Travelling Dinosaur Exhibition Rental

DINOSAUR EGGS & BABIES

Hatching the Past: Dinosaur Eggs & Babies takes a rare and exciting look at the life of dinosaurs through their eggs, nests, and embryos. The exhibition blends the arts and sciences with an astounding array of dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all over the globe, including those of each major plant and meat-eating dinosaur group.

This exhibition was first developed in 2002 by StoneCompany.com with the support of Harvard Museum of Natural History. Following its success in the US, Hatching the Past started its international tour in 2008.

Gondwana Studios offers institutions the opportunity to host this unique and captivating exhibition, which will be custom designed to suit individual requirements.

Take a rare and exciting look at the life of dinosaurs through their eggs, nests and embryos in Hatching the Past: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies. This remarkable hands-on exhibition offers an astounding array of dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all over the globe – including those of each of the major plant and meat-eating dinosaur groups.

Although dinosaur eggs were first identified in the 1920’s, their scientific significance was not fully appreciated until the end of the 20th century. Today, dinosaur eggs are recognized for their enormous scientific value and for offering fascinating details and fresh insights into the behaviour, growth, and evolution of dinosaurs.

Hatching the Past presents new discoveries about dinosaur reproduction and behaviour and introduces some of the fascinating people and science behind these discoveries. This multi-media experience helps give credence to long debated theories that dinosaurs and birds are closely related.

A captivating experience for all ages, Hatching the Past invites visitors to touch real dinosaur bones and reconstructed nests-one more than eight feet in diameter, dig for eggs, experience hands-on exploration stations, and view animated video presentations featuring well known dinosaur experts. Each science-rich section is enhanced with exciting life-like models of embryos and hatchlings, colourful illustrations of dinosaur family life and stunning photographs of some of the world’s most renowned dinosaur hunters and their discoveries.

The amazing collection of fossils on view includes a bowling ball-sized egg of a sauropod from Argentina – laid by a long-necked plant-eating titanosaur that lived 75 million years ago; a large cluster of eggs laid by a duck-billed, plant-eating dinosaur, and the longest dinosaur eggs ever discovered – almost 18 inches long – laid by a new giant species of oviraptor, a carnivorous, ostrich-like dinosaur.

A central feature of the exhibit is “Baby Louie,” – the nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur embryo with its bones aligned in the proper position. Charlie Magovern made this exceptional and rare discovery when he was carefully cleaning a large block of eggs from China. He nicknamed the embryo after National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos. Visitors can also view an animated presentation about the discovery of “Baby Louie.”

Exhibition Includes:

More than 150 authentic replicas and fossils of dinosaur eggs from different parts of the world, representing different families of dinosaurs.
Replicas of complete dinosaur skeletons (15 articulated).
Dinosaur skulls illustrating their different stages of growth.
Scale reconstructions, including 6 models of embryos and offspring, made by well-known paleo-sculptors Brian Cooley, Dennis Wilson and William Monteleone.
Interactive stations, including 3 excavation pits to unearth fossils, 8 ‘touch’ eggs, 2 stations with magnifying glasses to observe dinosaur skin, 5 ‘question and answer’ stations, and 1 authentic dinosaur bone to touch.
4 documentaries featuring expert paleontologists Robert Bakker, Phillip Currie, Mark Norell and others (in English).
5 photographs mounted on large-format panels by National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos of the most famous ‘dinosaur hunters’ and their discoveries.
11 framed reproductions of paleo-art works by Luis Rey and Mark Hallett.
8 ‘Explore and Discover’ text panels.
7 section texts panels.

Specifications & Exhibition Display Area

The standard size of the exhibition is 300-600m2. However, it provides flexibility to accommodate larger or smaller rooms and exhibition spaces, depending on the requirements of the exhibition venue.

To be provided by the hosting venue:

Scenery, backdrops, lights and barriers.
Single-phase electrical supply.
Translation of text (if necessary) and production of text panels and graphics.
Transportation costs and insurance (transit and public liability) for exhibition.
Equipment required for access, installation and dismantling.
Skilled support staff to assist with installation and dismantling.
Storage facilities for transport cases.
Promotion and publicity.
Staffing during exhibition run.

Duration and Hire Fee

The standard duration of exposure is 3 months. Longer or shorter periods can be organized according to the requirements of the exhibition venue.

Lease fee available on request.

Audiences

The content of the exhibition has been designed to attract an audience made up of both adults accompanied by children (family groups) and educational and school groups, to whom it will provide a unique, interactive and stimulating experience.

Communication Objectives

The educational objectives of the exhibition are the following:

Promotion of learning about the family life of dinosaurs, and how they cared for their young.
Development of a greater appreciation of the importance of fossils of eggs, young and embryos in the study of dinosaurs.
Find out about fascinating paleontologists and their significant discoveries
Understanding of the complex ‘design’ of the egg structure.
Learn to identify eggs from different dinosaur groups, based on their shape and texture.