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Release Date: December 16, 2003 Dinosaurs ALIVE! will place the visitors in a set that will depict the Earth over 65 million years ago. The display will contain the most current scientific information about the creatures and engage audiences of all ages with lectures, hands-on exhibits and actual dinosaur artifacts. The exhibit will be anchored by an animated “cave person” named “Herby Vore” and “Carney Vore”, who will tell the stories of the prehistoric creatures. The live theatrical presentation will allow visitors to interact with our cave person guide and to explore where dinosaurs lived, where they were found, when they lived and why they became extinct. A little prehistoric humor will both entertain and educate audiences. Educational programs are available for school groups with advance reservations. The museum plans for several special events ranging from weekend workshops, birthday parties, lectures and the largest Dinosaur Easter Egg Hunt in the Texas Panhandle. “The exhibit will be fun and a great learning experience for our community. We are excited to bring a new collection of dinosaurs to the museum and our visitors will be delighted with the animated cave person that interacts with the audience”, said Ganesh Ganpat, Executive Director. “The exhibit is a blockbuster and a great value. It is also a very expensive traveling exhibit to rent, however, dinosaurs are a very popular topic with audiences of all ages.”
The unveiling of a new, animated creature represents the efforts of paleontologists, artists, sculptors, engineers, welders, mold makers, computer experts and administrators. The team member’s work together to insure the accuracy of all creatures. When a new dinosaur replica is created, many questions must be answered. To determine a creature’s appearance, paleontologists must consider the size and shape of bones and skeletons, the size and placement of muscles, and whether or not the creature had horns or crests. Other issues paleontologists must consider include how a creature moved, what sounds it might have made and what colors it might have displayed. To answer these questions, paleontologists rely primarily on the fossil record. Fossil bones can answer many of these questions. Muscles, for example, leave marks on bones. But some questions, especially those concerning a creature’s colors and sounds, cannot be answered directly by the fossil record. Therefore, paleontologists study living animals and compare their behavior with what is known about the behavior of dinosaurs. What they ate and how they lived can give us clues as to how dinosaurs might have appeared or sounded. Once the team agrees on probable answers, artists begin their work. First, detailed drawings are made and from these, a small clay model. Engineers can design a movable robotic “skeleton” that will fit inside the dinosaur replica and bring the creature to life. While engineers are busy with their task, sculptors make a clay model of the creature that is the same size as the finished replica. This process can take several months. During this time, paleontologists check the large model periodically for accuracy. Upon completion, the large clay sculpture is turned over to the mold makers. They cover the sculpture with a liquid paste that, when hard, forms a solid shell or mold. The finished mold is then cut into several pieces and reassembled in the “skin” department. A specially developed liquid foam rubber is then poured into the hollow mold, creating the “skin” of the dinosaur replica. After this skin dries, the mold is removed and the skin is wrapped around the finished robotic skeleton. The dinosaur replica comes to life through the use of compressed air. An air pump pushes air through small hoses into different-sized cylinders in the creature’s arms, legs, tail and head. Inside each cylinder is a piston. The compressed air forces the piston to move back and forth. Some pistons, such as those in the legs, are very large. Others, such as those that move the eyelids, are very small. Computer technicians program a small computer to control the amount of air that goes into each piston. With careful programming, the dinosaur moves and roars in a very lifelike way. All the creature needs now to be ready for exhibit is a paint job. Scientists and artists meet and decide how a particular dinosaur might have looked. For example, fossil footprints of the Apatosaurus indicate that they traveled in herds, just as today’s zebras do. Zebras also make use of their bold stripes to make it difficult for a lion or other predator to pick out a single animal from the herd. Perhaps dinosaurs also had a similar striping pattern. Modern animals, especially birds, use color to attract mates. It is quite possible that dinosaurs displayed colors for the same purpose. A completed, animated, roaring dinosaur replica could truly be called “alive and in color!”
The museum is a private, not-for-profit organization that makes science exciting, relevant and interesting to all types of learners by providing interactive exhibits and programs that actively engage children, adolescents and their families. It fosters inquiring minds and nurtures the individual genius that is within each of us.
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