(relaxing piano music)
- [Voiceover] Welcome to the
Dinosaur Discovery Museum.
The only museum to focus exclusively
on the transition from extinct
meat eating dinosaurs to modern birds.
In a design originated by
Carthage College Professor
of Paleontology, Dr. Thomas Carr,
the museum exhibits one
of the most complete
evolutionary transitions
known from the fossil record.
Opened in 2006, museum tours
and educational programs
are overseen by the museum's
curator of education.
- Hello and welcome. I'm Chris DeSantis.
In addition to the original
vision of the museum,
we have put a lot of time and effort
into presenting these displays to you,
before you begin your visit,
please take a few minutes
and watch this short film.
It will give you a brief overview
of what you're about to see
and hopefully give you
a better understanding
of this unique and exciting gallery.
(upbeat guitar music)
I should mention that there are two
additional short films for you to enjoy.
One with some very interesting facts
about the science of paleontology
and another about Dr. Carr's search
for the remains of a juvenile T-rex.
Enjoy the films and then
explore the fossil record
on display in our gallery.
We'd be happy to answer
any questions you may have.
(upbeat guitar music)
- [Voiceover] When you enter the gallery,
be sure to turn to your left,
and proceed clockwise around the room.
The geological record shows that dinosaurs
first evolved some time
before 228 million years ago
and while we know your visit
here will be much shorter,
please take as much time as you need
and look closely at the displays.
You are sure to notice
some interesting things.
The first might be the color of the bones.
- [Voiceover] The dinosaurs
in this gallery are casts
of original fossils which are held in
museum collections in
various parts of the world.
After fossils are prepared in the lab,
casts, or copies of these fossils,
are then made so that the specimens
can be displayed in other museums.
The casts of original fossils
are painted to match the color of the bone
which is often a light shade of brown.
The black ones indicate
the bones that were missing
from the original
skeleton and were sculpted
to fill in the empty spaces.
- [Voiceover] As you explore the gallery,
you will notice that many of the dinosaurs
are posed in unique ways.
Although it is rare to see
behavior in the fossil record,
the dinosaurs were posed this way
to suggest daily activities
and in some cases,
to show possible behavioral similarities
between these extinct
meat eating dinosaurs and modern birds.
This Torvosaurus, for instance,
is in an eating pose.
The animal is holding down its prey,
turning its head to the side,
and ripping the flesh with
its long, pointed teeth.
If you saw an eagle or a hawk eating,
they would assume the same pose,
one foot holding their prey as they
rip the flesh with their beaks.
This Allosaurus is seen in a resting pose,
arms tucked back, and
resting on its chest,
much like any large bird would do.
A hundred and twenty
three million years ago,
Sinosauropteryx was the first non-avian or
non flying dinosaur to have feathers.
Feathers probably developed
first for insulaton
rather than flight, the
feathers of this Sinosauropteryx
are clearly preserved as
dark fringe around its body.
This detail panel mount of a Caudipteryx
has large feathers on the hand and tail,
which probably evolved for
display and sheltering eggs.
In the stomach of the Caudipteryx,
you can see small pebbles and stones.
Some dinosaurs, like some modern birds,
swallow these stones to help them
break up and digest food.
While this does not
indicate a common ancestry
between birds and dinosaurs,
it is an interesting
example of convergent evolution.
You can see that the dinosaurs are looking
more like modern birds.
The skeleton of this Caenagnathoid
is posed to show the predatory
stroke of the forelimb
of these types of dinosaurs.
Eventually, flying theropods co-opted this
motion into the flight stroke.
In this Caenagnathoid
specimen, you could see
many inherited conditions
that advanced theropods share.
Additionally, this animal laid large eggs
and sat on those eggs on an open nest.
As you round the final
corner of the main room,
you will find several modern
bird skeletons on display.
You are encouraged to
compare these skeletons
with the dinosaurs, noticing
the arm similarities,
the hands and feet, the
way they ate and walked
and rested, what do you see?
Does T. rex have a wishbone?
- [Voiceover] The
Dinosaur Discovery Museum
is also home to the lab
for the Carthage College
Institute for Paleontology.
Carthage students participate in
paleontological digs,
spending weeks in the field
looking for fossils.
This lab is where they bring
the specimens they extract.
Many different species of dinosaur
have been collected by the field school
including fossils of
Triceratops, Hadrosaurids
and Tyrannosaurus rex.
- [Voiceover] The displays here at the
Dinosaur Discovery Museum
traced the evolutionary
path over millions of years,
relying on one of the most
complete evolutionary transitions
known from the fossil record.
It truly is a one-of-a-kind
museum experience.
- [Voiceover] We hope that
this film has been helpful
in highlighting some of the
key features of the museum.
We invite you to fully explore the museum
and come back as often as you like.
(relaxing piano music)
