Museums
| Museums are the things that support Paleontology. They are the ones who pour in the funding to make digs and research possible. what do museums get in return for all of this? The chance to display some of the greatest things ever found! And we, the public, get the chance to see these wonderful fossils, and therefore learn about them. |
| Those of you who have had a chance to see Paleontology exhibits at Museums can probably remember huge, mounted skeletons that are set up to look just like the beast was when it was alive, without skin of course. If you haven't, you've probably seen pictures. |
| A lot of work goes into getting specimens ready for display. In the lab, (behind the scenes at the museum), fossils are just stored in large drawers, in a systematic order. Most fossils never go on display, they are used strictly for research. Only the coolest, most exciting dinosaurs get displayed, otherwise, the public won't care. Usually just big, scary dinosaurs. |
| Also, newest finds tend to be displayed too. Sometimes, though, the fossils are just too valuable to be displayed. In that case, they can make replicas of the fossilized bones using plaster. That is very difficult work to do, as there can be thousands of "bones" per specimen. |
| Once they know what they are going to display (real or fake), they still need mounting. This work is very difficult, as it must be done perfectly. They use wire and metal poles to put the fossilized bones up. They must be careful to position the poles in a way that still makes the "skeleton" look real, but provide proper support. Proper care must be taken when attaching the wire to the fossils. We don't want to damage them, but, again, we need proper support. A Paleontologist must also be present while the mounting is taking place, because they know the proper way the "bones" fit together, and also how the dinosaur stood while living. That is very important to make the exhibit look real. |
| Once the specimens are mounted, some museums tend to set up background scenery to make the experience seem more real, and also put up posters with information about the species. Then, they have to go back to square one and start over with the next specimen, because exhibits usually consist of many fossils all with a common theme. Many hours of work are poured into each exhibit. |
| The Royal Ontario Museum recently had on a very special exhibit. They had somehow got to display some very important fossils from Russia. It was the first time these specimens had ever left Russia. You can read about it by clicking here. |
| Some other museums that have a good Paleontology program are:
U.C. Berkeley Museum of Paleontology
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