And now, exactly what I just said. Weird and or interesting things I saw during this latest of many visits to Boston Museum of Science.
Here's another look at the Nyctosaurus sculpture...
And a close-up of her mate.
"Listen, no matter how sick and tired YOU are hearing about 2012, I'm even MORE sick of it."
"There's one, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another... PAPA! It's US!!!"
If I were a little kid, I'd be all over these Ankylosaur-inspired backpacks.
But where are their wings? (Heh.)
Funny story about Horseshoe Crabs I don't think I've shared yet.
I was very young and my class was on a field trip to a literal field (a local salt marsh) to explore nature during the autumn. We had some kind of scavenger hunt going on and I had to find a stick. So I see this lovely pointy stick stuck in the marshy ground and excitedly yanked it out of it's place without thinking to show my class -- who all looked at the thing in my little girl hand with varying expressions of abject horror.
You see that Giger-esque monstrosity in this case? Yeah. I'd pulled a gigantic live Horseshoe Crab out of it's hibernating spot. Life has never been the same since.
There's a very nice new (to me) exhibit about the history of the Museum of Science and it's predecessors with lots and lots of vintage exhibits on display.
9/1/14 Never Forget! (I don't think this is THE Martha, but still...)
And while we're on the subject of human bastardry and childhood trauma, see this eagle? Funny - well, actually the exact opposite of funny - story about this eagle.
He (I'm guessing) was put on display as part of a really neat exhibit from my childhood with the irresistible name, "What's In Our Attic"? My younger self was delighted to see all the cool stuff the Museum had accumulated over it's history (most of it is now on permanent display as part of Natural Mysteries).
To make a long story short, this is where young Trish learned that J.J. Audubon shot and stuffed many birds to use as models for his famous paintings. I very definitely remember being utterly crushed and suddenly not knowing anything about anything anymore.
Speaking of childhood trauma, note how misleading this advertisement is if you were, say, six. Hell, for all I knew, they'd found a real life Sally Impossible!
It's incredibly cool to see the original report of the Nahant Bay Sea Serpent though.
And a selection of Blaschka Glass sea creatures! Beautiful, delicate little works of art, it's always a privilege to see them.
And finally, drawings! Here's my study of Audubon's eagle.
Various other animal specimens.
And of course my traditional study of Cliff!
Well, first I have to open with some disappointment. I was hoping to visit the library at the Museum of Science and see if I couldn't go home with a camera packed with vintage paleoart. And maybe - just maybe - old Ranger Rick illustrations (I will never give up hope). I knew they had a copy of McLoughlin's Archosauria, of a crazy-awesome book called The Dinosaur Scrapbook with loads of old paleoart in it... and now this sign:
Wah. Got a nice view of the city, though, so there's that.
Even so, I found a terrific variety of old -or not- paleoart in the Dinosaurs: Modeling the Mesozoic exhibit. First up, something weird that is, thankfully, hidden away in a corner, as if embarrassed:
Wow... Wow...! And then I had a nasty flashback to something I saw in the traveling "Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly" exhibit (with my reaction, via Arthene and Squee):
Oh, sweet Raptor Jesus no... (And fridge logic I'm angry at myself for not noticing right away: Clyde Peeling doesn't care about Tuataras. Or, as pointed out in the comments, every kind of extinct reptile after the "ancestral reptile".)
Thankfully, the record is set straight in their massive Dinosaur Family Tree. Sadly, I do not know who the artists are who made this or the sculptures, but this is pretty awesome. Click for the huge version:
Gorgeous, gorgeous mural (though it skimps on the maniraptors). All the colors and poses are in line with the wonderful and dearly missed Battat Museum of Science dinosaur model collection. This is the case with most of the recent art in the room. And yes, those murals are by the wonderful Douglas Henderson:
These Nyctosaurs are brand new, and they are amazing! They are probably the most recent addition to the room.
This guy puzzles me deeply. I really can't tell if he is more recent or older. He doesn't look anything like the Battat sculpt, and the low tail and naked skin screams 60's. But the color pattern seems a little modern. I wonder this because the older version of the MOS's dinosaur exhibit was almost nothing but 60's era dinosaur models. Here's a flashback to what this exhibit looked like in the 80's:
I have no problem at all with this whole room being gutted and started over. There is one little remnant of this version of the exhibit, and it's a strange one:
For the majority of the 80's, this was the most up-to-date model in the Museum of Science's dinosaur hall. They've still got him on display, with a card explaining how he is a reflection of the time in which he was made, and he looks very odd, especially with the more up-to-date small theropod in the mural right behind him.
I'm ending with this craziness from the gift shop:
Addendum: O.T.I.S. recently added a blog post about MOS and I am pretty sure we saw the exact same Opossum.
----
Feederwatch Friday!
BIRDS!!! They are dinosaurs; deal wit' it. Also, I forgot to update this section before it published, but it's been a very strange week.
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Song Sparrow 1
House Sparrow 25
I have a very special post I'm saving for Friday about something specific at the Museum of Science, so this post will be an overview of other random cool/weird/ect. things I saw during my last visit there. First off, I am so very happy to see that they still do this:
The Museum underwent a major refurbishment maybe ten years ago. While I have a lot of nostalgia for the place in the 80's, I'll admit it has never looked better. The crown jewel of the new MOS is the first-floor exhibit, Natural Mysteries:
When I was a teen, MOS had an awesome temporary exhibit called, "What's in Our Attic?" They brought down a bunch of weird things they'd collected over the years, but which weren't on display. Natural Mysteries has nearly all of the items from "Attic" on permanent display. There is an overwhelming amount of cool stuff to look through in displays, in drawers, and even hanging from the ceiling. On top of that, the focus of the exhibit is on the scientific method, classification, and curiosity. In other words, the kids visiting are invited to be scientists.
The Museum appeared to have gone through a refurbishment since the last time I visited about a year ago. This Icthyosaur has always been on the wall, but the plaque and paint is brand new. There are still a few remnants of 70's-ness to be found, however:
I have no idea how old this display is. Still really cool.
The Museum of Science is also an accredited zoo, and live animals are having more and more of a presence. I didn't visit the excellent Butterfly Garden this time, but I did attend a live animal presentation. Opossums! Fluffy little owls!
I'm going to arbitrarily end with this amusing sign, from another special exhibit that was running at the time (Edit - yes, it makes sense in context.):
