Every year thousands of visitors pass through our Morian Hall of Paleontology. Within the labyrinthine halls of this massive space they encounter some of the most famous ancient creatures known to science: Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Megalodon, Mastodon and many others. The space is filled with so many gigantic wonders that it’s easy to overlook […]
Recently I did a Facebook Live (which you can see here) about whether it’s possible to extract dino DNA from a mosquito and use it to clone dinosaurs like they did in Jurassic Park. During the discussion (the short answer is no, by the way) I touched on another possible way to create dinosaurs that […]
Brontosaurus doesn’t exist. At least for now it doesn’t exist. It once did, and it it might again soon, but not right now. I know this sounds confusing, so let me give you a little back story. Brontosaurus has to be the second most famous dinosaur on earth, right behind T. rex. Everyone knows […]
Was it inevitable that mammals would rule the world after the dinosaurs went extinct? The rise of mammals is often depicted as a pretty smooth transition, but in reality things were a little more complicated. In the wake of the end Cretaceous extinction birds, reptiles and mammals all began to split and diversify to exploit ecological […]
Was there a dinosaur-equivalent of Santa Claus living at the North Pole a 110 million years ago? The lack of fossil evidence suggests not…. But don’t worry because there were definitely dinosaurs living in the South Pole during the early cretaceous! And although they probably didn’t have beards and hand out presents, some of them were still […]
Often times the most unfortunate catastrophes can produce the finest, most well preserved specimens for scientists to uncover. Just think of Pompeii: a deadly volcanic eruption buried a Roman city in scolding ash, and in the process created a veritable time capsule for Archaeologists a millennium later to investigate. But it not just archaeologists that […]
In my years as a tour guide here at HMNS I encountered a lot of good questions. Most of the time the simplest questions were the best ones, like “what is a dinosaur?“. It’s a simple question but it has a complicated answer. For most people, the only prerequisite for being a dinosaur is being […]
HMNS is home to 11 permanent exhibit halls that house many wonderful and rare things. Even if you’ve visited our museum several times, we can guarantee you’ll always find something new to see! Next time you stop by HMNS, see if you can spot these five extremely rare items that are on display. Moon Rock Just […]
Unlike the pieces on display here, HMNS is not a preserved relic. This museum is a living organism, constantly changing and evolving. Our exhibits are by no means all-encompassing, but we strive to always keep what we have on the cutting edge of science and museum design. As part of that effort, we have recently […]
These 3D printed skulls were made here at HMNS, in preparation for a larger project we are planning for one of our rare specimens, which will eventually be placed in our Hall of Paleontology. The 3D prints that we will create when everything is up and running will be used to further our knowledge of […]
