March 14, 2011
Dinosaur Sighting: A Flying Ankylosaur
An ankylosaur suspended in mid-air. From the Flicker page of the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Have you ever seen an Ankylosaurus fly? Stout and covered in heavy armor, ankylosaurs were arguably the least aerodynamic of all dinosaurs, but two months ago the Houston Museum of Natural Science treated onlookers to such a sight as they lifted their ankylosaur sculpture out of its old exhibit.
The HMNS Ankylosaurus isn’t just any dinosaur, though. It is one of the surviving dinosaur sculptures created for the Sinclair Oil Company’s “Dinoland” exhibit at the 1964-1965 World’s Fair in New York City. After touring the country, the Ankylosaurus was donated to the HMNS in 1970, but the dinosaur no longer looks like it originally did. Repositioned, given a new paint job, and harassed by a pack of “raptors,” the modern HMNS Ankylosaurus is a more active and dynamic animal than the original Sinclair version. The dinosaur will be back on display when the museum opens its new dinosaur exhibit next year.
Have you stumbled across a dinosaur in an unexpected place? If you have, and have a photo of the encounter, send it to us via dinosaursightings@gmail.com!
You can track previous dinosaur sightings here.
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Strange, I was 6 years old when my parents took me to the NY World’s Fair ’64 and all I remember is the revolving stage and the Lincoln Robot.