Can You See the Vulcan Salute in the Eye of a Stegosaurus?
Vacation photos are some of my favorite, especially the fun ones. Don't get me wrong, I love the ones that turn out like postcards too, but how many of those get comments on Facebook compared to the ones where you were being totally silly and having the time of your life?
Have fun with your photos! That's what vacation is for...well, that and relaxing, of course. As much as I love lying on the beach with a cool drink and a good book, I also love sightseeing (tourATLANTA is rather telling of that fact, right?). And vacation is such a great opportunity for some unique photographs.
Practically everyone who knows me knows that I'm an overly enthusiastic science fiction fan, especially where Star Trek is concerned. I've recently, almost subconsciously, been creating a series of Vulcan salute photos.
This particular photo is especially cool to me because before I wanted to be an astronaut I wanted to be an archeologist. I eventually went to excavation sites in Wyoming and Greece and I also worked in aerospace for quite a few years. I even got to meet Leonard Nimoy in 2002 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Louis and Mary Leakey were my heroes when I was a kid. If you look closely into the eye of the Stegosaurus, you'll see me offering the Vulcan salute! How's that for connecting two of my life's passions?
So, bring your camera and have some fun. You don't have to publish the photos you take, but it's great to have the option to do so instead of never having taken the photos at all...especially the fun ones.
"Live long and prosper...and make fun vacation photos!"
ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!
Stegosaurus at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History
There's a life-size Stegosaurus behind the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Be sure to go out on the back patio area or at least peer out of the windows on the ground floor level or you might miss this spectacular giant. And this Stegosaurus is special.
Crafted by Jonas Studios, this Stegosaurus is a replica of the Stegosaurus that debuted at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, along with eight other also life-size dinosaurs. The exhibition, Sinclair Dinoland, spawned greater imagination and interest in the giants who once ruled the world.
The original Stegosaurus model, after a national tour, took up residence at the Dinosaur National Monument on the Colorado and Utah border, which is within the area where Jurassic Period Stegosaurus fossils have been found.
At the same World's Fair, Ford Motor Company debuted on April 17, 1964, in the Ford pavilion, their brand new car, the Ford Mustang.
ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!
At first glance you might not think that Fernbank has a lot of dinosaurs, but don't be fooled. They're everywhere … and in some unexpected places.
Every visit to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History is met with dinosaurs: at your greeting, in front of you, in back of you, inside, outside, overhead and underfoot, on the sidelines in hallways and featured prominently in galleries.
ATLANTAvidz: Fernbank Dinosaurs
The Welcoming Committee
Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Driving or walking into the Fernbank "estate" off of Clifton Road, you see a stately building flanked by columns kindred to those that would have been at ancient sacred sites (at least accordingly to Hollywood). Immediately in front of the building is a trio of dinosaurs ready to greet, not eat, visitors (they're herbivores, so no worries).
This "welcoming committee" is a family of Lophorhothon atopus as they would have looked 65-144 million years ago right here in Georgia. The Lophorhothon atopus is of the Hadrosaurs lineage, also a duck-billed species.
Poised on a rocky outcropping with waterfalls and a pond, the family beckons visitors to say "hello" on their way into the Museum. And you can learn more about the family's origins on the rail surrounding their habitat.
The Giants
Giants of the Mesozoic
The Giants of the Mesozoic gallery in Fernbank's multi-story Great Hall is occupied by three very large dinosaurs. The largest in the collection also happens to be the largest dinosaur to ever walk the Earth…the Argentinosaurus. Also members of the trio are a Giganotosaurus, and a pterosaurs.
The three are from present-day Patagonia, Argentina, during the Late Cretaceous Period. They are cast from the original fossil skeletons that still reside in Argentina as national treasures.
One of the surprises on this particular tour was the discovery of numerous fossils at the base of the Giants. To name a few, they include: a fossil turtle shell, a fossil frog, a fossil pterosaur, a fossil crocodile, and a fossil pine cone…the latter one being distinctly apropos given the large number of Georgia Pines in our locale.
So, when you're checking out the giant dinosaurs, remember to look down from time to time.
Walk Through Time
Ruling Dinosaurs
Another of Fernbank's permanent exhibits is home to several more dinosaurs and three very large dinosaur murals, A Walk Through Time in Georgia’s Ruling Dinosaurs gallery, one of 16 in this signature exhibition.
In A Walk Through Time, visitors learn about Georgia's natural history through models, dioramas, and videos. A Tyrannosaurus Rex is the main star in the Ruling Dinosaurs gallery, but I'm particularly fond of the Pterodactyl.
In the Backyard
For a walnut-sized brain, the Stegosaurus is one of the most recognized dinosaurs from the Jurassic period. Of course, you have to find him to recognize him. The one at Fernbank can be found on the back patio (not unlike the occasional stray cat or raccoon you find on back patios here in the South).
Stegosaurus
This particular Stegosaurus comes with a little notoriety, however.
It's a replica of the Stegosaurus that was one of nine life-size models unveiled at the 1964-1965 World's Fair in New York City. Created by Louis Paul Jonas, of Jonas Studios, his work is considered ground-breaking for paleo-artists, even to this day.
There are dinosaurs for everyone at Fernbank, including the two-dimensional, photo opportunity species.
While exploring the Museum, I saw two County Fair-type boards with painted dinosaur scenes with holes for visitors’ heads for making photo memories. There's one with three holes and one with two.
While passing one of them, I ran into a very lovely family that was having so much fun that I couldn't resist requesting that they allow me to include them in this post. I didn't get their names, but you can see on their faces their excitement of being around the Giants of the Mesozoic and other dino friends.
The Return
Do I think I'll return to Fernbank anytime soon? I can hardly wait to see their new special exhibit, "Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns, and Mermaids." It opens Saturday, February 19, 2011, and I'll be there!
Touring Fernbank Natural History Museum
Date toured: Saturday, February 12, 2011 Location: 767 Clifton Road, NE (directions and map) Parking: Free onsite parking Cost: $15 Adults; $14 Seniors and Students; $13 Children Hours: Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday noon-5:00 p.m. Website: http://www.fernbankmuseum.org/
