum with limited resources doing its best, well then it’s
ok. Also if you are spending time in the region there is a 5 museum pass you
can purchase for a number of institutions in the region (including a
Tutankhamun and Terracotta Warrior display) , so this should alleviate any
disappointment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">NOTE: My visit was several years ago and things may have
changed since this time.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXy8FxXJWwdJGocGQmoUcuyv4rZO-j5i-Y9tACCjLiJMhirx8RTuA6bxiTR9yIoCEUpf0qU9H1ZFdqIwTB6mHP5qwrzO6Gr3rhIkM1qrQWiO3c89-CKq2j4XqlY7N1g51EfAJ0C342Ec/s1600/cornwall+847m.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXy8FxXJWwdJGocGQmoUcuyv4rZO-j5i-Y9tACCjLiJMhirx8RTuA6bxiTR9yIoCEUpf0qU9H1ZFdqIwTB6mHP5qwrzO6Gr3rhIkM1qrQWiO3c89-CKq2j4XqlY7N1g51EfAJ0C342Ec/s1600/cornwall+847m.JPG" height="400" width="386" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>What is a UK museum without a Doctor Who prop?</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvP_nF4RqTTgjaw-awuBeyLcbrlXdRfqthaqR1ezAZchR0R8qYQZfTuP7m7mxbu6XLUYybwOGjdJE0XqVimCuN94iDjatgn-2dmFYw9wlVbYGpHjBiFOyAwloonSlluN9bmDqpQPAbjbc/s1600/cornwall+846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvP_nF4RqTTgjaw-awuBeyLcbrlXdRfqthaqR1ezAZchR0R8qYQZfTuP7m7mxbu6XLUYybwOGjdJE0XqVimCuN94iDjatgn-2dmFYw9wlVbYGpHjBiFOyAwloonSlluN9bmDqpQPAbjbc/s1600/cornwall+846.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>The one photo that failed....sigh....</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<br /></div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com64The Dinosaur Museum, Icen Way, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1EW, UK50.714887 -2.433986000000004425.192852499999997 -43.742580000000004 76.2369215 38.874607999999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-79971127815390946842015-01-02T05:59:00.000-08:002015-01-02T05:59:07.522-08:00The Wyoming Dinosaur Center<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P8R8VBLASUxzPSXTxJWVY7VGGpEVEPERSAWvGlv9kAQvOhvSJBsBoy57wGPB-EzdyLsOGVUogeXZlVVKzwucOaamg9mxlrcVgxgEimCXhv3Nu4btojSDi2kiWlSd9JkiRLpvJ1b4JWk/s1600/10497138_10204940280883556_3739880609121016574_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P8R8VBLASUxzPSXTxJWVY7VGGpEVEPERSAWvGlv9kAQvOhvSJBsBoy57wGPB-EzdyLsOGVUogeXZlVVKzwucOaamg9mxlrcVgxgEimCXhv3Nu4btojSDi2kiWlSd9JkiRLpvJ1b4JWk/s1600/10497138_10204940280883556_3739880609121016574_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Near the centre of Wyoming, nestled along the Bighorn River is
the small town of Thermopolis, and in the middle of Thermopolis is the Wyoming
Dinosaur Center. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XC6Ts0ue-chPRUWvqkN4ahEErYUgM_BWkn86CdbnMpIY20ZM5HL5URlsGwj1NwQX40UMzMAfyppDf0BzVhGOHxRo5Y5fdnrL_JQfr1-5Q3oXBv8ButkjhMQgMeRe5Ws5ecwKnHImYpk/s1600/10887174_10204940281323567_7294485264811924642_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XC6Ts0ue-chPRUWvqkN4ahEErYUgM_BWkn86CdbnMpIY20ZM5HL5URlsGwj1NwQX40UMzMAfyppDf0BzVhGOHxRo5Y5fdnrL_JQfr1-5Q3oXBv8ButkjhMQgMeRe5Ws5ecwKnHImYpk/s1600/10887174_10204940281323567_7294485264811924642_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Driving into town you certainly get the feeling Thermopolis knows it’s on to a great thing as hints about the museum are everywhere. When I say ‘hints’, there’s a dinosaur statue along the main road and dinosaur signs everywhere.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWUKA-1p1hKEfSQ3Yn780v_114NiFGiAeJUREQf99hORmKyaD4A7tE7C3d8TwXxiRffBc_F0vV-U0w7ykVokxCXwJKQy9hwdG7Qg2ST9Q2forWMvHBEVHGjvJbby6q3oHBxqfwbNoyQ0/s1600/10860842_10204940222442095_5466117968022596161_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWUKA-1p1hKEfSQ3Yn780v_114NiFGiAeJUREQf99hORmKyaD4A7tE7C3d8TwXxiRffBc_F0vV-U0w7ykVokxCXwJKQy9hwdG7Qg2ST9Q2forWMvHBEVHGjvJbby6q3oHBxqfwbNoyQ0/s1600/10860842_10204940222442095_5466117968022596161_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> My favourite thing is the subtle giant green dinosaur footprints
stomping along the road to the museum’s front door…genius. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7QZ4yOZrnZpX_SW7R_blWYTJk925rnhAzEdQzWbYRb-vdAdMIH3LCb9JLHOOb1YJdXQMzSFtdycCUe1XLvi8V8P0pEr5dXq7uq6keOypu5O8BXxuwlv4fdEquLLCS_tjGMiFErvFe-g/s1600/10887632_10204940280123537_6257409629134447678_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7QZ4yOZrnZpX_SW7R_blWYTJk925rnhAzEdQzWbYRb-vdAdMIH3LCb9JLHOOb1YJdXQMzSFtdycCUe1XLvi8V8P0pEr5dXq7uq6keOypu5O8BXxuwlv4fdEquLLCS_tjGMiFErvFe-g/s1600/10887632_10204940280123537_6257409629134447678_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Driving around the museum I have to say it doesn’t look like
much from the outside, unless large airplane hangars are your thing- in fact that’s
probably the official design of the building because the treasures inside
certainly need a lot of space. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />
<br />
I work at another dinosaur museum that resembles this one in many ways. It’s mostly a single room that people get to walk around in, so I truly appreciate the layout of the display. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8k7CpibwTlM95IntN4QcJ1kutmVnI3NxQpNlCkvzPGKe7i_3ix-DHq4xVX0qiwiTTA7IO3xtBfd3hXd60-sxpi2OpgCQZW31leVizaLxZIlTJG1OLoisEJ0siQ-pwKKhY7AE1-mCuYqE/s1600/10644273_10204940278043485_524053356944116854_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8k7CpibwTlM95IntN4QcJ1kutmVnI3NxQpNlCkvzPGKe7i_3ix-DHq4xVX0qiwiTTA7IO3xtBfd3hXd60-sxpi2OpgCQZW31leVizaLxZIlTJG1OLoisEJ0siQ-pwKKhY7AE1-mCuYqE/s1600/10644273_10204940278043485_524053356944116854_o%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The dinosaurs are so large they create
galleries, with each as spectacular as the next, so you find yourself looking
in awe at one beast, only to turn about or walk a few steps to find yourself
face to face with something else equally as inspiring. I really liked this
museum.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioI4Mvkh_VSY2liO5CMSGmbH8QdXxuw__TMFi8X8oPJLy_yxCgfp2ifavuSuy7k1HeE38KxUs1O6V2SAmXpzqReCSyNPXIuPZYtz4g1DEUMcWSKYrJ8U0oTnbJb1HvdRHUnZAya0Bi81g/s1600/10256280_10204940268603249_1042731034358150164_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioI4Mvkh_VSY2liO5CMSGmbH8QdXxuw__TMFi8X8oPJLy_yxCgfp2ifavuSuy7k1HeE38KxUs1O6V2SAmXpzqReCSyNPXIuPZYtz4g1DEUMcWSKYrJ8U0oTnbJb1HvdRHUnZAya0Bi81g/s1600/10256280_10204940268603249_1042731034358150164_o%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Amongst the specimens on display is the first ever Albertaceratops...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzdZWK7_62X75O9sOnZVfxoKL_dw9TluM-dCXglpeTh5M0YKWolNnPvUTl0kmW4siLo8eupYdpjNCGus9t2pff469HmkQJPXDD0GN5Dk0CrKd0aYdosJCQiry8fqIuepAwdqmuzejJBco/s1600/10885261_10204940228162238_3205263475055116197_n%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzdZWK7_62X75O9sOnZVfxoKL_dw9TluM-dCXglpeTh5M0YKWolNnPvUTl0kmW4siLo8eupYdpjNCGus9t2pff469HmkQJPXDD0GN5Dk0CrKd0aYdosJCQiry8fqIuepAwdqmuzejJBco/s1600/10885261_10204940228162238_3205263475055116197_n%5B1%5D.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">...a rare Therizinosaurus... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxSKzv_22bXyqhBRZQ2d_dSNFg8GQy9k4rgNlNBuAegmjRD4BBPmu7dvbkU5KzOhbFaYKQcvRuppNl_qjDmcqoc_PtiDkOPLJ5lO8RajDgNEqPn6893cv_2mWKCq8TYTsEjVVVu12_7w/s1600/10308724_10204940270963308_7874190686959753277_n%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxSKzv_22bXyqhBRZQ2d_dSNFg8GQy9k4rgNlNBuAegmjRD4BBPmu7dvbkU5KzOhbFaYKQcvRuppNl_qjDmcqoc_PtiDkOPLJ5lO8RajDgNEqPn6893cv_2mWKCq8TYTsEjVVVu12_7w/s1600/10308724_10204940270963308_7874190686959753277_n%5B1%5D.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">...and a T. rex skeleton (Stan I do believe) attacking a Triceratops. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Along one wall are a number of ichthyosaurs, a long-necked
elasmosaur and a pliosaur. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMIS1ZfmN7cubWQLXYu-FACXsHeuWUa2HW8zz28ud_20VmIREdN6aSkRl2ANKn3IJ2SkavjJdXnSTa5TYOqE20_GcG2CjvO1YZem4AFrDeZf03LxDER7NH5QL-tj6tNLq0wf6s_l4hI2M/s1600/10848534_10204940234362393_2362749537319422581_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMIS1ZfmN7cubWQLXYu-FACXsHeuWUa2HW8zz28ud_20VmIREdN6aSkRl2ANKn3IJ2SkavjJdXnSTa5TYOqE20_GcG2CjvO1YZem4AFrDeZf03LxDER7NH5QL-tj6tNLq0wf6s_l4hI2M/s1600/10848534_10204940234362393_2362749537319422581_o%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are local species such as Maiasaura feeding a
nest of hatchlings...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2Nb5UXQ1lP2b_ZvMAiXLn8rUBoZu7X1u9AYzTHPQ75nrTJj2YNvQzy99C03hvabA5aX_z6lJQC81azNZt802dwwm_VW30EGlQbynS58KbcjGhh-Tp52uIBpkWgWqWwoqq73quD58tIc/s1600/10873345_10204940265163163_9059782343851380687_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2Nb5UXQ1lP2b_ZvMAiXLn8rUBoZu7X1u9AYzTHPQ75nrTJj2YNvQzy99C03hvabA5aX_z6lJQC81azNZt802dwwm_VW30EGlQbynS58KbcjGhh-Tp52uIBpkWgWqWwoqq73quD58tIc/s1600/10873345_10204940265163163_9059782343851380687_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">...and the small saber-tooth cat, Dinictis</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is a wonderful Asian display containing specimens such
as a sprinting Velociraptor turning on a Protoceratops, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">a Tuojiangosaurus and a
fearsome Monolophosaurus attacking the incredibly tiny sauropod, Bellusaurus.
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMwz-trBqpcSz_cQQMlwtiV03UCM4M5F7angDWEapS360lT-QWHGtCPy_3eDwSYXIpyo8Hg5tSfqdJNGcEsqZluhPBeRNiocPk315r9kgLtsX6OknPBKmoEEb0z1f-tf1c_n29LclLQY/s1600/10904532_10204940264523147_6616284591638703134_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMwz-trBqpcSz_cQQMlwtiV03UCM4M5F7angDWEapS360lT-QWHGtCPy_3eDwSYXIpyo8Hg5tSfqdJNGcEsqZluhPBeRNiocPk315r9kgLtsX6OknPBKmoEEb0z1f-tf1c_n29LclLQY/s1600/10904532_10204940264523147_6616284591638703134_o%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are the standard species, Coelophysis, along with extremely rare species
such as ‘Jimbo the Supersaurus’- an enormous 106ft sauropod that dominates the
middle of the display and is the reason for the size of the building. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMkc7J5YP1P-zWmoNw8KbRIN4Sv8OOM4yYvtnhcmk5BqjjnAcNRNJT4VF2e2HVEpYXXh1K8pKsQem2KrMGgKThcoy88glvpf3oEVFmVGfN5PeCtY0rpyFsR2ULfTTCO9lNf0jL1H5J9Y/s1600/10848501_10204940264603149_1593159930852077732_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMkc7J5YP1P-zWmoNw8KbRIN4Sv8OOM4yYvtnhcmk5BqjjnAcNRNJT4VF2e2HVEpYXXh1K8pKsQem2KrMGgKThcoy88glvpf3oEVFmVGfN5PeCtY0rpyFsR2ULfTTCO9lNf0jL1H5J9Y/s1600/10848501_10204940264603149_1593159930852077732_o%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This
thing is huge (one of the largest sauropods ever mounted), and even better you
get to walk around it, a 360 degree view, and you even get to see it standing by
some of the larger predators and see just how tiny they were in comparison. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt91n03eSRDu-dlTIlevG4vESXK3n9rdT5s_6xlf96sIDEkwbuIJqHf3wDy-wHVYLSXlJD2pojTR6T_oM-0A_gfoVRuuBr8FzLzUKaf1q_yzyVd4gDh9FQqt_OTx_6Duzk6KgfErSt6Pc/s1600/10914804_10204940251842830_4126888491943438727_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt91n03eSRDu-dlTIlevG4vESXK3n9rdT5s_6xlf96sIDEkwbuIJqHf3wDy-wHVYLSXlJD2pojTR6T_oM-0A_gfoVRuuBr8FzLzUKaf1q_yzyVd4gDh9FQqt_OTx_6Duzk6KgfErSt6Pc/s1600/10914804_10204940251842830_4126888491943438727_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just as spectacular and important is one of the museums
smallest specimens, the Thermopolis Archaeopteryx. As far as I know this is the
only actually specimen of this iconic species in the US, and I’m proud to say
the 3<sup>rd</sup> one I have seen after the Berlin and London specimens. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwH-vpt1ETaev-bP8m7-8YO-p_P0haL7ehOqIvBByu4Xcd-YLtCnZ5CMvOBhKcGewLQ6BhUWG2irVW3D5U9eykIstejbfU_zOGG15zGbHviZEqItGsIm-t7hhC2VLh93uRJnxVNKcikE/s1600/10872900_10204940252482846_5045352295445240762_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwH-vpt1ETaev-bP8m7-8YO-p_P0haL7ehOqIvBByu4Xcd-YLtCnZ5CMvOBhKcGewLQ6BhUWG2irVW3D5U9eykIstejbfU_zOGG15zGbHviZEqItGsIm-t7hhC2VLh93uRJnxVNKcikE/s1600/10872900_10204940252482846_5045352295445240762_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This one is not behind bulletproof glass like the others and you can get rather close to it. The lighting also makes it easy to see the fossil in detail. </span><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNjej0Fk5_0hZwLwNvs6WnVZBu4oF-AlY5XCt8xQq5stWN3Ut5Hd0azmPKwj_m2kFU3cyaWnZQK7THNeRDiLKZiff-dX2iQDn981kriLKoGN_0qqMiPyivXCiKF8iRj_6eI8jCbMEV1Q/s1600/10906477_10204940264403144_909264099372816846_n%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNjej0Fk5_0hZwLwNvs6WnVZBu4oF-AlY5XCt8xQq5stWN3Ut5Hd0azmPKwj_m2kFU3cyaWnZQK7THNeRDiLKZiff-dX2iQDn981kriLKoGN_0qqMiPyivXCiKF8iRj_6eI8jCbMEV1Q/s1600/10906477_10204940264403144_909264099372816846_n%5B1%5D.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another great specimen is Bambiraptor, the first I have seen in all the museums I have ever visited.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wyoming is of course a hotbed for dinosaur fossils and there
are a number of operating quarries near the museum where specimens are
collected for preparation. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWd8pcrIqQeLHNIiSaoah0o-jnP9YfAxZFIcruwZmVzSLfeQXcRuTBcSHjzBmzc_YvewRFhHJEgrDPGip0yqNrTegNbCqfn1XHMSmurBT5qQ6M66TB9iRU-Emg8PPScQKWIaYBMBhpOw/s1600/1960781_10204940265443170_5196959047962321467_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWd8pcrIqQeLHNIiSaoah0o-jnP9YfAxZFIcruwZmVzSLfeQXcRuTBcSHjzBmzc_YvewRFhHJEgrDPGip0yqNrTegNbCqfn1XHMSmurBT5qQ6M66TB9iRU-Emg8PPScQKWIaYBMBhpOw/s1600/1960781_10204940265443170_5196959047962321467_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One corner of the display has a large window through which you can watch people preparing fossils.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7m8p3HsU36-YpDrFaXl9JP348ozrNW-5z2lLCBw8WbIrwPAV9WVPV21KZgKqf32bv05LqVIs1vkk5748w0PhoQLE-CA1MiXhThiwKE4sKREn4W4U9a2gxivQ0VzGFGsjWZACyRGX0lQ/s1600/10499513_10204940271043310_2087500191195273542_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7m8p3HsU36-YpDrFaXl9JP348ozrNW-5z2lLCBw8WbIrwPAV9WVPV21KZgKqf32bv05LqVIs1vkk5748w0PhoQLE-CA1MiXhThiwKE4sKREn4W4U9a2gxivQ0VzGFGsjWZACyRGX0lQ/s1600/10499513_10204940271043310_2087500191195273542_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was there they
were working on a new Camarasaurus. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The museum also runs digs that the general
public can join in for a fee, also there’s an opportunity for people to help
prepare fossils and for students to do courses, which I believe end with
university credits.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQnlONYV1RdZ_EO6lWaNELBX53h5tJA8v1I6UoVI17DsRfvDC-osxvKc0RFqDnmQq-Dgy0SbrNe0DFYGfF7cb0qKBlUPCqyFryuBqpm8V9uTcvc1YU1Gx3KCiO2RcXXYYPO9px0HL9eA/s1600/10904104_10204940234242390_982970302031108049_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQnlONYV1RdZ_EO6lWaNELBX53h5tJA8v1I6UoVI17DsRfvDC-osxvKc0RFqDnmQq-Dgy0SbrNe0DFYGfF7cb0qKBlUPCqyFryuBqpm8V9uTcvc1YU1Gx3KCiO2RcXXYYPO9px0HL9eA/s1600/10904104_10204940234242390_982970302031108049_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The museum is open 7 days a week, from 10-5, and is closed
on some holidays. The price also varies during different seasons, so for
opening hours and daily entry I suggest you check the museum’s website if
you’re headed that way.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="http://www.wyodino.org/admission/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">http://www.wyodino.org/admission/</span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6oYT8aHaNTpioeH77Y01Ndvt-4upoSyu71A9_MPuq1FvUVz3KTJ43JeWt3lD0Av8dL8maMsSJDEb-pPvNM0IO-opyQKiUqxkOsYIwh98VmplpI6WUBchdWIgGtmWVKb1FVZLBV8rFOE/s1600/10896379_10204940275283416_1412587871265514154_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6oYT8aHaNTpioeH77Y01Ndvt-4upoSyu71A9_MPuq1FvUVz3KTJ43JeWt3lD0Av8dL8maMsSJDEb-pPvNM0IO-opyQKiUqxkOsYIwh98VmplpI6WUBchdWIgGtmWVKb1FVZLBV8rFOE/s1600/10896379_10204940275283416_1412587871265514154_o%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The sun sets early during winter in this part of the world
and we had a long way to drive to our hotel, so after a quick look in the shop
we were back on the road, leaving behind a museum full of some of the world’s
most important fossils. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6M7pGSsPA18ZZ6kdTFCoiY9HaUW71XpnlbY775ukjIfeQCqdo_tW5QfGm_gH5wWD6hf0FF35gPmKeZ7K_srax3zWfye3votCSFeVz845nbt7sgafxcO_DeeWtpEw8q5kf6xPQCoBssWo/s1600/10860850_10204940253202864_5569573533318253965_o%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6M7pGSsPA18ZZ6kdTFCoiY9HaUW71XpnlbY775ukjIfeQCqdo_tW5QfGm_gH5wWD6hf0FF35gPmKeZ7K_srax3zWfye3votCSFeVz845nbt7sgafxcO_DeeWtpEw8q5kf6xPQCoBssWo/s1600/10860850_10204940253202864_5569573533318253965_o%5B1%5D.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75RPrDGxCYRJkKiO-cDQnXusue6NrharPh_OrazlqtATNjQOyeIiL8IYwFtVuCHlM6WfR6_NM4MxP7Qg9cXSMFTXmFXpSPVmA8soTx7OEL3fToPznTlIPP7mokZ9L5gs3LglVlspX_Ws/s1600/1560551_10204940234282391_3991623353752400487_n%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75RPrDGxCYRJkKiO-cDQnXusue6NrharPh_OrazlqtATNjQOyeIiL8IYwFtVuCHlM6WfR6_NM4MxP7Qg9cXSMFTXmFXpSPVmA8soTx7OEL3fToPznTlIPP7mokZ9L5gs3LglVlspX_Ws/s1600/1560551_10204940234282391_3991623353752400487_n%5B1%5D.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Indeed the Wyoming Dinosaur Center consistently tops the best dinosaur museum’s you can visit in the states, so if you’re planning a holiday to the West, I suggest this destination make’s your list.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com2The Wyoming Dinosaur Center, 110 Carter Ranch Road, Thermopolis, WY 82443, USA43.6432629 -108.2004820999999918.121228400000003 -149.5090761 69.1652974 -66.891888099999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-90438361813977558522014-10-15T04:36:00.000-07:002014-10-15T14:33:12.092-07:00The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyXPa8Fl02t2cihiIHBAzJLT4Y1AqHGAGsAhQ52bXw5KdnW2JCCqe3hl76CSSWDPIyTerlL0BGtmnkWXN4uWleDyt0qQTirUdIPv6JFHxrUVDyJsH6ccsh4SoMaabbUwaW-p__nHyS5CE/s1600/1917246_1266518899875_3942662_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyXPa8Fl02t2cihiIHBAzJLT4Y1AqHGAGsAhQ52bXw5KdnW2JCCqe3hl76CSSWDPIyTerlL0BGtmnkWXN4uWleDyt0qQTirUdIPv6JFHxrUVDyJsH6ccsh4SoMaabbUwaW-p__nHyS5CE/s1600/1917246_1266518899875_3942662_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Royal
Ontario Museum (ROM) was the main reason I wanted to visit eastern Canada, and
I had intended to drop in on Friday afternoon when it would be reasonably quiet.
Instead I ended up going Saturday morning. Unfortunately this particular
weekend Toronto was hosting its Santa Parade, one of the largest Christmas
parades in the world, so you can imagine how large the crowds were during my visit.
It also didn’t help that the museum was displaying the Dead Sea Scrolls as well
at the time.</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GDQOGVPenQtkH_1UG-Ymxu725-nScoWVxHdWhIwXrLKXJzoENWQ2voL4slpUhc_9mvHPy0GkzyTYmzYsvlm0tNZJzhrSKHgctEKMXpEoTlgYLwgVxHUfgFKi5YbaX_QW1TJEra9Ot4g/s1600/1917246_1266518699870_2045100_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GDQOGVPenQtkH_1UG-Ymxu725-nScoWVxHdWhIwXrLKXJzoENWQ2voL4slpUhc_9mvHPy0GkzyTYmzYsvlm0tNZJzhrSKHgctEKMXpEoTlgYLwgVxHUfgFKi5YbaX_QW1TJEra9Ot4g/s1600/1917246_1266518699870_2045100_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Always keen to
try the public transport of a city I caught the Toronto subway system, which I
have to say is easy to use. Working out how to catch a train or bus can sometimes
be a pain in a foreign country as you’ll usually find yourself staring at some
automated kiosk that requires a bachelor’s degree in astrophysics with a minor
in international diplomacy to figure out how to obtain a single daily pass
ticket. Toronto has kept it easy for the infrequent traveller as, just before
the subway turnstile there’s a little ‘bubble-gum machine’ that takes change
(something you always end up accruing and have trouble getting rid of in a foreign
country) and spits out tokens. The added bonus is you get to use a subway
token- how ‘quaint’ is that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4OFB_1VaUIPArERw4z35VTqq1QtPqj-Sn2uQtHLWHynY0bCLkrRnu_W4jyCPUHcGLQr1ER0vCkTdGHrazdWt-CBl9R1SmlkGnB_Itp_JDtC7BWJnJYsdPJ74TbKwc0LOmeUY3huevts/s1600/1917246_1266518659869_3967903_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4OFB_1VaUIPArERw4z35VTqq1QtPqj-Sn2uQtHLWHynY0bCLkrRnu_W4jyCPUHcGLQr1ER0vCkTdGHrazdWt-CBl9R1SmlkGnB_Itp_JDtC7BWJnJYsdPJ74TbKwc0LOmeUY3huevts/s1600/1917246_1266518659869_3967903_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ROM has its
own station on the network and oh what a station it is. Much like the American
Natural History Museum in New York, the platform has been ‘themed’, with all of
the columns holding up the tunnel roof turned into Mayan, Egyptian and Native
American totems and statues. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsy_hoXSa-gEyN7hGvCW5bmmBAXqwl0ww3PY_LILGvBg4SGA5YjGnVI8caQ13wHQ4VSWs-q8IufykvhT6Jfkf5uq_nlU6tpW-OoZsSnow-JQfnhhyuW-JdyxHOQ4uMaYaa6VtJzCtwOA/s1600/1917246_1266518859874_116738_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsy_hoXSa-gEyN7hGvCW5bmmBAXqwl0ww3PY_LILGvBg4SGA5YjGnVI8caQ13wHQ4VSWs-q8IufykvhT6Jfkf5uq_nlU6tpW-OoZsSnow-JQfnhhyuW-JdyxHOQ4uMaYaa6VtJzCtwOA/s1600/1917246_1266518859874_116738_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The museum
itself is a little odd as the older building has recently had a bizarre
extension added to expand the original floor space. Called the Michael Lee-Chin
Crystal, the building now looks like it has one of those old Rubik’s cube
snakes bundled up in the middle of it. This extension is all odd angles and
weird protrusions jutting out in the strangest places and I don’t mind it per
say, but it must be a nightmare to work in as you’d be in constant fear of
smacking your head or shin if your mind wanders off for even a second.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYI6ivzpM4Kb3e9NLTPHeygShE7fnqwL9KUwiKxCLrKxN9L_vQU5Se7kYusl17f2RRjAR8HnuhyphenhyphenoNsCyccjfve965EeAWwSUwH_2Td7ThbgGi3HeEOU0KkBK-_-GWVsaYwsd23XqXiKw/s1600/1917246_1266516099805_4646402_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYI6ivzpM4Kb3e9NLTPHeygShE7fnqwL9KUwiKxCLrKxN9L_vQU5Se7kYusl17f2RRjAR8HnuhyphenhyphenoNsCyccjfve965EeAWwSUwH_2Td7ThbgGi3HeEOU0KkBK-_-GWVsaYwsd23XqXiKw/s1600/1917246_1266516099805_4646402_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t all that interested in the Dead Sea
Scrolls but did have a quick look. As you can imagine there wasn’t a lot to see
as the light levels have to be low to save the ancient parchment, and each
little display was behind some very thick safety glass and surrounded by about
a thousand onlookers. This was definitely not a display to see with a large
crowd. What I did find fascinating was that the museum rotated the scrolls on
display every few weeks, I guess ensuring those Dead Sea Scroll groupies out
there get a chance to see their favourite proverb or ancient Hebrew shopping
list at some point.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because the ROM
is basically now a building inside another building it can get a little
confusing, so my advice is make sure you grab a map (it has 6 pages, so that alone
should tell you things can get a little confusing inside), and to quote one of
my favourite horror movies, ‘stay on the path’. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeaEvbur3C8ujBW0I4tfyLZtjTxReyQJScoKyeJam1wylbBYLV5ldgIYy8POTDBkacTW8TrAwH4WdUyR-KyEx3G-521vlJlQDt8KAeJLsNX_GNzAPbSdOO2hmRloCfSUOoKmWjYtYghY/s1600/1917246_1266512659719_6171715_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeaEvbur3C8ujBW0I4tfyLZtjTxReyQJScoKyeJam1wylbBYLV5ldgIYy8POTDBkacTW8TrAwH4WdUyR-KyEx3G-521vlJlQDt8KAeJLsNX_GNzAPbSdOO2hmRloCfSUOoKmWjYtYghY/s1600/1917246_1266512659719_6171715_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things are set
up that you have to go through some galleries to get to others so there isn’t
any sort of central corridor that I could see. This means make sure you’ve got plenty
of time as I don’t think this is a museum where you can skip in, see the
dinosaurs, and skip out again. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First you’d have
to find them, and this actually took me a few goes as the prehistoric gallery is
through a weird little corridor that, at the time, held a kiddies colouring in
station and a small room full of bird display cases. If I didn’t have the map I
doubt I’d have ever investigated the area beyond this point and may have missed
the dinosaurs all together.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNNSUy6w_LpLTu7AOYR5H32zEDfGOrGwGBO0G7upH28SSevRb_nMM5PtbAV3ZW1RogiCKp88MRLkuOAAhy1bc2o9hUmBmdmM-LNLDqIwPsOlojpVQ3r-eU1rYYWeojW__cohc-mvB-tAM/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNNSUy6w_LpLTu7AOYR5H32zEDfGOrGwGBO0G7upH28SSevRb_nMM5PtbAV3ZW1RogiCKp88MRLkuOAAhy1bc2o9hUmBmdmM-LNLDqIwPsOlojpVQ3r-eU1rYYWeojW__cohc-mvB-tAM/s1600/untitled.png" height="320" width="262" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So…through the
room, around the Australian bird display, turn the corner, down the ramp and
you’re now in the first of three prehistoric galleries containing the ROM’s
mammal and Cretaceous displays. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here you’ll see
some museum staples like an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Irish elk</b>
(which I think every museum I’ve visited in the last 3 years has had) as well
as a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mastodon</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Giant Sloth</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Short Face Bear</b>
and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Phorusrhacos</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqDO6-LuKFzjXlEbUW7vV3JZYz98LXgyt8wmVzG8TCr5nN5arPP8yJsXg7zpMZJ9Ma67wae04n93-72Pz0FyJXH4BE5H0k84UzhMWOqnDQ3wjNRpd-ropEh2Va7px0icgVUB9Q3a8j8Cg/s1600/1917246_1266513339736_382132_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqDO6-LuKFzjXlEbUW7vV3JZYz98LXgyt8wmVzG8TCr5nN5arPP8yJsXg7zpMZJ9Ma67wae04n93-72Pz0FyJXH4BE5H0k84UzhMWOqnDQ3wjNRpd-ropEh2Va7px0icgVUB9Q3a8j8Cg/s1600/1917246_1266513339736_382132_n.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each Cenozoic
era seems to be represented by a little island-of-a-display that you can walk
around and view from all four sides. With the largest animals in the middle and
smaller species on the outside, this method allows for more specimens to be shown
then you’d get with just a flat display along a wall. The negative is it makes
the actually viewing of each animal hard as there’s almost always going to be
something in the way of what you’re looking at. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7Z5Fu3Fb-jX_AlMXoG_KRc51uJxm5WjHWWJPewsVsa_obIFbJVKNmuui3xT3CHKmjeoS9B7Rf_4UHVbWIs27R7QVg4UQSTt-0c1SmtljsNeHsgpbqSAlCsAzN1elL4Fx4Am-6YvTnCQ/s1600/1917246_1266513299735_4713769_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7Z5Fu3Fb-jX_AlMXoG_KRc51uJxm5WjHWWJPewsVsa_obIFbJVKNmuui3xT3CHKmjeoS9B7Rf_4UHVbWIs27R7QVg4UQSTt-0c1SmtljsNeHsgpbqSAlCsAzN1elL4Fx4Am-6YvTnCQ/s1600/1917246_1266513299735_4713769_n.jpg" height="400" width="396" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaCs1j0uQyeN1fvkXj9SxopSvcYDv94bxkBs_zoX9BTyqTwBYISJWCf4Kf_0o3FirqLG7hMpZC33cqwx12TpwQgpagh0PasCRTw7DqfDWd8o3aTVm4-SuKnKiBhuYJntklvwX9NHq9684/s1600/1917246_1266513179732_5822788_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaCs1j0uQyeN1fvkXj9SxopSvcYDv94bxkBs_zoX9BTyqTwBYISJWCf4Kf_0o3FirqLG7hMpZC33cqwx12TpwQgpagh0PasCRTw7DqfDWd8o3aTVm4-SuKnKiBhuYJntklvwX9NHq9684/s1600/1917246_1266513179732_5822788_n.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the general public this
isn’t such a big deal, but for paleo-fans, well it’s impossible to get that isolated
photo of an animal without something else’s hoof, horn or tail getting in the
way. I found myself working pretty hard to get any sort of descent photo of
individual animals, and any group photo quickly merged into a jumble of brown
bones and glass reflections.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the dinosaur
displays in the James and Louise Temerty Galleries, well this may sound weird
but I found myself feeling a little sorry for the museum here. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5XlWoCIsQWGKCo7ePUTNmalETeLtQ4ZPz608SyAUadHmVby1PCXQ3qIlGdl79thIvpA4QtKTK3bxGOrt8cCHGR3XUEcD4GKZTxmn7UieklbGXpVIhB4IV-0jm9-4_dhTD0E5d_v0g4Y/s1600/1917246_1266513539741_2542455_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5XlWoCIsQWGKCo7ePUTNmalETeLtQ4ZPz608SyAUadHmVby1PCXQ3qIlGdl79thIvpA4QtKTK3bxGOrt8cCHGR3XUEcD4GKZTxmn7UieklbGXpVIhB4IV-0jm9-4_dhTD0E5d_v0g4Y/s1600/1917246_1266513539741_2542455_n.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They had a grand
<b>T-rex,</b> a charging bull-like <b>Chasmosaurus</b>, a few ceratopsian
skulls and a <b>Protoceratops</b>, but I found myself wanting something new. I
mean if you go to any natural history museum in the world you’re going to
see most of these species. For all the richness of the Canadian dinosaur fields
they’ve unfortunately exported so many of their iconic dinosaurs to the world that
most native species have now become a little old hat. This feeling certainly isn’t
helped by the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of patriotism involved
with the display either. I never really found myself looking at anything that
was displayed as ‘local’; the fossils were just displayed and you were left to
work it out for yourself… but I’ll talk more about this later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJX5RcH6AOgSZoKOzInYNHNF44iwc91EvlVrsOF3dJM9WJn6P_4yAbzAaTfQBFYWXw1gnuD9T9yW-2IxQZ9fp7UraNSeJf9xr5MWThHNBExQ3Ol2kunUiNbyG7wNKKIpbU4g8_HHYk0-4/s1600/1917246_1266515099780_1735026_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJX5RcH6AOgSZoKOzInYNHNF44iwc91EvlVrsOF3dJM9WJn6P_4yAbzAaTfQBFYWXw1gnuD9T9yW-2IxQZ9fp7UraNSeJf9xr5MWThHNBExQ3Ol2kunUiNbyG7wNKKIpbU4g8_HHYk0-4/s1600/1917246_1266515099780_1735026_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My growing disappointment wasn’t helped by two
things. The first was that, as I’d been so focused on looking and photographing
the animal displays I never really gave the blank Rubik’s wall behind me a
close look. All those angles and protruding triangle walls meant I’d missed the
tiny, almost hidden corridor from the Cretaceous display into the Jurassic, and
I honestly almost walked away at that point shaking my head thinking ‘is that’s
it?’</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtXbA-MXRgKm_2iY5mHLgitBa4W88s1YkBGqgz9g4Vz7hSAPHpJ8qCukatx8xdXK1ogaPXOYW-KV6dnh6BEydguuRIU0bKEMuNez3r9ugLPSzqLLAjB8xRNVhPUPU_tb6szDPgGiQ0Z8/s1600/1917246_1266514979777_1422004_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtXbA-MXRgKm_2iY5mHLgitBa4W88s1YkBGqgz9g4Vz7hSAPHpJ8qCukatx8xdXK1ogaPXOYW-KV6dnh6BEydguuRIU0bKEMuNez3r9ugLPSzqLLAjB8xRNVhPUPU_tb6szDPgGiQ0Z8/s1600/1917246_1266514979777_1422004_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it turns out
it wasn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87cNNwLZMZyae4DCDonKIaBZJu3v702oUeKP9d65C7K6fmV_lXzC7om_CFoYOoBcQuJEIZisv2oLM9DHxsdfpx_vj364LZTF14CufXGKqLeqn1OL8Z4y2rWp0Dmsrku16YE-3ehnx4Z8/s1600/1917246_1266514499765_2416732_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87cNNwLZMZyae4DCDonKIaBZJu3v702oUeKP9d65C7K6fmV_lXzC7om_CFoYOoBcQuJEIZisv2oLM9DHxsdfpx_vj364LZTF14CufXGKqLeqn1OL8Z4y2rWp0Dmsrku16YE-3ehnx4Z8/s1600/1917246_1266514499765_2416732_n.jpg" height="167" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Jurassic
room through that little cubby-hole (and across a weird walkway) is stuffed
with dinosaurs, including a 27m <b>Barosaurus</b>, <b>Allosaurus</b>, <b>Stegosaurus</b>,
numerous hadrosaurs, ichthyosaurs, an <b>Albertosaurus</b>, one huge <b>Acheron</b>
stuck hanging in mid-air in one corner, and one of those new oviraptorids
called <b>Chirostenotes</b><i>.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkXWBJIvWhwSWoADmcL-672rcotGP3xk8ygUszqAYR0V0tYBfOok48oiIG12lq9zGU8PBaf2-wSqQBdiCJS_nD7zMGMZQ0Y_OOahp0kg9O2AvhIUmmlL_5pYYuCNHaFaFgeEFqp986y4/s1600/1917246_1266514339761_5020873_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkXWBJIvWhwSWoADmcL-672rcotGP3xk8ygUszqAYR0V0tYBfOok48oiIG12lq9zGU8PBaf2-wSqQBdiCJS_nD7zMGMZQ0Y_OOahp0kg9O2AvhIUmmlL_5pYYuCNHaFaFgeEFqp986y4/s1600/1917246_1266514339761_5020873_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know, I know,
much like Jurassic Park, many of the species I just mentioned were in fact Cretaceous.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Due to the way the display is currently set up
I think its organisers have at some stage made a really big boo-boo and are
currently trying to figure out how to fix it. To me the second gallery was
supposed to hold all the dinosaurs, while the first was supposed to be just
mammals, but when they reorganised the museum they realised they couldn’t fit
all those dinosaurs in the one room so they were forced to compromise. Again,
no real proof of this, its just that’s what it feels like and could explain the
jumbled way the dinosaurs are displayed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWENVI87RMKFTxva9DQa5u6ETnlfRiaYS11ujyUJSrN8GAcuTOO8P1xuIZJanxWpYy4vWaNl3VxWndFb3WtOFEMwZ64j5UkRVABknIYbOfbxtG8ZNNquufRknEpUb2CDP_48FoijY7l0/s1600/1917246_1266514019753_3605586_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWENVI87RMKFTxva9DQa5u6ETnlfRiaYS11ujyUJSrN8GAcuTOO8P1xuIZJanxWpYy4vWaNl3VxWndFb3WtOFEMwZ64j5UkRVABknIYbOfbxtG8ZNNquufRknEpUb2CDP_48FoijY7l0/s1600/1917246_1266514019753_3605586_n.jpg" height="400" width="296" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Further evidence
of this is that this new gallery is huge, yet for the most bizarre reason the
exhibition’s planners have decided the best place to put their dinosaurs is
next to or behind the roof’s support columns. There’s ample free floor space,
yet everywhere you look a column seems to get in the way, and the reason I found
this so frustrating is that there just isn’t that many columns in the room to
begin with. Surely the fossils could have been arranged in a way that gives you
an uncluttered look at them?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDdeTnQk3C-088mgIj-K0EILEe7q4ZxdNWKE19-pEszWTE_mQ7Oi0chBwRawqbemUwCVpsh9YimrE3H8xL34r2PgxOpR26lBaes-_ufGtj6WjfY8XTqXalb8mlLVOkVgohHDOuzu8sUM/s1600/1917246_1266514299760_7172514_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDdeTnQk3C-088mgIj-K0EILEe7q4ZxdNWKE19-pEszWTE_mQ7Oi0chBwRawqbemUwCVpsh9YimrE3H8xL34r2PgxOpR26lBaes-_ufGtj6WjfY8XTqXalb8mlLVOkVgohHDOuzu8sUM/s1600/1917246_1266514299760_7172514_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the far side
of the Jurassic display is the Triassic gallery; well that’s just a white
walled corridor with bare floorboards next to the toilets. There’s very little
colour throughout the three prehistoric galleries to begin with and, with so
much to show, that’s kind of understandable. Yet in this little corner where there
isn’t that much on display you’d think the ROM could really have designed a
display full of colour and life. Instead it’s a featureless alcove that hardly
anybody enters unless they’re dragging a waddling child by the hand that’s desperate
for a pee.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwd9C-pBaCm4MPs9Fn20v3eg-QKIrxQHBfY-KFgT-HZjLOdSG_zeREy4-aFgGTX-_6cnxdTqvLgI8efTHB-Scz42GMv8aw3p74jmG6sxMAn0kn1teSCTgJKPg3O4Z4jvBXODnBApUG1OU/s1600/1917246_1266515059779_1932888_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwd9C-pBaCm4MPs9Fn20v3eg-QKIrxQHBfY-KFgT-HZjLOdSG_zeREy4-aFgGTX-_6cnxdTqvLgI8efTHB-Scz42GMv8aw3p74jmG6sxMAn0kn1teSCTgJKPg3O4Z4jvBXODnBApUG1OU/s1600/1917246_1266515059779_1932888_n.jpg" height="264" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having done a
little research, later I discovered the ROM’s prehistoric galleries used to be full
of murals, placing many of the skeletons in more life-like settings. They
looked fantastic in the few pictures I’ve managed to find, and this goes back
to one of my earlier points. This type of display really allows you to tell a
story, not only of the animal but where they came from. By placing them in an
environment you get to talk about that environment and can wave a little
patriotic flag at the same time (i.e. this is what Canada used to look like).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTNl5Su76BsDQULT1Oy-HuRX20URp0IjO0MqI-6zDHOAR_6BOBxs-29i0WQlUqbgOKL5PXC9io3kKkh79VVqiJ1aHqSc8T94s_LWf-fz2spnjibl4dtXB5cdMwk_eaYiHNMdcUyxXAHQ/s1600/1917246_1266515019778_7219250_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTNl5Su76BsDQULT1Oy-HuRX20URp0IjO0MqI-6zDHOAR_6BOBxs-29i0WQlUqbgOKL5PXC9io3kKkh79VVqiJ1aHqSc8T94s_LWf-fz2spnjibl4dtXB5cdMwk_eaYiHNMdcUyxXAHQ/s1600/1917246_1266515019778_7219250_n.jpg" height="466" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m not sure what it is, but many museums seem
to be moving away from this more realistic style of display into the more open,
window filled galleries you can see at the ROM and AMNH, and I personally think
it’s a mistake. Cold displays of naked skeletons that become mashed together
with whatever other fossils are nearby is certainly not an attractive way to
look at something that should be instilling the spectator with jaw-dropping
awesomeness. There’s little or no context with an open display like the ROM’s…
and as for this need for modern curators to have natural history displays in
rooms full of windows…STOP IT!</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitiTa3aqMBWd0UVwbHpFbxc9sOaifjZuviJUs3zdBC_i8PNE4tmgskMwkw3A4G8y0KwAZu1DebRp8Z3AHy75Y1gz2Ry9-A1oUvsFmN7sXF8X89MXDIbNMJUN0VPzHBckNeIV__DWQt_y4/s1600/1917246_1266513979752_5800768_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitiTa3aqMBWd0UVwbHpFbxc9sOaifjZuviJUs3zdBC_i8PNE4tmgskMwkw3A4G8y0KwAZu1DebRp8Z3AHy75Y1gz2Ry9-A1oUvsFmN7sXF8X89MXDIbNMJUN0VPzHBckNeIV__DWQt_y4/s1600/1917246_1266513979752_5800768_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the sun beating through glass (that’s all
too often dirty on the outside), the display becomes little more than washed-out
black and white skeletons in a room that’s stinking hot during summer and freezing
cold during winter. In the ROM, thanks to all those angled windows, there
literally wasn’t a single display case that didn’t have a dirty big, sun-filled
window reflected in it…and due to the angles of all those weird windows this
isn’t a problem that will go away as the sun moves throughout the day. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvh6Wdrh1IRuOIXjGvsd3KQXRB92-yKWpE1XJ__ATYI1pkRVl_5QVb2Nq7i3nHrGCEt-Gn0Lv0MRjUg-sMZ0Y2M-DC3gYqpHBOJE6OxE9TXtrpW43JvrDN54Z8Mm5GSdP0IpXXO1D2cBY/s1600/1917246_1266514739771_6970330_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvh6Wdrh1IRuOIXjGvsd3KQXRB92-yKWpE1XJ__ATYI1pkRVl_5QVb2Nq7i3nHrGCEt-Gn0Lv0MRjUg-sMZ0Y2M-DC3gYqpHBOJE6OxE9TXtrpW43JvrDN54Z8Mm5GSdP0IpXXO1D2cBY/s1600/1917246_1266514739771_6970330_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brick up those
windows, splash some paint on those walls and let’s get back to the way we used
to present our dinosaurs shall we?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHrdlIzOQxG3XSzvaaNmfUXpXBbOQhSmOePG1hUcmrvQ4XfFQn2NI0_9rHzbniwbzrg4cKD-GTqxBpDNlWi521AD_ayREUFZaEtV2Z7vccEaAxPQFL87YHQbvtfsKyxqPAIl57Np_-xk/s1600/1917246_1266512779722_1366430_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHrdlIzOQxG3XSzvaaNmfUXpXBbOQhSmOePG1hUcmrvQ4XfFQn2NI0_9rHzbniwbzrg4cKD-GTqxBpDNlWi521AD_ayREUFZaEtV2Z7vccEaAxPQFL87YHQbvtfsKyxqPAIl57Np_-xk/s1600/1917246_1266512779722_1366430_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfgM1Ga3c7lnu0FpP9TfR95dri_JsX-ARCmnO2FUxjgRLpPCQ2ZmzehJHTGSiZeHu93_HgFZ-teINdlD_uQtZoUyoE6mN_UZui-Tp57KfCHJrvNWLPNcr9XWqHKeBpCo0KE-HSsIEW1Y/s1600/1917246_1266515779797_318151_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfgM1Ga3c7lnu0FpP9TfR95dri_JsX-ARCmnO2FUxjgRLpPCQ2ZmzehJHTGSiZeHu93_HgFZ-teINdlD_uQtZoUyoE6mN_UZui-Tp57KfCHJrvNWLPNcr9XWqHKeBpCo0KE-HSsIEW1Y/s1600/1917246_1266515779797_318151_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the rest
of the ROM, well it seems to be a cross between a natural history museum and
the New York MET. The remaining galleries were mostly human cultural displays
from around the world. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4mqS-Lbreu8RMKZL1H2Q7gajKrM8Rs5bo5RzZNzRJ2Y0LAbD5XicrZBiYbDQd3hKoj35XeCTchFCLYqD1Djz3Ahc0fgw4sY0sI6bkeeXex2ftU_vBeQXi3LkadS9G_3P0qyb7ospCjM/s1600/1917246_1266516019803_2732613_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4mqS-Lbreu8RMKZL1H2Q7gajKrM8Rs5bo5RzZNzRJ2Y0LAbD5XicrZBiYbDQd3hKoj35XeCTchFCLYqD1Djz3Ahc0fgw4sY0sI6bkeeXex2ftU_vBeQXi3LkadS9G_3P0qyb7ospCjM/s1600/1917246_1266516019803_2732613_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T</span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here’s a great ancient <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region> display and a nice little
room of Art Deco objects (a favourite of mine). There’s also a large collection
of ancient Asian artwork (mostly from China and Japan) that was fantastic.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I may be a little unfair here but the ROM also has potentially
the worst museum gift shop I’ve been to in my life. I mean, there wasn’t a
single dinosaur book for anyone with a reading level past a kindergartener (I
can only hope I perhaps missed another museum store in the kaleidoscope
building).</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_u3XthOQ5MqXEHQa3suPArsbK0_maZFbI1f2r6Os_eCbqfuQ9-JlrvZ6hjZq_fU8HeA5fL_Vd4i9jRw-UR4n_I16opp87ZJkWt65Uq0fWB-dIOjQSKbixnWXKJNfdhl4UBiYQoUOFyng/s1600/1917246_1266516139806_7122862_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_u3XthOQ5MqXEHQa3suPArsbK0_maZFbI1f2r6Os_eCbqfuQ9-JlrvZ6hjZq_fU8HeA5fL_Vd4i9jRw-UR4n_I16opp87ZJkWt65Uq0fWB-dIOjQSKbixnWXKJNfdhl4UBiYQoUOFyng/s1600/1917246_1266516139806_7122862_n.jpg" height="158" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also keep an eye
out for a number of other fossils hidden throughout the building. Soaring high
above through one roof space is a skeleton of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Quetzalcoatlus</b>, while one wall in the main entry hall had a large hadrosaur.
There may be others, so watch out for them.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ-rrKR0t9Yi8_QSDtuMr_YM_8oCDO5gS1AcrEMVfC8o16741S0UFh9vt3O4gIJ1XCcMf9V-hdPHqgwCFD4H-U0JwNBDUeQjFI-HHFSDUvCew9T5DPFKnpE2tTdHaTV4ZjI2QElc-k0c/s1600/1917246_1266514939776_5904599_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ-rrKR0t9Yi8_QSDtuMr_YM_8oCDO5gS1AcrEMVfC8o16741S0UFh9vt3O4gIJ1XCcMf9V-hdPHqgwCFD4H-U0JwNBDUeQjFI-HHFSDUvCew9T5DPFKnpE2tTdHaTV4ZjI2QElc-k0c/s1600/1917246_1266514939776_5904599_n.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still, despite
my misgivings about the building, the ROM has one of palaeontology’s largest exhibits
of prehistoric creatures…if only they were given a little bit of character it
would easily rank as one of the world’s greatest displays!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAmV1bMYGpjwClbMgdKRBo5VHNI39BK7_rHMwrBFu02H9v7xV2Kpt6gyb9PXM-Hm2ftyQrtmf9m2h99_-BTi2cht8mmL4leUufDUOxxL6_QebEcJI4cTHAw0uReYfErNIi89Uc7qmUovQ/s1600/1917246_1266515699795_7933903_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAmV1bMYGpjwClbMgdKRBo5VHNI39BK7_rHMwrBFu02H9v7xV2Kpt6gyb9PXM-Hm2ftyQrtmf9m2h99_-BTi2cht8mmL4leUufDUOxxL6_QebEcJI4cTHAw0uReYfErNIi89Uc7qmUovQ/s1600/1917246_1266515699795_7933903_n.jpg" /></a></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com1Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queens Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6, Canada43.6677097 -79.394777118.145675200000003 -120.7033711 69.1897442 -38.0861831tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-48513780744085849272014-07-13T01:22:00.000-07:002016-06-11T20:09:37.157-07:00The National Opal Collection <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjIepWXv_hSS38K9aNpDgkxDWzxBbR-Pq_K1sdwIE6pVe-5wHneZOuA_2zvnYTULEGxgHlgbU48OErMvuQuXaGn0Z158O8iTxejBSQbDO0O15ezv35hVV0k8VgoJ5MPuBYYo-09ofCww/s640/P1010281.JPG" width="640" /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Opal-
there is no precious stone in the world that catches the eye the way these
stones that Shakespeare called the ‘Queen of Gems’ do. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIGSm4y6-t2dxojRQyQFINaDqqRrKV_R-ZdRccXwBUjcj2rpke1yvIXxsUaQ6KPf4KizMAgV1C9ZJmrXSijj9R0Ecd57XbPGMdEIgCbeSBJISefEjFH-CkmJgn54JWiJ_zVpcUe6dM1E/s640/P1010282.JPG" width="640" /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On a continent known for
its mineral wealth, Australia’s national gemstone it seems is not a mineral at
all as it has few of the characteristics true minerals possess (such as a
uniform crystalline structure). Instead Opal is considered a mineraloid, and for
dinosaur fans it could be argued it’s the gemstone that could represent the
Mesozoic. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZraGw3NZm0z6fLT3qaT-iLKe5VZUwkinuS8MzmoZPpNtbO0QsgZdBjN6hJLbrJlQW0wgyrVM-CDH74VTsNDT0oNmOXWhFZhMw8omGuMU-t1wG04FKYp2xiCaICSWq-r3gKijCa_wKEk0/s1600/P1010272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZraGw3NZm0z6fLT3qaT-iLKe5VZUwkinuS8MzmoZPpNtbO0QsgZdBjN6hJLbrJlQW0wgyrVM-CDH74VTsNDT0oNmOXWhFZhMw8omGuMU-t1wG04FKYp2xiCaICSWq-r3gKijCa_wKEk0/s1600/P1010272.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Opal
requires very specific geological conditions to form and Australia produces
over 95% of the world's opal because in the Late Cretaceous the middle of the
continent sat under a warm, shallow ocean. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DOWwbUutdW-9Xz-aS0Mn3L5vlGHxc382MGrfSzALP5ud5iAKF9OewDiFEEnJpJ090QUnmDVjA_VPOTz4BQz19XRjFVB4MQRrDCDwI4dltHGWFNweCS3GN02gxt05XOI3rutFhH7oVA0/s1600/P1010186.JPG" width="640" /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Eromanga Sea lasted for around
80 million years and produced fine sand rich with silica- a strange substance
that can be considered a mineral, but also is produced synthetically and
biologically. This silica rich water seeped deep underground (helping form the
Great Artesian Basin) and filled any void and coated any fossil it
encountered. This silica then took several million years to harden and form opal.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFBlnCVORUvvxk5ZJyEOg7E0eLS5fc3H6hpJghHgSwsnDkEA4C7oSEOGbASw96CVKobRWvJ4ldQaGWEK0Mo2XRqCZMlwyaWISwLPjmTrju1Eo3eZz_XdQWuAI9sApnSnK1Qgo3o0Wndk/s1600/P1010263.JPG" width="640" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This
isn’t the only way opal forms, only the most common. Sometimes bacteria slowly dissolved away biological material such as leaves and shells and
left behind silica in the exact shape as the original material. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82NYTIk9VlGqxpEZe18H4WHINgH5hE7Px8GkpBtCNAxwTZOIoUhmedPfxHNt5q5ogpHI7BFWj5r2rlWnt6In9LPNyZ1B7kSXo_XE6ETj7sF-j7rEe7WiDS5Swf_U5j__heW893u6kv_s/s1600/P1010251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82NYTIk9VlGqxpEZe18H4WHINgH5hE7Px8GkpBtCNAxwTZOIoUhmedPfxHNt5q5ogpHI7BFWj5r2rlWnt6In9LPNyZ1B7kSXo_XE6ETj7sF-j7rEe7WiDS5Swf_U5j__heW893u6kv_s/s640/P1010251.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because
the Eromanga Sea covered such a large distance, the opal it would eventually
produce is as diverse as the locations where it can be found. In the flat, hot
South Australian town of Coober Pedy (where the vast majority of opal is mined)
most of these stones are considered ‘light’ opal and the fossils found here are
almost all marine. Lightning Ridge in NSW is not only the birthplace of Mr.
Crocodile Dundee himself, Paul Hogan, but the most fantastic ‘Black’ opal. Its
fossils seem to suggest the region was a forest with large rivers running down
to the inland sea. Queensland has not only the most productive dinosaur fossil fields in
Australia, but also produces ‘boulder’ opal. Both marine and terrestrial fossils
are found in this location, indicating this part of Queensland might have once
been a series of islands</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEJY00-NC0lQyluXVz6Q9V8i03F_r5bKVgs7tHu3vNNGon3XneNNmLj0vH71Yf3gNtQcE0NB4W2bfjjwrEAggNqzyyDBzR1VyO_qWEf2J68kqL8R1F2OREXg_gjjvCLcCZkbU__iipCc/s1600/P1010257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEJY00-NC0lQyluXVz6Q9V8i03F_r5bKVgs7tHu3vNNGon3XneNNmLj0vH71Yf3gNtQcE0NB4W2bfjjwrEAggNqzyyDBzR1VyO_qWEf2J68kqL8R1F2OREXg_gjjvCLcCZkbU__iipCc/s1600/P1010257.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In
Australia it’s possible to see great examples of all three types, along with a
number of fantastic opalised fossils at the National Opal Collection. This has
two localities, one in Melbourne (which I visited years ago) and the second in
Sydney. Both have free entry and are attached to a large opal showroom where
visitors can purchase their own gemstone to take home.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLT4ilpSD9OseAFnq_SPNsNaTyxK5P6y3Oii_dTR0WYy0uSH3tAUx6jzq40Wdcfn5JzLTPQnI9JagUUnexcO6q-izgsn_XIlDdPyOOcmWp9w8RKnKX83WTAJlA4vINvKeBMnVXy6msXc/s1600/P1010265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLT4ilpSD9OseAFnq_SPNsNaTyxK5P6y3Oii_dTR0WYy0uSH3tAUx6jzq40Wdcfn5JzLTPQnI9JagUUnexcO6q-izgsn_XIlDdPyOOcmWp9w8RKnKX83WTAJlA4vINvKeBMnVXy6msXc/s640/P1010265.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Though
not the largest museums in the world, they are well presented with both
life-like models of dinosaurs, pterosaurs and the world’s most famous opalised
fossil, <b><i>Steropodon</i></b>. These are great to see, but in this museum it’s all about
the opals, and Sydney’s National Opal Museum has plenty to see.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgB86I6IWJ4BP1L8NluGgNFjY1y6Iuv2TCAkAOci64AHxIRhzue4vJlPIO1BHXmAgIeNk2oU2J6IYlk-t1gwwD1AJFTCn8A9vgT3YoHvArOwl1oE5mT9yqnKZwSUD1h55HrcANhqkwWI/s1600/P1010213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgB86I6IWJ4BP1L8NluGgNFjY1y6Iuv2TCAkAOci64AHxIRhzue4vJlPIO1BHXmAgIeNk2oU2J6IYlk-t1gwwD1AJFTCn8A9vgT3YoHvArOwl1oE5mT9yqnKZwSUD1h55HrcANhqkwWI/s1600/P1010213.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">There are the usual opal shells, a few starfish
and the long, tooth-like inner guards from the extinct cephalopods called
belemnites. The museum also has a large number of turtle fossils, along with
crocodile scales and the teeth of large lungfish, all opalised. </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9hXIIBV-dK_WWN3W0k59-ge4TqHJdZaHfQLs4ohBN5drP4ox7BiHXZ-zEtzjLgWHRGCd247p2s2o1cWi52zhKPUjJisxTBPSOZyFvYgoFqyLtIpazzUQBNaqjYz2AKpTBR2lzltZK6s/s1600/P1010220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9hXIIBV-dK_WWN3W0k59-ge4TqHJdZaHfQLs4ohBN5drP4ox7BiHXZ-zEtzjLgWHRGCd247p2s2o1cWi52zhKPUjJisxTBPSOZyFvYgoFqyLtIpazzUQBNaqjYz2AKpTBR2lzltZK6s/s640/P1010220.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The
most famous fossil on display is ‘Nessie’, a near complete juvenile plesiosaur
(possibly a pliosaur) found at Andamooka, South Australia, in 1968 and has been
placed under Australia’s National Heritage Laws. 50% of Nessie’s fossils have
opalised, and in the marine reptiles stomach were discovered gastroliths,
belemnite guards and fish bones- many of which had opalised too.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QjjUpInWv6mNE5iZCXca_Iy47IXCWPcKWdE3lHl_V_ms-lFZlnFpdknmYqMFWKf833ao1cr1VJwaeNF95Jt2v6ovgKS7PQY9as8Xxijtwtlb-l0nv7Vo6jsavHjaGW7F2hF1x-wBZ_A/s1600/P1010193.JPG" width="640" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Though
far from complete, the museum hosts a large number of opalised dinosaur fossils
as well. Amongst the ribs, vertebra and a possible dinosaur claw are a number
of large theropod teeth. These were from a medium size carnivore, though due to
the nature of the opalisation these fossils do not contain many details to let us work out exactly what sort of theropod they came from.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0CNHf1g6Zt9cCPo8tpPg9Dnw3KLbPVabhrdU5NXNRxywOrDFPVvYHqL5swHZzyu7ycsIRVwTXPVwzBmoVKi-Nwvp_4UK70SW6Y6SgECy26FDFgipVuDg5XlZWpyhGwwuYxh5rYlb4ilw/s1600/P1010234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0CNHf1g6Zt9cCPo8tpPg9Dnw3KLbPVabhrdU5NXNRxywOrDFPVvYHqL5swHZzyu7ycsIRVwTXPVwzBmoVKi-Nwvp_4UK70SW6Y6SgECy26FDFgipVuDg5XlZWpyhGwwuYxh5rYlb4ilw/s1600/P1010234.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Though
far from the only museum hosting opalised fossils (Bathurst, the National
Dinosaur Museum and the South Australian
Museum has opals on display), Australia’s National Opal Collection contains a number of great
specimens and well worth a look. </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1v58H9-2QEZyh4OKV-hohP5SBYrwzqH2LoUBFCLV-8HELpUDUw2KL45dNWIB7t9cnnFcsjo9rc9Vut28d6UB-sTATvE-VyzwJp0aJ_xTJJ_Q9-WOdHHYxQr8CBxFefFbb0K2WtKdoxo/s1600/P1010225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1v58H9-2QEZyh4OKV-hohP5SBYrwzqH2LoUBFCLV-8HELpUDUw2KL45dNWIB7t9cnnFcsjo9rc9Vut28d6UB-sTATvE-VyzwJp0aJ_xTJJ_Q9-WOdHHYxQr8CBxFefFbb0K2WtKdoxo/s640/P1010225.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWvqSIhEHvaZd4sdxvloPRw6XaOLnIpoXOC3Jn8eqGcxUN3kUXsnmqxRO48615u0yVcCweehaW7oNA8mww671Q96yUp9Y2-q0Ckc4oqrk1V-8UsXMtVd2AAvboNjbl-WCGKmJaa4etjU/s1600/P1010226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWvqSIhEHvaZd4sdxvloPRw6XaOLnIpoXOC3Jn8eqGcxUN3kUXsnmqxRO48615u0yVcCweehaW7oNA8mww671Q96yUp9Y2-q0Ckc4oqrk1V-8UsXMtVd2AAvboNjbl-WCGKmJaa4etjU/s1600/P1010226.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowuTwZhZ0gATcdh9zwqAengz8IVy0AtQLxOPUrBzX4IWNi-sDbGMjXBCXEuxGWkENHYyu-JEvAGo33K-jWJxlwGALuCVbzFrTFcVTz_3HNP8x89bbEQXTM72iiOAkwC4adkPXMt1OtwE/s1600/P1010203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowuTwZhZ0gATcdh9zwqAengz8IVy0AtQLxOPUrBzX4IWNi-sDbGMjXBCXEuxGWkENHYyu-JEvAGo33K-jWJxlwGALuCVbzFrTFcVTz_3HNP8x89bbEQXTM72iiOAkwC4adkPXMt1OtwE/s1600/P1010203.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTtS46v886IjEwiS_7W7zjjNS7-A2_L_0o8JnvAAjaSZfbQAxgPwmt-GREQsnTAz6-S49bT-n2vxcAqLXVjhrKfRpBodrd-tPNRoYx-A8dD4259UzVAN6C62MCg7_GWXKdmyrYHjFnko/s1600/P1010212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTtS46v886IjEwiS_7W7zjjNS7-A2_L_0o8JnvAAjaSZfbQAxgPwmt-GREQsnTAz6-S49bT-n2vxcAqLXVjhrKfRpBodrd-tPNRoYx-A8dD4259UzVAN6C62MCg7_GWXKdmyrYHjFnko/s1600/P1010212.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DroRSslXjDaKoFGgQJYkViwJLyVPD4aqRawhcpr8PCynVZTd1tCnvZsaB5eOokYeRxoErd7Y6NJzOq_SJIXXe5-fp-50XFNeaDU1QjNITFWTNvy9W4wUQxjgrbHHDk4mykMcF2g1cW8/s1600/P1010280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DroRSslXjDaKoFGgQJYkViwJLyVPD4aqRawhcpr8PCynVZTd1tCnvZsaB5eOokYeRxoErd7Y6NJzOq_SJIXXe5-fp-50XFNeaDU1QjNITFWTNvy9W4wUQxjgrbHHDk4mykMcF2g1cW8/s1600/P1010280.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bIpH64JTlJnkL2ojwXSeXzwMlPdJeXAth7mGjrtuU6U2iHBaeCjTzJEPUdBkbobC_VpVtHeHcfEHv5Ywahkl6QvdgeoiHzQd6QK3L4lNgv0v_7zxz2cN-7Oly7uUkuL6YpkAs9oqOz8/s1600/P1010229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bIpH64JTlJnkL2ojwXSeXzwMlPdJeXAth7mGjrtuU6U2iHBaeCjTzJEPUdBkbobC_VpVtHeHcfEHv5Ywahkl6QvdgeoiHzQd6QK3L4lNgv0v_7zxz2cN-7Oly7uUkuL6YpkAs9oqOz8/s1600/P1010229.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com260 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia-33.8643842 151.20906709999997-59.386418700000007 109.90047309999997 -8.3423497000000033 -167.48233890000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-11350404372730492612014-04-17T18:55:00.004-07:002016-06-11T20:02:10.759-07:00Utah Part one. Vernal— Utah's Dinosaur Land <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9MSoXM9INlGGVthTkJL_C36aak8fTiWEWyYVmhuKAuVTTjw7yP7VLfq_-T_wx18XATHkekDdd00natQ9h3JRWW5NXIT3lzCzNphJVnoXC36wAhmLfoBTHxZEfw_tGvDwgXrXS0B3yiXc/s1600/103_6164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9MSoXM9INlGGVthTkJL_C36aak8fTiWEWyYVmhuKAuVTTjw7yP7VLfq_-T_wx18XATHkekDdd00natQ9h3JRWW5NXIT3lzCzNphJVnoXC36wAhmLfoBTHxZEfw_tGvDwgXrXS0B3yiXc/s640/103_6164.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is a dying art in the US, one that I personally feel
will be missed once it’s gone. Being an outsider watching a lot of American TV
and movies, one of the things I thought I’d be able to see a lot of would be
roadside attractions. Now In Australia we have our fair share of big things. We
have the Big Banana, the Big Pineapple, the Big Merino, the Big Prawn etc., so
driving around the US I was looking forward to seeing some of the old time
roadside attractions there- especially the dinosaur ones.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZI7g7OJpbftEv5swE4VJaKP9mSBsQvjaKWK9x4pFvdl4047VFPu7c4dpJilNyKYjhWqLSvYN4bUoGpXoHJxCKg0YBhdKPEBxLRjw73BYQ0L3d8-_GUeN4DXkCQumfDsj-cMJjSnESgw/s1600/103_6230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZI7g7OJpbftEv5swE4VJaKP9mSBsQvjaKWK9x4pFvdl4047VFPu7c4dpJilNyKYjhWqLSvYN4bUoGpXoHJxCKg0YBhdKPEBxLRjw73BYQ0L3d8-_GUeN4DXkCQumfDsj-cMJjSnESgw/s1600/103_6230.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sadly over the last few years these kooky, kitschy
attractions have started to disappear. Sure many were made of chicken wire and
plaster and were held together with a thick layer of pigeon poo that had been accumulating
over the years, and most were about as accurate as something you’d see on the Flintstones-
but they were made out of love. Love of dinosaurs, love of giant turnips or
love of the local community, hoping a giant thimble was just the thing to bring
the tourists in and help the local economy.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaekaYAlDzfmpScRjVn3t5RBf7bCGEeOsKUo-08paB7nBhYAQR4FRlhQ8f3_OXv23bafAf67P-k4zDwHz_xM0t6N86NNYFJ4_wuyl_07hPB3HZCR8pQ40DikhMqY9c3H_h_N2HLxCPlw/s1600/103_6211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaekaYAlDzfmpScRjVn3t5RBf7bCGEeOsKUo-08paB7nBhYAQR4FRlhQ8f3_OXv23bafAf67P-k4zDwHz_xM0t6N86NNYFJ4_wuyl_07hPB3HZCR8pQ40DikhMqY9c3H_h_N2HLxCPlw/s1600/103_6211.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are a few left I must admit, but there is one place in
the US where the streets are gilded by dinosaurs of every kind. Driving up
and down the main street you will see all the greats. There are concrete
dinosaurs, fluro dinosaurs, plaster dinosaurs, fiberglass dinosaurs, painted
dinosaurs and tin dinosaurs. I feel very confident in saying that Vernal in Utah is
the world leader in roadside dinosaur attractions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80rps4M7fhG3HtmFwmufCht67dMEEMvBYksqqQKMOR9o8NXNbfqCtEtDgS9hT_QyPqSRsy7icl7HaZRapiCANu7GzsQXdV22jq9Mbe0PrU7-keIWY9PZUmoqKRvoLhSxRSuwdQ_6cOoc/s1600/103_6196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80rps4M7fhG3HtmFwmufCht67dMEEMvBYksqqQKMOR9o8NXNbfqCtEtDgS9hT_QyPqSRsy7icl7HaZRapiCANu7GzsQXdV22jq9Mbe0PrU7-keIWY9PZUmoqKRvoLhSxRSuwdQ_6cOoc/s1600/103_6196.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Though we were only passing through and managed only a few
drives up and down the main street, I noticed most hotels and businesses had some
form of dinosaur hanging out the front beckoning the wary traveller to stop by. There were even dinosaur hotels, though if these were for actual dinosaurs or just joining in the fun I could not say.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8rAMTLlV6Fh8WmOTIfuiOqwDFB8aa4wsQxEEXjChYS6WnGjvfiB4n-UoehsrlhZqNR9hyphenhyphenrpgBzR44vhZ88Ztkq5GsyavT9V8QoMHRDeePTyQpgTO4l_fN0DH_3ZIwnZsIT5Iaqq5Ybs/s1600/103_6218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8rAMTLlV6Fh8WmOTIfuiOqwDFB8aa4wsQxEEXjChYS6WnGjvfiB4n-UoehsrlhZqNR9hyphenhyphenrpgBzR44vhZ88Ztkq5GsyavT9V8QoMHRDeePTyQpgTO4l_fN0DH_3ZIwnZsIT5Iaqq5Ybs/s1600/103_6218.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The star of the show (street) is the 40ft ‘Dinah the Pink
Dinosaur’. Built in 1958 and originally advertising the Dine-A-Ville hotel,
when this went bankrupt and then entire building was pulled down, Dinah was
saved and moved to a small park along the town’s main road.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36Wn44QfzXxLUvMHI69ndEhcKXhn-2Boc0LWLNKGJF4Y4aRKWoNgm59kpA4_rdPTN9LHTDDmfscafzdfceMPXXLYafO2uzQaG85HUPSqCHsa3PjqRFLBcXoePI1djEW0jN7MneSxUK7Q/s1600/103_6181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36Wn44QfzXxLUvMHI69ndEhcKXhn-2Boc0LWLNKGJF4Y4aRKWoNgm59kpA4_rdPTN9LHTDDmfscafzdfceMPXXLYafO2uzQaG85HUPSqCHsa3PjqRFLBcXoePI1djEW0jN7MneSxUK7Q/s1600/103_6181.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">These dinosaurs are not the only reason to visit the town
for a dinosaur lover, however. Vernal is home to the Utah Field House of
Natural History State Park Museum (which will be featured in a later blog) and
is the gateway to the Dinosaur National Monument.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also check out the Bank of Vernal. This building is likely the first (and certainly the last) building to be mailed entirely through the post and was built in 1916-17. Its owner, noticing that postal rates were going to be cheaper than transport rates for all the building's materials, managed to send over 80,000 items, including all the bricks, through the US postal system. This triggered a change in the law so that today there is a maximum weight that can be sent by an individual everyday through the US post.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3f56eT3V7gOcmuJraFus4L2ZJ-OKxyCldgvJ8zIWzx5eCHN7da35h0OzVoZdfW-_MuBh9aXAx-6Ogq0Gkxdw3LHK7vWpe2buqpGW276PeKywgPXlGqKvWt1Vi9ZWZ5UqkwtFZR7rxSD4/s1600/103_6195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3f56eT3V7gOcmuJraFus4L2ZJ-OKxyCldgvJ8zIWzx5eCHN7da35h0OzVoZdfW-_MuBh9aXAx-6Ogq0Gkxdw3LHK7vWpe2buqpGW276PeKywgPXlGqKvWt1Vi9ZWZ5UqkwtFZR7rxSD4/s1600/103_6195.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29PByDvwvTRs-1qzv4-iJxFLauuXTVAamkWaKXHWIJjO6ZXtFGrhOJglZCDQKf1MOcKGMhFOXGkhmiqkLFxIdVUJF_h4zA6_HOYQLyCMWSCUtgB4iklnvK0jz0-HIWJirvWAqfB-5erU/s1600/103_6222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29PByDvwvTRs-1qzv4-iJxFLauuXTVAamkWaKXHWIJjO6ZXtFGrhOJglZCDQKf1MOcKGMhFOXGkhmiqkLFxIdVUJF_h4zA6_HOYQLyCMWSCUtgB4iklnvK0jz0-HIWJirvWAqfB-5erU/s1600/103_6222.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWZtPlvyrqwDJ0vQLL2tYobYVUkkfuqBNYypIw6zu3L_l7y9TQQ9BvdF4HI-m_iPT62HlvywTjA3mLX97u0D7gzyKW5G-w6W8EbO0P0jF9s2BvTgGcFnD6qEypbCI274bUDuvrtM8FXM/s1600/103_6197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWZtPlvyrqwDJ0vQLL2tYobYVUkkfuqBNYypIw6zu3L_l7y9TQQ9BvdF4HI-m_iPT62HlvywTjA3mLX97u0D7gzyKW5G-w6W8EbO0P0jF9s2BvTgGcFnD6qEypbCI274bUDuvrtM8FXM/s1600/103_6197.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com0Vernal, UT 84078, USA40.4555157 -109.5287478999999840.4071857 -109.60942889999998 40.5038457 -109.44806689999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4966887803537827099.post-61295001127262595342014-03-23T19:33:00.001-07:002016-06-11T19:56:34.497-07:00The Museum of Natural History & Science -Cincinnati<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cincinnati Museum Center</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltbx38lcRqu2ydMTrc2AAGiwPoE1fY6gZtuGG3Ny2A2aQWZmUJyB6vAfXHXIL7WQYyGVZNaqkYbYd_wOcm_9enFXTKcX1agYk6fCfEOpjokCRcrRPyKLQlDOk3fkSyGzIhQHEf800asw/s1600/255665_2071907514087_3222216_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltbx38lcRqu2ydMTrc2AAGiwPoE1fY6gZtuGG3Ny2A2aQWZmUJyB6vAfXHXIL7WQYyGVZNaqkYbYd_wOcm_9enFXTKcX1agYk6fCfEOpjokCRcrRPyKLQlDOk3fkSyGzIhQHEf800asw/s1600/255665_2071907514087_3222216_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Though I work today in the Natural
Sciences, for most of my life I was actually a comic book geek who grew up
readings Marvel comics, working in comic stores and of course watching cartoons
on Saturday mornings…and early on a favourite was the Superfriends. The stories
of DC comic’s top guns- Superman, Batman and the rest of the Justice league- operating
out of one of the coolest looking buildings ever, ‘The Halls of Justice’, was
good fun when you were a kid. Imagine my surprise then when I discovered the
iconic home of the Justice League was based on a real building, and even better,
it today houses a natural history museum.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsv610tbMglj7lJOi_VqsMMGUQJ3gtA886rv7XB4y9HeIBSmtQav01eWK_KPvmFB69ftUrB7p7WwyuSpDcEl20KwImmVk_jQgYxYLNxy4GZD7Z1MSHAzWmM4sVb-zR1Ao-MpKoudV_yA/s1600/Hall_of_Justice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsv610tbMglj7lJOi_VqsMMGUQJ3gtA886rv7XB4y9HeIBSmtQav01eWK_KPvmFB69ftUrB7p7WwyuSpDcEl20KwImmVk_jQgYxYLNxy4GZD7Z1MSHAzWmM4sVb-zR1Ao-MpKoudV_yA/s1600/Hall_of_Justice.jpg" width="400" /></a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the beginning of the 20<sup>th</sup>
century Cincinnati was a major travel hub in the US as many of the train lines
linking the east and west passed through the city. To facilitate all the trains
entering and leaving, an enormous station to house not only the 216 trains a
day and the numerous passengers, but the business surrounding such travel was designed
and built in 1933, sadly just in time to witness the step decline of train
travel. Within a decade the fabulous Art Deco building Cincinnati had built, Union
Terminal, became underutilised as train travel ended when cars and cheaply run bus
lines took over many routes. This decline continued until 1971 when AMTRAK took
over much of the national train service, and from the hundreds of trains a day
Union Terminal saw when it first opened, the station was now only seeing a handful
a week. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxMNionsxY9kVptFFlT82qQf5r_HmuHHTPkDt3A_H4NrWczUvjo8a8Mi5L8pjS2N4gjIHe2lzDUzTZ_-3vd1KEmNiJQjrSiTwSA0dtvSPhF73y06qqJuls4iQTF2pa7tEN9F05EtJL6s/s1600/254165_2071906314057_8028815_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxMNionsxY9kVptFFlT82qQf5r_HmuHHTPkDt3A_H4NrWczUvjo8a8Mi5L8pjS2N4gjIHe2lzDUzTZ_-3vd1KEmNiJQjrSiTwSA0dtvSPhF73y06qqJuls4iQTF2pa7tEN9F05EtJL6s/s1600/254165_2071906314057_8028815_n.jpg" width="259" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Local population dynamics had also changed
within the city and people simply didn’t want to catch a train into the centre
of town, only then to travel out of the city to their homes in the suburbs. To facilitate
this shift, in 1972 trains stopped arriving at the station all together and the
building was left to its own devices. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Later in the decade a freight train company
wanted to buy the land and completely renovate the building to house their far
larger freight carriages. As this process was begun and some of the building
was being pulled apart, there was a move to save the amazing building from total
destruction and the issue was brought before Cincinnati’s city council. This body
voted to protect the iconic building and gave it historic landmark status. Sadly
some of the art work the building once housed had already been destroyed, but
enough was saved to make the entire process worthwhile.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKAMwwEyMmIOhsyWnZ1n0uTqAlnevcy-V68o888qehrYUX0W0aXONPUKJN8dzmT5Hwi1Hd6IIwRUuaPk1n6rq38qMrwjaC_o5kuNbXGEQA-lf8sQnblSttnRQNxgPTGWvcZqSq7trfS-g/s1600/HoJ-700x259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKAMwwEyMmIOhsyWnZ1n0uTqAlnevcy-V68o888qehrYUX0W0aXONPUKJN8dzmT5Hwi1Hd6IIwRUuaPk1n6rq38qMrwjaC_o5kuNbXGEQA-lf8sQnblSttnRQNxgPTGWvcZqSq7trfS-g/s1600/HoJ-700x259.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1978 it was decided to renovate the
building as a large shopping centre called ‘The Land of Oz’. This gave the building
some life for a few years, before falling sales meant many businesses left and
the building once more fell into disrepair. By the 1980’s there was a new push
to demolish the building for its valuable land, but there was an even stronger movement
to save the building led by none other than Cincinnati’s infamous mayor at the time,
Jerry Springer (yes that Jerry Springer). The idea was to change the building
into a museum centre, which after several years of renovation, opened in 1990.
Amazingly this change also brought back AMTRAK, with a number of trains now
arriving at the Union Terminal every week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today the complex hosts the Robert D. Lindner
Family Omnimax Theater, the Cincinnati Historical Society Library, the Duke
Energy Children's Museum, the Cincinnati Railroad Club and the Museum of
Natural History & Science (MNHS)- one of the most underutilised museums in
the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBm3kCpLCOcEhFaNoFhyphenhyphenC92phIbCzqObl9FqiCjifBWZhj3ZEIS00jD7BiCo-0j3TQEoda_ONiqHMZi111R-W1t5PWS_pkScrSP3BSEzblmsU7YYhFfKkiiYuaGnTMiKnSCTAZQ354HVw/s1600/254250_2071775070776_2195960_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBm3kCpLCOcEhFaNoFhyphenhyphenC92phIbCzqObl9FqiCjifBWZhj3ZEIS00jD7BiCo-0j3TQEoda_ONiqHMZi111R-W1t5PWS_pkScrSP3BSEzblmsU7YYhFfKkiiYuaGnTMiKnSCTAZQ354HVw/s1600/254250_2071775070776_2195960_n.jpg" width="330" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let me explain this last comment. Just a
few miles down the road is the Creationist Museum in Kentucky which, I have to
say, is far inferior to the MNHS, and not just because one doesn’t involve an almighty
invisible friend. The problem is when we visited the Creationist Museum it was packed.
To give you an idea of visitation, its car park is so large it had State
Troopers directing traffic inside. On the other hand when we visited the MNHS,
it was all but empty, with many dozens of people inside compared to the several
thousand up the road. This is a shame as the MNHS is one of the best looking museums
I have ever been to even though hardly anyone has ever heard of it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jako7dZpss2k6ox6860spJ4uOGsIS03vav07SFwncd-XLqxP62xvDI7-UOT2DT43t0gZ_QWRs7FNyb8pT110YMvmzwyJk_DEounsgD5vXT107rXjlKHjoQpmzwxu_0NpTS-aTD9V8x4/s1600/253400_2071777350833_1306460_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jako7dZpss2k6ox6860spJ4uOGsIS03vav07SFwncd-XLqxP62xvDI7-UOT2DT43t0gZ_QWRs7FNyb8pT110YMvmzwyJk_DEounsgD5vXT107rXjlKHjoQpmzwxu_0NpTS-aTD9V8x4/s1600/253400_2071777350833_1306460_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Inside the Union Terminals main foyer
the renovators have kept the very handsome art deco feel- even the door handles
look great in this building and it was a real pleasure just to walk around and
take it all in. The high domed ceiling is stunning, especially when bordered at
one end by the amazing front glass wall. Where travellers once entered the various
stations for all the train lines Cincinnati once controlled are now the
entrances to all the various museums.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMb85bhrHHqca1TQEkBAmylq6G96Ih5QkQOv3RvR5fsz2GhoG5ksf1ewCpC77pDiAI4Ps7RWS6Ew0ycvepGQdYo82t0zSLBBWerKzWnd2O63c7I1CCTsJ6TtarxYFlK5PyG4htGFoy8TU/s1600/262375_2071903913997_7343460_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMb85bhrHHqca1TQEkBAmylq6G96Ih5QkQOv3RvR5fsz2GhoG5ksf1ewCpC77pDiAI4Ps7RWS6Ew0ycvepGQdYo82t0zSLBBWerKzWnd2O63c7I1CCTsJ6TtarxYFlK5PyG4htGFoy8TU/s1600/262375_2071903913997_7343460_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">MNHS- The displays.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikaXqv_VnaccbxMYC6luafs3vLFNwcxPvsymM25CBvm_Lf8zDN-iLy2d9i_fW8ElrUxVmfk24CBmMji2ImTwWnMia4pvSnDzHMApYepRwHY6sve_NOJ6zvJxO6rIpqrD0rggjVfzlmCM/s1600/260145_2071782230955_3280653_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikaXqv_VnaccbxMYC6luafs3vLFNwcxPvsymM25CBvm_Lf8zDN-iLy2d9i_fW8ElrUxVmfk24CBmMji2ImTwWnMia4pvSnDzHMApYepRwHY6sve_NOJ6zvJxO6rIpqrD0rggjVfzlmCM/s1600/260145_2071782230955_3280653_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It must be said my first impression of
the MNHS was decidedly underwhelming. It’s not that it was bad, it was more
that is was indifferent. The opening foyer is a collection of somewhat unrelated
displays tied to a very strange looking art deco room. From one spot you can
see a very nice Mastodon, what looked like a traveling carnival, if I recall correctly
a NASA spacesuit, a snarling grizzly and a smallish animatronic sauropod.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQB2ePz9J7f7TQlo9nfqnSzw4gMK-L3gV5CeY860p-VQOUReGINrZTkIolZN93thqT25m2C1Y7m6jbLFbCdCaM8Nuw9NwGEfeKG3vnn100ppoHOi8Y2-jY0h-MyccwayfrwGhAPImuvU/s1600/253460_2071796351308_1665766_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQB2ePz9J7f7TQlo9nfqnSzw4gMK-L3gV5CeY860p-VQOUReGINrZTkIolZN93thqT25m2C1Y7m6jbLFbCdCaM8Nuw9NwGEfeKG3vnn100ppoHOi8Y2-jY0h-MyccwayfrwGhAPImuvU/s1600/253460_2071796351308_1665766_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong><em>Castoroides</em>, or giant beaver</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Clearly stuck with an awkward space that
is basically a long corridor snaking its way down into a building where people once
caught trains, the designers of the museum have created a very clever, very imaginative
display. Once past this opening gallery the visitor goes on a journey of the
local regions natural history.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWrnsTFP8mOwzvdXDd3VnbFyFWYcx4nmEev1ohAr_eSMwzWMNfrenWCSozOZ8vDks8WM541pjDAqfUe8PzYQKgd38bVWsye52KzKR6napGQkaj6XvA0_MqXjw2Th8pKFzf2DbGsQe5d4/s1600/253530_2071788551113_7814194_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWrnsTFP8mOwzvdXDd3VnbFyFWYcx4nmEev1ohAr_eSMwzWMNfrenWCSozOZ8vDks8WM541pjDAqfUe8PzYQKgd38bVWsye52KzKR6napGQkaj6XvA0_MqXjw2Th8pKFzf2DbGsQe5d4/s1600/253530_2071788551113_7814194_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The first real display is a large cave
system that has been recreated inside the old train stations walls- indeed it’s
the recreated environments that are the highlight of this museum and I must say
they are done far better than any other I have ever seen- and I have visited a
lot of museums over the years! This manmade limestone cave systems contains an
underground waterfall running past enormous stalactites hanging within a number
of large galleries. </span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is running water everywhere in this part of the museum
and I do believe it currently even contains a real bat colony- though I don’t
recall seeing this during my visit. This display is apparently based on local caves
and runs for a whopping 500 feet of galleries and subterranean nooks to
explore. Understanding that the cave is not for everyone there is also a ‘beginners’
path that is wheel chair accessible.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The cave system ends at a second corridor
where the visitor enters what looks like another cave- but not before walking
through a large snow/glacier field with life-size musk-ox and even a little iceberg
floating in a pond. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9oLGG1l4rhOvnIZn2xJWQVhkIbqQXj9-4Q-HnAEDcIEhQaL2sPVbccOaGhappXcG8FcnRG2zcXRZlL8F4q3pgSsVHvKSq0BIsbQk78rf7A4ZvD40K0ksxY0aeJCUtjZzxQeE-zfSIhU/s1600/263735_2071805311532_6927025_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9oLGG1l4rhOvnIZn2xJWQVhkIbqQXj9-4Q-HnAEDcIEhQaL2sPVbccOaGhappXcG8FcnRG2zcXRZlL8F4q3pgSsVHvKSq0BIsbQk78rf7A4ZvD40K0ksxY0aeJCUtjZzxQeE-zfSIhU/s640/263735_2071805311532_6927025_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Passing through what must have been a water-melt
passage THROUGH a glacier, itself cleverly lit to seem like you are in a luminescent
mountain of ice that leaves you on the tundra of the greater Ohio region 19,000
years ago. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh854FSs2q0hfmgmZPiF8O2OTASwt-kpM8FxXKNa1deeHVmzeVC99UuH5G7mVittOYuSZBFeL2BJEY59-zG9frP9Xp2xRZRXQckWu4-OF3lAmCAEH77jVsbEyPBlSJawZYUXpmyCVMlB9c/s1600/262150_2071808591614_8081903_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh854FSs2q0hfmgmZPiF8O2OTASwt-kpM8FxXKNa1deeHVmzeVC99UuH5G7mVittOYuSZBFeL2BJEY59-zG9frP9Xp2xRZRXQckWu4-OF3lAmCAEH77jVsbEyPBlSJawZYUXpmyCVMlB9c/s1600/262150_2071808591614_8081903_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Accompanying you on the path down into the heart of this glacier is
a running water stream which gives you the noise and fresh clean smell of running
water. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwupNOJSu8CogeSQCfAfl1IFMO2vQpqih2JgDQnLLyQtdnoVOIfiP_j1bbsPcPuteHjEQQx_potxYqRcaQmHsTEZ8eM1uK_GAg1s-liEu6r1zNmlnsEbcd9RnWcN7ouyeZI1w9SfP5LjI/s1600/259825_2071811511687_5354677_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwupNOJSu8CogeSQCfAfl1IFMO2vQpqih2JgDQnLLyQtdnoVOIfiP_j1bbsPcPuteHjEQQx_potxYqRcaQmHsTEZ8eM1uK_GAg1s-liEu6r1zNmlnsEbcd9RnWcN7ouyeZI1w9SfP5LjI/s640/259825_2071811511687_5354677_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>spot the wall to see how well they have created the Horizon</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Outside the tunnel is the jewel of the museum
as far as I’m concerned and one of the best features of any museum on the
planet. On the ‘Ice Age Trail’ the use of murals on either side of the corridor
to send the display off into both horizons is unbelievable. You find yourself
standing in a bleak river landscape clearly feed by the run off from the
glacier. </span></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYYiHRGaWH1WJ4ZFybppDLaJZgKG9ECi7Vs0U4bcyoXxREQIkYwaY3KxmmhD77hyhhFZ-Zz_KhMI4D1ABzIaw0RK8ShP9qPvHK5BiItzzevUfNyXUVTeUkqz6QZtyXBwJ6HiGKm6Dq0Q/s1600/262725_2071813951748_2322656_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYYiHRGaWH1WJ4ZFybppDLaJZgKG9ECi7Vs0U4bcyoXxREQIkYwaY3KxmmhD77hyhhFZ-Zz_KhMI4D1ABzIaw0RK8ShP9qPvHK5BiItzzevUfNyXUVTeUkqz6QZtyXBwJ6HiGKm6Dq0Q/s640/262725_2071813951748_2322656_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">The horizon effect is absolutely stunning</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
This is an interactive display that you get to walk through, with
river pebbles and hills somehow built to survive the dozens (sadly) of people I
saw visiting the museum. About you charge wolves, while hiding in one corner of
a rocky outcrop is a <b><i>Smilodon</i></b> family, before you move into a forest of ancient
Kentucky populated by giant sloths and drowning mammoths.
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 1cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU137FNV98YAxB5y6wZbQq32QMOfb8cJ7vI_Em8hCn7fgogWY6hwCxH1ZM78DHOaReA2U6XL-t7DiJAR8bBVBCi9IBYpzlYUfMAuaVVnru-BXVGMlEAV7P7BLILiw8QHRJQcnVW1rHwq4/s1600/263795_2071813511737_8279995_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU137FNV98YAxB5y6wZbQq32QMOfb8cJ7vI_Em8hCn7fgogWY6hwCxH1ZM78DHOaReA2U6XL-t7DiJAR8bBVBCi9IBYpzlYUfMAuaVVnru-BXVGMlEAV7P7BLILiw8QHRJQcnVW1rHwq4/s1600/263795_2071813511737_8279995_n.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>
</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What a space and it doesn’t
end there. There is a gallery of fossils for all the species found in the Ice
Age display, along with many others like the enormous longhorn bison.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsPmRErJDJBUJrzovwA_QRaB6sPnJvHBjbmIHNj3D1SbQJoTy5QigyS_Yj2eLuCtB8KHh5kuHts1ZPJu0PlKTEXD03oRzEwgEegts4O6f00fbSeIRIf-Bj6vjOCgfmd07vPkTJmgfjWLo/s1600/263045_2071799431385_6892590_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsPmRErJDJBUJrzovwA_QRaB6sPnJvHBjbmIHNj3D1SbQJoTy5QigyS_Yj2eLuCtB8KHh5kuHts1ZPJu0PlKTEXD03oRzEwgEegts4O6f00fbSeIRIf-Bj6vjOCgfmd07vPkTJmgfjWLo/s640/263045_2071799431385_6892590_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Outside of this gallery the museum turns
more traditional with fossil displays from most ages of prehistory- yet even
here these often contain a life-like environment giving the visitor a glimpse of
what the world may have looked like back then. These seem to be positioned by
time (oldest to youngest) if my memory serves me correctly and again give what
could be a confining space with a large group a feel of openness.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5MDxJecBhcGl527xS-14sWvRgdw-b9Byqb_N-ZBeC9lA83vCuUfICgiKJYtryLIB73bPFFkWFIpQ0fC6Q3hwlI4y_1peyeif7zp2Jn0OKxyleQvmylRBOyAcwPUtHosSW4hhjcI2BWg/s1600/264035_2071826832070_7676726_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5MDxJecBhcGl527xS-14sWvRgdw-b9Byqb_N-ZBeC9lA83vCuUfICgiKJYtryLIB73bPFFkWFIpQ0fC6Q3hwlI4y_1peyeif7zp2Jn0OKxyleQvmylRBOyAcwPUtHosSW4hhjcI2BWg/s640/264035_2071826832070_7676726_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Unusual for a US museum there isn’t a
large dinosaur display, but what there is was very well done. There are flying
pterosaurs soaring overhead- an accomplishment for such a corridor like
passageway- and the dinosaurs themselves are cleverly done. </span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxtubqIURC1xypGYG28hS2f1g8MKhmNrkMZec1rGcOgveovcMiUqUfPSXArSQy6m3_h9ha-XN4CzMHM3NNV9aQAW_yD8hLiTV36hZyCM-pR2QBY2uGf6nIGpxujGdni9PN8b6q8ur5qU/s1600/255620_2071900233905_443562_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxtubqIURC1xypGYG28hS2f1g8MKhmNrkMZec1rGcOgveovcMiUqUfPSXArSQy6m3_h9ha-XN4CzMHM3NNV9aQAW_yD8hLiTV36hZyCM-pR2QBY2uGf6nIGpxujGdni9PN8b6q8ur5qU/s640/255620_2071900233905_443562_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The main feature is
a large <b><i>Allosaurus</i></b> skeleton dominating the middle of the room, but I really
liked the wall of hadrosaur skulls. These have been recessed into a rock-like
wall that visitors can touch and clearly give the room a little more space
without the need of bulky cabinets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYiLcVMovKdvLV21FxAwGlcSxDz6w9M_bgksC146XiBbJrxjETFii_HY3NKyjLRZpRmyapnzn30PBlJPdQklRMuKI3snWno4S-dDaDBIYnUpWWCDejQVegFLK_CN3ewVPwfFxnxoEDHJw/s1600/254955_2071899833895_7090847_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYiLcVMovKdvLV21FxAwGlcSxDz6w9M_bgksC146XiBbJrxjETFii_HY3NKyjLRZpRmyapnzn30PBlJPdQklRMuKI3snWno4S-dDaDBIYnUpWWCDejQVegFLK_CN3ewVPwfFxnxoEDHJw/s640/254955_2071899833895_7090847_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The visitor eventually walks out of the
long but thoroughly enjoyable trail through the regions ancient history and
back into the main hall of the Union Terminal. For us this is where our visit ended
as we needed to get back on the road, so I was a little disappointed I didn’t get
to spend more time in this iconic building from my childhood. I did manage to
get a truly geeky photo before leaving the museum’s ground however.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRT4k1cbGTgts9wZg07aew2pku_wfzRxi35ndWjTcC8fyeKh3gQODvxH9PJPwSlen4vUi6NLE1aqDv_1A_oMwrR21bLA7s8A0UXTdmpPVjxgHvrO3z_oRELy3JxOrtdwQ2fx_67nX6geA/s1600/252445_2072021836945_6401431_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRT4k1cbGTgts9wZg07aew2pku_wfzRxi35ndWjTcC8fyeKh3gQODvxH9PJPwSlen4vUi6NLE1aqDv_1A_oMwrR21bLA7s8A0UXTdmpPVjxgHvrO3z_oRELy3JxOrtdwQ2fx_67nX6geA/s640/252445_2072021836945_6401431_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, if you ever visit the Creationist Museum
in Kentucky (which I know many of you plan to do one day), leave yourself some
time to visit a true jewel. You won’t be disappointed!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Museum is open:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Monday - Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sunday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUinG1copH2H7d4uotlGIATQBEyKMJaD-hocH6RZB0XFqMJbDKBGBsoHG-0-CFSfQkEZrfWdTeLNYy9NLQU-r2WZbTajAlU-OA8bzeG_5UvjhqUiyN4imMxQFSlsxQ9jEQzpiceEeHveA/s1600/263505_2071816151803_4848905_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUinG1copH2H7d4uotlGIATQBEyKMJaD-hocH6RZB0XFqMJbDKBGBsoHG-0-CFSfQkEZrfWdTeLNYy9NLQU-r2WZbTajAlU-OA8bzeG_5UvjhqUiyN4imMxQFSlsxQ9jEQzpiceEeHveA/s640/263505_2071816151803_4848905_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Smilodon</i> family at rest</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgptINhAqnewJgnhGd5mNnr4eD_Bs8HmyKQqpgGLoRO6V3_i8RBRHy22Oze-Nj91bnX3pI1SdgqYiCCsRyl8l8i8GwFds7Y-BV0kwaTAu9MQ-7w909sOAq4gRJ8hIEBWZEI6DE7qcf8E/s1600/261590_2071836752318_7907342_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgptINhAqnewJgnhGd5mNnr4eD_Bs8HmyKQqpgGLoRO6V3_i8RBRHy22Oze-Nj91bnX3pI1SdgqYiCCsRyl8l8i8GwFds7Y-BV0kwaTAu9MQ-7w909sOAq4gRJ8hIEBWZEI6DE7qcf8E/s1600/261590_2071836752318_7907342_n.jpg" width="565" /></a></div>
</div>
Phil Horehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04448406050805809313noreply@blogger.com2Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, 1301 Western Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45203, USA39.110019 -84.53778139.1069735 -84.5428235 39.1130645 -84.5327385