June 10, 2010
Dinosaur Sighting: Old “Brontosaurus”
"Brontosaurus" as it stands along the Dinosaur Trail. Photo by Erik Washam.
By now most everybody knows that the old restorations of snub-nosed, tail-dragging, swamp-dwelling “Brontosaurus” were woefully incorrect, but I have to admit I have a soft spot for such out-of-date dinosaur imagery. It was part of my introduction to dinosaurs, and I am glad that when the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science revamped its venerable Dinosaur Trail last year, curators there decided to keep “Brontosaurus” for nostalgia’s sake. (Though, for a short time before the grand opening, the dinosaur lost its head.) This photo, taken by Erik Washam, shows the sculpture as it stood last December. The next time I visit the Tar Heel State, I may just have to stop by to see it.
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Brian, thanks so much for the mention of Bronto on Smithsonian’s site. I was co-chair of the neighborhood fund-raising committee. Pardon the delayed comment, but I wanted to correct some persistent misconceptions about Bronto and the Museum’s dinosaur trail. First of all, the brontosaurus (all 77′-long of it) has been located at its current position since it was constructed in 1967; the steel beam framework has his legs sunk in concrete. He was the highlight of the Pre-History Trail at what was then called the Durham Children’s Museum, on the south side of Murray Ave. The museum (renamed the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, although it’s a non-profit and not state-funded) built a much larger facility across the street in the mid-’70s and moved the exhibits there — but not Bronto. (The south side buildings are being used for administration offices, facilities, and science classes.) Hurricane Fran (Sept. ’96) did severe damage to the other Pre-History Trail dinosaurs, but Bronto remained surprisingly intact. However, the museum had already begun constructing the new Dinosaur Trail on the north-side property, and Bronto was neglected — until the decapitation in June 2009. The community outcry surprised museum representatives, and with the promise of $2000 in matching funds from Durham’s own Bronto Software, the Save the Bronto Committee was formed. One of our members designed a t-shirt, and we sold nearly 1000 of them during the summer. Along with direct donations to the museum, we raised roughly $20,000 for repairs and upkeep, and celebrated with a party, Bronto’s Birthday Bash, on Nov. 15, only 5 months later. (I told people he was 150,000,042 years old
So Bronto remains where he’s always been, next to the recently renamed Wescott’s Bronto Trail section (in honor of the museum director at the time) of the Durham Greenway, and the new dinosaurs are across the street on their own awesome trail. You might be interested in looking at the Facebook page, Brontosaurus Durhamite — s/he makes interesting observations about the neighborhood and visitors. Yay Bronto!