Comments on: Create Your Own Museum: What Dinosaurs Would You Like to See on Display?

By: David Tana

David Tana — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:22:06 +0000

Matt,

the AMNH is a wonderful museum, and I love the layout more than any other I’ve been to for that very reason. I like your idea of arranging by formation as well. The closest I’ve seen to that is at the Smithsonian NMNH, where the Morrison Formation critters are all center stage. But I think that’s more out of necessity (they have a lot of Morrison material) then purposeless planning.

By: Zach Miller

Zach Miller — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:15:59 +0000

I’d like to see some non-dinosaurian dinosaurmorphs like Silesaurus and Marasuchus. I don’t think the dinosaurs’ ancestors are very well known to the public, if at all.

By: Matt Martyniuk

Matt Martyniuk — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:41:06 +0000

@ David and Ian:
The AMNH already does something similar to your ideas, having the halls laid out as a cladogram. And they do include Hesperornis (as well as some Cenozoic birds and taxidermied gulls) in the maniraptor section (under a gigantic banner reading “birds are dinosaurs”!).

Would be nice to showcase some more obscure species though besides the old standbys. I’d personally like to see an exhibit arranged by geologic formation, so you could see more clearly which dinosaurs lived alongside which others.

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:04:43 +0000

I love the idea of an exhibit devoted to tyrannosaurs. Also, David beat me to my own idea. I would like an exhibit that showcases the full diversity of the Dinosauria. I would pick some of the lesser known species to represent the various groups of dinosaur. I would also like to include some of the avian forms, particularly Hesperornis, which is my favorite prehistoric bird.

By: Doug

Doug — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:20:48 +0000

Well, i talk about that on my blog a lot (considering i actually want to start my own museum) but the halls i think of more often pertain to the fossil mammals. But as far as dinosaurs go, i’d love to have an exhibit on African dinosaurs. It would feature Spinosaurus (ever since i saw that that skeleton on flickr), Jobaria, Ouranosaurus, Afrovenator, and the above mentioned Nigersaurus.

I’d also like to do an exhibit comparing early and late creatceous dinosaurs with specimens from Montana, Utah, and Oklahoma.

By: David Tana

David Tana — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:26:48 +0000

That’s a tough question, but at least you narrowed it down to “dinosaur hall”. That being the case, aside from an expanded diversity of forms from well known groups as you’ve described in the post, I think I’d really like to see more basal forms of known groups as well.

Additionally, a lot of museums just display specimens intermingled with other specimens from different times and of different relations. I’d like to design a hall that not only walks you through the Mesozoic in a linear fashion, but that shows you the evolution of dinosaur clades over time. A giant cladogram superimposed over the geologic time scale, with as many taxa represented as possible.

By: David

David — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:07:12 +0000

I’d love to see a really thorough exhibit dedicated to just about any group, but man, I’d especially love one on the therizinosaurs. I’ve never been able to see one in person.

Coincidentally, this week is Field Museum week at Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs, and today’s post is on the Field’s Genius Dinosaur Hall. Nice timing.

http://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/2010/07/elizabeth-morse-genius-dinosaur-hall.html

By: Sam W

Sam W — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:06:55 +0000

If you ever have the chance, go to the Sauriermuseum in Aathal, Switzerland. I know it’s across the pond but seriously, best dinosaur museum ever.
http://www.sauriermuseum.ch/
http://carbontocarnivore.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/sauriermuseum-aathal/