Giants: African Dinosaurs opens Dec. 3
Explore discoveries made by celebrated paleontologist Paul Sereno, Ph.D.
The Sahara has proven to be an incredibly rich source of fossils. There, hidden in the sands of the African desert, world-renowned paleontologist Paul Sereno, Ph.D., found the discoveries of a lifetime. Giants: African Dinosaurs features these breakthroughs, with clues to the mystery of how shifting continents affected dinosaur evolution. The exhibit is on view at the Delaware Museum of Natural History from Dec. 3, 2011 through Feb. 26, 2012.
Created by Project Exploration, this interactive dinosaur experience transports visitors to a world of wonder and discovery. The highlights are two life-size, 25-foot-long skeletal casts of African carnivores uncovered by Sereno: the predatory Afrovenator, meaning "African hunter," found in northern Africa and dating to the mid-Jurassic between 164 and 161 million years ago; and the swift Deltadromeus, which lived approximately 95 million years ago in the late Cretaceous. A human skeleton andDeltadromeus are paired in similar positions to compare similarities in anatomy.
In the same formation as Afrovenator, Sereno found the fossil remains of a massive plant-eatingJobaria. This towering sauropod dates to the mid-Jurassic and may have been able to rear on its hind legs like an elephant. The exhibit features a six-foot-tall femur fossil that visitors can size themselves up against and marvel at this dinosaur's massive size.
Hands-on displays invite visitors to touch a cast of a juvenile Jobaria skull, the handprint of an adult Jobaria, and the petrified trunk of a tree from an ancient forest. Nearby visitors can look into the eyes of the Carcharodontosaurus flesh head - more than five feet long - and imagine being chased by one of the largest predators ever to walk the earth. Sereno's dramatic expeditions to the Sahara are detailed in a video and images so budding paleontologists can come away understanding what it took to make these exciting new dinosaur discoveries.
WHAT: Giants: African Dinosaurs created by Project Exploration
WHERE: Delaware Museum of Natural History, 4840 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE 19807
DATES: Saturday, December 3, 2011 - Sunday, February 26, 2012
HOURS: Monday - Saturday 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Sunday 12 - 4:30 p.m.
ADMISSION: $8 for adults, $6 for children (3-17), $7 for seniors, free for children 2 and younger. Free for museum members.
MORE INFO: Visit www.delmnh.org or call (302) 658-9111.
