10 Things I’m Excited for in the new National Fossil Hall (Part 2)
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s new paleontology exhibit opens in a little over a year. Here are some things to look forward to:
Most books and exhibits about the history of life close at some point in the past. The National Fossil Hall continues the story into the present day. We are in the midst of an extinction event of our own making, and anthropogenic climate change, habitat destruction, and invasive species are as dangerous as any asteroid. But in spite of our destructive potential, humans have the power to mitigate and manage the consequences of altering the world around us. The exhibit will show visitors how they can be informed citizens of a changing planet.
5. Skeletons posed like living animals
Historically, museum mounts of dinosaurs and other animals were typically given anatomically neutral poses. Newer exhibits have experimented with greater dynamism, but this often manifests in animals fighting or simply roaring at one another. In the National Fossil Hall, both newly introduced and remounted specimens are posed to showcase behavior evidenced by the fossil record. Tyrannosaurus is pulling the head off Triceratops (as described by Fowler and colleagues in 2012), Allosaurus is guarding a nest, and the mammoth is pushing its tusks along the ground, as though clearing snow off the grass (shown above in maquette form).
6. Reimagining the classics
Most of the dinosaur skeletons exhibited at NMNH were assembled before 1920. These specimens have gone on to lead second lives on display, and have been seen by generations of visitors. Nevertheless, time has taken its toll. Some mounts have been rendered out of date by new discoveries, while others have gradually deteriorated due to fluctuating temperature and humidity and constant vibration from passing crowds. In these cases, it is time to return the original fossils to the safety of the collections. This will also give paleontologists a chance to study these specimens (several of which are holotypes) for the first time in decades. In their place, cast replacements are being prepared, complete with lively poses and up-to-date anatomy.
In keeping with the focus on environmental change over time, the National Fossil Hall will not just display the big, charismatic animals, but the entire ecologies they lived in. Dinosaur and mammal skeletons will be surrounded by fish, reptiles, insects, and plants that lived alongside them, demonstrating that paleo-celebrities like Stegosaurus and the mastodon were part of ecologies that were at least as rich and complex as the world today. An NMNH crew even made a special trip to North Dakota to collect Late Cretaceous plant fossils to display alongside the Nation’s T. rex.
Photo Sources: Last American Dinosaurs at NMNH, Smithsonian Magazine, Great Big Stories, NMNH Dept of Paleobiology
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