MoAW presents
MESOZOICA: The Age of Dinosaurs
From the Late Jurassic, Utah
New Member Benefit
|
|
MESOZOICA
The Age of Dinosaurs
From the dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs to the last of their kind, these laboratory fossil casts of legendary discoveries guide us through the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods known as the Mesozoic Era. Gathered from more than 30 museums worldwide, the collection includes fully-mounted dinosaurs, skulls, teeth, claws, and eggs displayed in geological, chronological order to illustrate the awesome story of the evolution of dinosaurs to their ultimate extinction.
Displaying casts of rare fossils from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, this prestigious collection includes skeletons, skulls, claws, and eggs gathered from such revered museums as the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, The Royal Ontario Museum, and the Carnegie Museum, as well as many others.
These compelling natural artifacts, rarely seen outside of their respective museums, are on view together exclusively in MESOZOICA: The Age of Dinosaurs.
30 NASA photographs of the Universe titled STARSCAPE: A Journey To The Beginning of Time associates the fossil record with the origins of the Cosmos.
|
|
THE JURASSIC PERIOD
from 195 million to
140 million years ago
The Jurassic period, with its lush rainforests, derives its name from an abundantly fossiliferous sequence of chalky deposits discovered in the Jura Mountains bordering Switzerland and France. For the 55 million year duration of the Jurassic period, the supercontinent of Pangaea was gradually being wrenched into 2 separate masses, Gondwanaland (Africa, South America, Australia, India, Arabia, and Antarctica) and Laurasia (Europe, Asia, Greenland, and North America). Among the survivors of the Triassic extinction, tiny primitive mammals began to diversify during the Early Jurassic. By the dawning of the Late Jurassic (150 million years ago), the Atlantic Ocean had formed and the drifting continents had barely begun to resemble their present shapes. Gigantic dinosaurs that cared for their young had evolved from their smaller Late Triassic ancestors. Land bridges between the continents allowed the thriving herds of dinosaurs to migrate across great distances. Palm-like plants appeared and flourished throughout the warm, swampy landscapes of the period, nourishing the largest creatures that ever walked the Earth.
|
Order Saurischia,
Suborder Theropoda
Allosaurus fragilis
Late Jurassic, Utah
Its massive, yet open, lightweight skull a marvel of engineering, the fearsome Allosaurus (“Different Lizard”) was the predominant carnivore in North America during the Late Jurassic and probably fed on such herbivorous dinosaurs as Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus) and Stegosaurus, its flexible skull capable of expanding to accommodate oversized chunks of food.
While some believe that they were too huge and clumsy to hunt, scavenging on carrion instead, others believe them to have been agile runners and swimmers, capable of hunting in packs for large prey. Trackways found in Texas indicate that such predators indeed chased herds of much larger dinosaurs, and Apatosaurus vertebrae, scarred by the teeth of an Allosaurus, have been unearthed.
Sporting strong, 3-fingered claws at the ends of its short arms, this creature grew to 36 feet or more in length and weighed 1 to 2 tons, possibly reaching full maturity in as little as 5 years. Although they have been found in Africa, Australia, and perhaps even Asia, Allosaurus is most common in North America, some 40 individuals coming from a single quarry (possibly having perished together). Found in the Cleveland Lloyd Quarry.
|
Order Ornithischia,
Suborder Stegosauria
Stegosaurus stenops
Late Jurassic, Utah
Discovered in Colorado in 1877, Stegosaurus (“Plate Lizard”) grew to a length of up to 30 feet and weighed up to 2 tons. The bony armored plates guarding the neck, back and tail of the huge Jurassic herbivore were attached to powerful skin muscles, and were probably capable of being raised and lowered to protect the spine or the flanks. Honeycombed with capillaries, they may also have served as a heat exchange for warming (or perhaps cooling) the animal’s bloodstream, although their actual placement and function remain an enigma.
|
Aiding in the precision of the movement of the enormous hind-quarters and spiked tail, an enlargement of the spinal cord at the pelvis, much larger than the creature’s brain, was long believed to be its “second brain.” For its bulk, Stegosaurus had the smallest skull of any dinosaur, with a brain no larger than a walnut. Its front legs, only half the length of its back legs, indicate that it probably evolved from a 2-legged ancestor and could easily have reared on its strong hind limbs to feed on the higher tree branches. The deadly spikes attached to the tip of its powerful tail were used as a defense against predators in Late Jurassic Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. Found in the Cleveland Lloyd Quarry. U.S. National Museum. |
MoAW's mission is to educate a diverse audience about the history of ancient civilizations and prehistoric life using fossils and artifacts from a variety of cultures and time periods; to enhance universal curriculum development for local and surrounding school districts, colleges, and universities while establishing museum diversity for the Coachella Valley.
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Saturday
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.
The last admission is taken one hour before closing.
Admission:
$15.00 Adults
$12.00 Students, Seniors, & Military
$ 3.00 Discount available for Coachella Valley Residents
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, MoAW is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association, the American Alliance of Museums, and the California Association of Museums.
|
|
Coming Attraction
March through September 2022
the Museum of Ancient Wonders
presents
|
VESSELS OF THE GODS
Treasures of the Ancient Greeks
1650 to 410 B.C.E
Reflecting the brilliance of a millennium of ancient Aegean culture, four distinct periods produced the designs of these vases: Minoan, Mycenaean, Corinthian, and Attic. Essentially consisting of silhouetted figures drawn against a background of red, black, or white, this art form gradually dies out after the Persian wars, c. 475-450 B.C.E. Shaped and painted by hand, these exquisite reproductions were created in Greece by master artists from the originals housed in The National Museum, Athens, The Heraklion Museum, The Thera Museum, The Corinth Museum, The Delphi Museum, The Louvre Museum, The Vatican Museum, and The Museo Civico, Brescia.
Please, feel free to preview this collection on MoAW's website: www.moaw.org
|
Next Week:
Do you have a favorite piece at MoAW you would like to see highlighted in our weekly email? You can visit www.moaw.org, see the collections tab, visit the catalogs, and view Spotlights From The Past.
|
Members Perks
So many reasons to join MoAW, you help keep the museum open, allow us to acquire new treasured artifacts and fossil displays, plan and present programs, to help local students learn about ancient civilizations and prehistoric life.
The newest perk of membership: Free admission to over 1,200 museums nationwide through the North American Reciprocal Museum Program (NARM) Plus, discounts at their museum shops and restaurants (if given to their members). Local museums include the Palm Springs Art Museum and Cabot's Pueblo Museum, several museums in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, throughout California, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia, plus Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. This is available to all members at the Donor Level ($125.00) or higher. Current members who qualify will be receiving new membership cards with the NARM logo to be used at participating museums.
Current members who would like to upgrade their membership to take advantage of this new benefit please give us a call, (442) 268-5004.
Click below for more information and to join.
THANK YOU
|
ON DISPLAY EXCLUSIVELY
AT THE
MUSEUM OF ANCIENT WONDERS
|
FACES OF AFRICA:
A Mystical View of
Tribal Heritage
(38 Replica Masks and Sculptures)
|
TUTANKHAMUN:
"Wonderful Things"
Treasures From The Pharaoh's Tomb
(124 Egyptian replicas)
|
MESOZOICA:
The Age of Dinosaurs
(Approximately 100 fossil-cast dinosaur elements and fully-mounted skeletons from around the world.)
|
LUCY:
The Story of Human Origins
(Courtesy of the Institute of Human Origins and the National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa)
On view exclusively at the
Museum of Ancient Wonders
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
