Member Magazine Winter 2019 Vol. 44 No. 1

t. rex: the ultimate predator opens march 2019

Dinosaur Digs, Past and Present 2 Design Hinterland,www.hinterlandstudio.com Karen Miller,ElenaSansalone Joan KellyContributors Bernard,JillHamilton, Editor Editorial DirectorEugeniaLevenson Magazine Director ofMembershipLouise Adler Vice andMembershipLaura President Lacchia ofDevelopment Rose President Chairman American MuseumofNaturalHistory Table of Contents Ellen President From the Next Jurassic Jackpot Fossil Field Journal Fast andFurious Close-Up 4 Whale Tales the Museum, at Night for Teachers Alanna Ruse V.

Ellen V. Futter Futter Lewis W. Bernard

As As the Museum to its prepares commemorate cultures on their own terms, not in relation to to relation in not terms, own their on cultures display in a museum to indigenous present cultural hall, Coast the Hall. iconic Northwest of of the Museum’s and gallery permanent first first of the centerpiece projects currently underway Western culture. Nevertheless, much has Western culture. changed Nevertheless, 150th anniversary in 150th 2019, anniversary it seems apt that one with the native communities that it celebrates, in over our thinking cultural about representation when it in opened It 1899. was the first cultural Northwest Coast Hall Northwest was radical considered is the renovation, conservation, and reimagining to ensure that the presentations are not just just not are presentations the that ensure to the restoration of the Hall in close collaboration the past century. And And so, we are now honored to be pursuing Franz by anthropologist Developed Boas, the 20 22 10 14 12 6 Vol. Permit #472-650 USPS ISSN Please sendquestions,ideas,andfeedback to to and atadditionalmailingoffices. Postmaster: please sendaddresschanges American Museum of NaturalHistory. Periodical postagepaidatNew York, NY of $75 peryear andhigherincludesasubscriptiontoRotunda . ©2019 Website: Phone: 212-769-5606. amnh.org.Museummembership 10024-5192. Museum ofNaturalHistory,Central Park West at79th Street,New York, NY Rotunda ispublishedby theMembershipOffice ofthe American , Membership Office, AMNH, attheabove address. Rotunda, MembershipOffice, AMNH, 44, No.1 0194-6110 , Winter 2019 20 4

chah-nulth artist and artist cultural chah-nulth historian Haa’yuups outside First Nations co-curator for the Hall. Nuu- Hall. the for co-curator Nations First outside appropriate and respectful but that the new Hall (Ron Hamilton) will Hamilton) (Ron work with the Museum’s of experiences and voices the reflects fully more refreshing this refreshing and gorgeous iconic Hall in ways we anniversary, are milestone thrilled to be in regarding cultural our representation galleries. provide an opportunity for institutional learning Most Most especially, as we prepare to our celebrate North North American Ethnology Curator Peter Whiteley these communities as these communities living cultures. the 21st century. century. 21st the for a that culturalheightened sensitivity reflect to oversee the restoration. To that end, the Museum has an appointed We willhope that Coast project the Northwest [email protected]. 22 12

D. Finnin/© AMNH, istock/richcarey, © AMNH, M. Shanley/© AMNH, © AMNH

D. Finnin/© AMNH Co-Curator Named for Northwest Coast Hall Restoration Rotunda / Winter 2019 / AMNH.org / Rotunda/ 2019 Winter art andmaterial cultureofthePacific Northwest ina way that faith inPeter Whiteley andhisentire crew.” ready forany andallchallengesthatwe willface.Ihave great Haa’yuups. “Iamsurethejobwillbeadaunting one, andIam a co-curatorintheredesignof Northwest Coast Hall,“said D.C. “Iamdeeplyhonoredforthe opportunitytoparticipateas and theNationalMuseumof American IndianinWashington, the Muséedel’HommeinParis, theBritishMuseuminLondon, collaborated withtheMuseoNacionaldeAntropología inMexico, First Nation,Nuu-chah-nulth.Over years, thepast30 hehas Head oftheHouseTakiishtakamthlat-h oftheHuupach’esat-h presentation ofculturaltreasures.” visit thereimaginedNorthwest Coast Hallanditsupdated perspective formillionsfromallover theworld whowill living andvibrantcultures.Haa’yuups willbringanimportant presenting theculturalandartisticexpression ofourworld’s productive dialogueisabsolutelycriticalinauthentically announced theappointment.“Close collaborationandongoing, first culturalgallery,”saidMuseum President Ellen Futter, who updating andenrichingtheMuseum’s very firsthallandits influential First Nations voices—is joiningoureffortsin North American Ethnology. Coast Hall,joiningPeter Whiteley, theMuseum’s curator of project toupdate,conserve, andrestorethehistoricNorthwest Haa’yuups (RonHamilton) was appointedasco-curatorofthe This fall,Nuu-chah-nulthartistand cultural historian Haa’yuups, pictured in the Museum’s Objects Conservation Laboratory during a visit last summer, has been appointed as co-curator of the Northwest Coast Hall restoration project. News “With thereimagining oftheHall,ourgoalisto presentthe Haa’yuups isanartist,scholar,andhistorianaswell asthe “We arethrilledthatHaa’yuups—one oftoday’s most atMuseum the

Kwakw master carver), Chief Ga’lasta authorities includingDavid Boxley (Tsimshian ofMetlakatla; advisors thatincludesNative core scholars,artists,andother often dividedmuseumsandNative communities.” as anew exemplar andtranscendtheboundariesthathave too goal aswe work tocreateamodernexhibition hallthatcanserve eagerly lookforward topartneringwith Haa’yuups toachieve that behind thesewonderful historicalpieces,”saidWhiteley. “I highlights theideas,voices, andperspectives pastandpresent Village and Museum,Hazelton). of Guuxsan;formerdirector andcurator of the (Laurel SmithWilson; Gitxsan, Fireweed Clan, House Management Department, BellaBella)andXsim Ganaa’w research liaisoncoordinatorofthe HeiltsukIntegratedResource Wákas (Harvey Heiltsuk,acommunity leaderandthe Humchitt; cultural researcherfortheNuxalk Nation),Chief Wigviłba Snxakila (Clyde Tallio; Nuxalk,orator,ceremonialist, and Musqueam; councillorfortheMusqueamFirst Nation,artist), University ofAlaska Fairbanks), secalenax Department ofAlaska Native StudiesandRuralDevelopment, Tlingit, Kwaashki’kwaan clan;assistant professorforthe “End oftheTrail House”),Judith Daxootsu Ramos(Yakutat Angoon Tlingit, head oftheRaven Beaver ShuHit House/Dei Museum at Kay Llnagaay), Kaa-xoo-auxch (GarfieldGeorge; Collison; HaidaNation, Ts’aahl clan; directoroftheHaidaGwaii assistant at U’mista Cultural Centre, Alert Bay), Jisgang(Nika The Museumisalsoconsultingwith adiverse groupof a k a ’wakw, Ha xwa’mis tribe; collectionsandeducation wikw (Trevor Isaac; w (Morgan Guerin; (MorganGuerin; Ksan Historical 3 4 Close-Up at the Museum 5

Cotton Coat Beyond Bark The Ainu, who historically lived by hunting, This dark blue cotton coat with white appliques from the Museum’s Anthropology fishing, plant gathering, and some farming, Collection is an exquisite example of traditional clothing of the Ainu, the also wore clothing made of “birdskin” and feathers indigenous people of Hokkaido, Japan’s second largest and northernmost island. from sea gulls, cormorants, and other birds; The coat is distinctive for being made primarily of cotton, which became more the hides of bear, deer, fox, and seal; and salmon common after the Ainu (pronounced EYE-noo, and the word for “human” in the and trout “fishskin.” Of these, only “bark” clothing Ainu language) began trading with the Japanese during the Edo era (1615–1868). persists today. The Ainu are better known for materials used in the so-called “bark” clothes— robes made of attush, fibers spun from the inner bark of the elm tree, or retarpe, Fantastic Fiber white fibers made from nettles. Wooden fibers weren’t just used to make robes. While men gathered the raw materials, weaving, sewing, and decorating The traditional ceremonial headpieces, called clothing was done by Ainu women. Basic designs were passed from mother to sapaunpe, worn by Ainu men were made from daughter, and young women were expected to combine and vary these to create wood fiber and often decorated with wooden their own patterns. Each garment was unique, crafted with the wearer in mind. carvings of bears, wolves, and other animals. The patterns themselves were not intended to represent anything, but the finished product was meant to protect the person wearing it and to please the gods the Ainu Museum Polymath Hawksbill sea turtle believe dwell in everything on Earth, from wind to water, animals to household This coat was collected in the Shiraoi implements. Some scholars have suggested the patterns might echo the tattoos, subprefecture of Hokkaido in 1901 by Bashford on their lips, hands, and arms, for which the Ainu women were once known. Dean (1867–1928), the Museum’s first curator As a minority group, the Ainu were forcibly assimilated and, beginning in the of fishes, while he was in Japan on a zoological Meiji era (1868–1912), prohibited from hunting, fishing, and speaking their own expedition. Dean was also a curator at Coral Cleaners Radiant Reptile language. They were also forced to use Japanese names. In recent years, efforts the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he Hawksbill sea turtles play an essential role in to preserve the Ainu language and culture gained momentum, and in 2008, assembled a collection of arms and armor the life of coral reefs, plucking out sponges, their In the special exhibition Unseen Oceans, visitors come upon a brilliant floor-to- a resolution of the Japanese parliament recognized the Ainu as a people with that draws visitors to this day. main food source, from the reef’s surface. This ceiling spiral of models of underwater species biofluorescing just as they would a “distinct language, religion, and culture.” in turn provides better access for reef fish to feed in life. Among the catsharks, breams, and other fishes reflecting neon greens and An Ainu Gift and may give the corals a favorable edge in the reds is a glowing reptile: a hawksbill sea turtle. For more from the Museum’s ethnographic collection, visit the Division To mark President Barack Obama’s 2014 competition with the sponges for space. Only three years ago, this species, Eretmochelys imbricata, wouldn’t have of Anthropology’s database at amnh.org/our-research/anthropology. visit to Japan, the Hokkaido Ainu Association made the cut. But on a night dive during a July 2015 expedition to the Solomon sent him a traditional Ainu garment in hopes Threats to Survival Islands in search of biofluorescent corals, Museum researchers discovered that of bringing the Ainu people and culture to his Since 1996, the hawksbill sea turtle has been the hawksbill sea turtle glows, too. They were using a special camera equipped attention. The dark robe featured red, white, listed as critically endangered by the with blue lights when, about 65 feet (20 meters) down, a bright-colored turtle and blue geometric patterns. International Union for Conservation of Nature. suddenly popped into view like a “UFO…a bright red and green spaceship,” Threats include habitat destruction, disease, recalls Museum Research Associate David Gruber. Scientists suspect that some, pollution, and poaching for their prized and if not all, of the red glow might be produced by algae living on the turtles’ shells— uniquely patterned tortoiseshell. Another huge but more research is needed. threat is fishing gear, which entangles turtles Meanwhile, another group of scientists at the Museum has spent more than and prevents them from surfacing for air. a decade studying hawksbill sea turtles at the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, a remote ring of islets and associated marine habitats in the Pacific Plastics Peril Ocean. When the research program began in 2005—run by the Museum’s Researchers are turning increasing attention Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) along with scientists from the to the ingestion of plastic debris by sea turtles. City University of New York, U.S. Geological Survey, and National Institute for More work is needed to assess the health risks, Standards and Technology—very little was known about the highly migratory but one recent study estimated that more species and its life at the atoll. Since then, in-water habitat studies using acoustic than half of all sea turtles from all seven species and satellite telemetry have advanced understanding of these turtles—as well as worldwide have eaten plastic, while another that of Palmyra’s green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), their genetics, interactions found that the two species most at risk are the with their habitats, feeding habits, and the health of both populations, including hawksbill and the green sea turtles. their distribution and movement around the atoll and the broader Pacific. “By studying the ecology and behavior of the healthy turtles at this critical Numbers Game foraging ground, we are able to deepen understanding of these endangered Here is another twist to the future survival of this species and also inform conservation management plans for the Atoll and across species: the sex of the hatchlings is determined the Pacific,” says Eleanor Sterling, Jaffe Chief Conservation Scientist at the CBC. by the temperature of the developing eggs: below 81.86° F means male, above 87.8° F, female, See a model of a glowing hawkswbill sea turtle in Unseen Oceans, and fluctuating temperatures, a mix. Warming which is free for Members. nesting sites caused by climate change may result Catalog no. 70/3954

in a disastrous preponderance of females. Page 4: istock/richcarey; Page 5: © AMNH

6 7 opening in march t. rex: the ultimate predator fast and furious

tyrannosaurus rex grew at record speed. what was it like before it got huge?

there’s still a lot we don’t know about the Cretaceous Period’s most famous predator, Tyrannosaurus rex. One thing is for sure: T. rex was a giant. Its size is one of the extinct dinosaur’s most impressive features—along with its bone-crushing bite and disproportionally tiny arms, of course. Getting a fuller understanding of T. rex the giant requires scientists to try to learn more about T. rex as a tyke—before it was a mega-predator and, when it was still something else’s prey—as well as its lesser-known, lesser-sized relatives. “When people think about Tyrannosaurus rex, they think that means all tyrannosaurs were big and mean,” says Mark Norell, Macaulay Curator in the Division of Paleontology, and curator of the new exhibition T. rex: The Ultimate Predator. “But that’s totally not true. Some of the earliest tyrannosaurs were quite small animals.”

Rotunda / Winter 2019 / AMNH.org 8 9 opening in march t. rex: the ultimate predator

growth spurt Like many living species,T. rex hatchlings started out a fraction of the size of an adult dinosaur—which could weigh upward of 15,000 pounds, or about the same as five compact cars. But what the small theropods lacked in size, they made up for in speed: scientists think that T. rex gained up to 4.6 pounds a day, or an astonishing 1,690 pounds per year, until its early 20s.

A ferociously rapid growth rate was one of the things that set T. rex apart from its Mesozoic peers. It matured at an Juvenile exceptionally quick clip for a dinosaur, leaping way ahead in size Tyrannosaurs were notable of other tyrannosaur species like Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus polyphyodonts, replacing teeth around age 12. That gave this predator a distinct advantage: by throughout their lifetime like growing out of its young and vulnerable phase quickly, T. rex modern crocodiles and sharks do. For juveniles, the process would could spend about 30 percent of its lifetime as one of the largest occur every six months, with predators ever to walk the Earth. Compare that to modern a full replacement every crocodilians—close cousins that grow very slowly and, while two years as adults. reaching relatively massive sizes, attain only a fraction of the size and weight of an adult T. rex. Paleontologists have derived T. rex’s stunning growth rate Member Preview Days For by examining a cross-section of fossilized bones for growth T. rex: The Ultimate Predator lines—markings that are similar to tree rings, and present in Friday, March 8 nearly all vertebrates. For dinosaurs like T. rex, researchers often Saturday, March 9 following the family tree sample the thigh bone (femur). Gregory Erickson, a biologist Sunday, March 10 Growth rates also allow scientists to peek back at an animal’s Erickson is squarely on the Jane-the-T. rex-juvenile side of the at Florida State University, has also found success sampling the 10 am–5 pm early years. Scientists have yet to find a T. rex hatchling fossil. But debate, putting the animal’s age at 11. “We know from looking at pelvis, calf bone (fibula), ribs, gastralia, and skull bones. And as Registration required recent studies based on the growth curve of T. rex suggest that other tyrannosaurs, such as the Late Cretaceous Asian species with trees, bone growth rings offer a glimpse into an organism’s call 212-769-5200 these animals would have been around 2 feet long straight out of Tarbosaurus, there are similar characteristics suggesting Jane is life history: in T. rex, wide gaps between lines record growth the egg, and as juveniles may have weighed as little as 10 pounds. a juvenile: the proportions of the skull, the bone fusions, how big spurts at early ages, and lines that form closer together show Erickson says these gangly dinosaurs would have had long the eye is, and the shape of the bone over the nose and eyes that a slowdown in growth as the animal approached adulthood. See T. rex: The Ultimate Predator before legs and proportionally longer arms than adults (though not by change as they mature,” he says. “My data suggest it’s an animal “If you can figure out the growth curve of an animal, you can it opens to the public! A weekend of much). They also would have had the ability to run quickly—a still growing. It fits right on the T. rex growth curve.” figure out how fast it grew, how it matured, how it became either exclusive Member Preview Days begins useful strategy for a defenseless animal trying to survive to a giant or a dwarf,” says Erickson. “You can infer metabolic on Friday, March 8. adulthood. (For instance, about 60 percent likely died in their first living evidence rates—and even at what size and age they typically died from the Everyone knows Tyrannosaurus rex. year of life, according to Erickson.) But even nearly complete fossils like Jane offer scientists an diversity of recovered skeletons.” But did you know how this mega-predator Along with growth curves, paleontologists have also looked incomplete picture—small pieces of a large, complex puzzle. “One evolved to become the most fearsome to other tyrannosaurs—a group that’s bigger, and better studied, of the bigger challenges of paleontology is often we don’t have carnivore of the Mesozoic? The Museum’s today than ever before— for additional clues about how T. rex much to work with,” says Erickson. “We’re like forensic scientists, Spring 2019 exhibition is curated by Mark may have developed and behaved. “Over half the animals on the except that we’re looking at 65-million-year-old remains.” Norell, Macaulay Curator in the Division of tyrannosaur family tree were unknown 20 years ago,” says Norell. That’s why researchers are increasingly going beyond fossils, Paleontology, with consulting by Gregory Erickson has looked to Tarbosaurus to glean more clues about looking to T. rex’s closest living relatives—crocodiles and birds—for Erickson, professor of anatomy and vertebrate juvenile T. rex. As a youngster, Tarbosaurus had a short snout and clues about how it lived and what it looked like. For example, paleontology at Florida State University. teeth designed for slicing flesh—but not yet adequate for crushing Erickson has studied the bite force of saltwater crocodiles—the The exhibition will introduce you to the entire bone. Young Tarbosaurus would have pursued smaller, perhaps strongest on record for a living animal, at 3,700 pounds—to tyrannosaur family through fossils and life- faster prey until it grew into the body mass and bite force to go arrive at a bite force estimate of nearly 8,000 pounds for T. rex. sized models of hatchlings, juveniles, and after larger game. Researchers have also compared the musculature of birds to T. a full-grown, towering T. rex, with engaging rex skulls to get a better sense of its facial shape. interactives and a VR experience that will tiny tyrannosaur or teenage t. rex? And there’s much more left to discover—fossils to unearth, Life expectancy for T. rex improved significantly as it grew, clues to find in modern animals’ anatomy and behavior. More Hatchling reveal the amazing story of the most iconic dinosaur in the world. Warning: you may but juvenile fossil specimens are very rare. When a specimen than 100 years after Museum paleontologist Barnum Brown Like the Late Cretaceous never think of T. rex the same way again. is discovered, paleontologists run up against another problem: found the first fossilized skeletons of the world’s ultimate predator, theropod Ornithomimus, T. rex may have sported feathers. how to confirm that a fossil is of a young animal, not of an adult we know more about T. rex than ever before, and yet “we’re just Hatchlings would have used feathers of a smaller, totally new species? coming to grasp what it was really like,” says Erickson. to stay warm and to provide T. rex: The Ultimate Predator is generously In 2003, scientists from the Burpee Museum of Natural History camouflage. AlthoughT. rex supported by Dana and Virginia Randt. in Illinois discovered a nearly complete tyrannosaur skeleton T. Rex: The Ultimate Predator opens in March and is free for Members. is known to have been scaly in northwest Montana that measured 20 feet long and 7 feet tall. as an adult, it may have retained some feathers T. rex: The Ultimate Predator is generously Whether “Jane,” as the specimen is known, is a juvenile T. rex for display. supported by Chase Private Client. or a yet-to-be described smaller tyrannosaur species has experts

Illustration by Zhao Chuang; Courtesy of Xi’an Yiniao Age Culture Media Co. divided to this day.

Rotunda / Winter 2019 / AMNH.org 10 11

fossi l 1

In Wyoming, Museum researchers 4 field are excavating a 5 jou rnal rich late-Jurassic site. 1. One of the two field sites, Cosm 5. Some field techniques haven’t Quarry, is exposed on a cliff— changed since the 1930s. Plaster adding a degree of difficulty. fossil jackets like this one help protect fossils during transport. 2. Mateus and Norell confer about a fossil specimen. 6. Senior Museum Specialist Carl Mehling exposes part of a bone 3. Norell and Mateus expect that in a vertical wall. the site will be excavated for years to come. 7. A theropod tooth, possibly from an Allosaurus, was one of the finds. 4. Graduate student Alexandra Fernandes, who is also a Museum 8. The Cosm Quarry features volunteer, works to expose a fossil. particularly hard rock, requiring a jackhammer.

8

2

3

6 the morrison formation may not be a household name. But the dinosaur species that have been found in this late- seasons, focusing on two locales in Wyoming in partnership with Jurassic time capsule—beginning in the late 19th century, the Nova University of Lisbon, Portugal. The results, both in the when railroad companies first disturbed it while laying scale and quality of fossil discoveries, are exciting. tracks out West—certainly are. You know them as Stegosaurus, “I have 20 years of experience in excavations, and I’ve never Apatosaurus, and Allosaurus. seen a site as rich as this one, with packs of skeletons one on 7 “It’s one of the most iconic formations within paleontology, top of the other,” says Octavio Mateus, a professor at Nova because it extends all the way from southern Canada to University and a Museum research associate. One hypothesis Mexico,” says Mark Norell, Macaulay Curator in the Division is that the area was once home to a wide river, which swept up of Paleontology at the Museum. “It’s the place where the first and preserved a large number of animals. great dinosaur discoveries were made in North America.” Last summer, two teams tag-teamed on a six-week Museum paleontologists made some of those famous early expedition, removing layers of rock, unearthing new finds beginning in the 1890s, with excavations at sites like Bone specimens, and jacketing them in plaster for transport on Cabin Quarry and Como Bluff and, later, Howe Quarry (see p. 12). their way to preparation, study and, eventually, a place in the But there’s more to uncover in the Morrison Formation, especially Museum’s growing collection. Here is a quick glimpse into in the relatively understudied northern portion, which is why what goes on during a modern-day dinosaur dig. a Museum team has been working there for the past three field This Constantine S. Niarchos Expedition was generously D. Finnin/© AMNH supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Rotunda / Winter 2019 / AMNH.org jackpot site at Howe Quarry. survey the fossil-rich Expedition team members jurassic Barnum Brown uncovered a treasure trove treasure a uncovered Brown Barnum of dinosaur fossils on a Wyoming ranch. In the 1930s, Museum paleontologist

© AMNH/Credit for Placement Only

© AMNH, R. Mickens/©AMNH preserved sauropodskintissues—thefirst ever found;sauropod several carnivorous dinosaurs,includingsomefromAllosaurus; age sauropodsandornithischiandinosaurs;teethbelongingto exactly how themassgrave cametobe. the mapbecameintegraltoday-to-day operationsandtodeducing had beenfound.Now housedinthe Museum’s ResearchLibrary, chart anddraw acorrespondingmap,recordingwhereeachbone rookie expedition teammemberRoland T. Birdtocreateaquarry and mudstonebed.Instead,Brown acceptedasuggestionfrom two months,theteam didn’tremove asinglebonefromthesand between individual dinosaurswas tostudythemonlocation.For Brown inhisaccountforNaturalHistory . interlocked inaconfusedandalmostinextricable manner,”wrote dinosaurs, theirskeletalremainscrossed,crisscrossed,locked,and “Instead oftwo sauropod skeletons,therewas averitable herdof to realizethatthey hadstumbledontosomethingexceptional. Dinosaurs—Brown was determinedtodigattheranch. which arenow onview intheMuseum’s HallofOrnithischian in nearby locales—includingSauropelta and hillside. Having already uncovered otherdinosaurskeletons large sauropodlegboneslay partiallyexposed ontheproperty’s the BigHornBasininWyoming Several andMontanain1932. its dinosaursfromalocalcollectorwhilescoutingforfossilsin surprising. Brown hadfirstheardoftheBarkerHowe Ranchand mysterious animals. feet—amassgraveyard by 65 area measuring45 forancient, fossil bonesinjustsixmonths,allfromasmall,denselypacked as Mr. Bonesandhisteamhaduncovered approximately 4,000 just outsideofShell,Wyoming. There, thepaleontologistknown the previous year’s expedition atHowe Quarry, locatedonaranch and entombmentcouldbereadwithsuchclarity,”hewroteabout prehistoric remains,orseenonewherethestoryoftheirdeath of hislifetime. in thousands offossilsfortheMuseumstartingin1896—declared who discovered Tyrannosaurus andhadcollected rexin1902 Rotunda / Winter 2019 / AMNH.org / Rotunda/ 2019 Winter In Natural Historymagazinethathehadmadethefossildiscovery June Emanuel Tschopp. Postdoctoral fellow As Brown’s expedition teamworked, they foundmoreJurassic- He decidedthebestway todeterminetherelationships Work anditdidn’ttakelongfortheteam beganonJune1,1934, The sheerscaleofthefind was staggering—andcompletely “Never have Iuncovered amoreinterestingdepositof 1935, Barnum Brown —the world-famous paleontologist Tenontosaurus, other,” says Tschopp. time period,andhow they managedtoexist alongsideeach animals were livingtogetheratthesameplaceduring reassessing thecollectiontoday. map —akey documentthatprovides researcherswithcontext for of softtissues,andidentifybonesbasedonBird’s originalquarry preserved braincases andchemicalanalysis ofpossibleremains collection tocleanandpreparefossils,conductCT scansof Mehling andMuseumvolunteers, Tschopp isdivingintothe Curator intheDivision ofPaleontology. as apostdoctoralresearcherwithMarkNorell,Macaulay the Museumtowork withtheoriginalHowe Quarry collection of thehistoricHowe Quarry site,Tschopp madehisway to inthevicinity siberi. After conductingadditionaldigswith SMA was anew species—KaatedocusSauriermuseum Aathal (SMA) a sauropodspecimencollectedatHowe Quarry by Switzerland’s the reasonIbecameapaleontologist,”hesays. School, who’s picking upwhereBrown leftoff.“Howe Quarry is postdoctoral fellow attheMuseum’s RichardGilderGraduate tucked away incratesfordecades—untillastyear. examining hisfinds. And so,theHowe Quarry collectionremained prevented Brown fromreturningtoHowe Quarry orfromproperly juvenile sauropodonview intheTheodore Roosevelt Rotunda.) fossil castsfromthesamespecimenhave beenintegratedintothe in theSauropodsatMuseumexhibit onthefourthfloor,and and skullofaKaatedocus siberifromHowe Quarry canbeseen expedition were ever preparedorplacedonview. (The neck dinosaurs fromthefindhimself,onlyafew specimensfromthe Brown hadhopedtodescribeseveral new speciesofnon-avian any expedition inBrown’s longandstoriedcareer. Butwhile pounds, it was thesecond-largestsingleshipmentfrom of 69,000 and shippedinabox carbacktotheMuseum.Weighing atotal a sticky,muddydeathtrap. rushed intoawatering holethatturnedouttobe into focus:agroupofsauropods,spookedby stalkingpredators, stomach stones;andmore.Aprehistoricsceneslowly came a historic paleontological puzzle. and then you, too, can see what it takes to piece together “Dino Facebook page at Facebook Group “Dino Detectives.” with archival photos and historic documents, on the Museum’s and colleagues are publishing updates on their progress, along new finds from the historic Howe Quarry collection? Tschopp Interested in following along as the Museum’s team uncovers A “We’re tryingtofigureoutwhichspeciesoftheseenormous With ateamthatincludesSeniorMuseumSpecialistCarl As aPh.D.-degree candidate,Tschopp haddiscovered that Enter paleontologistEmanuelTschopp, aTheodore Roosevelt A seriesofunfortunatecircumstances,andWorld War II, The Howe Quarry cases materialwas packedintoabout140

Prehistoric You’ll be asked to answer three questions about dinosaurs— Here’s how to join: Look for “groups” on the Museum’s Detectives,” then “join.”

Puzzle facebook.com/naturalhistory. Click on

13 14 Next at the Museum 15

Programs and Exhibits Into The Deep: February SciCafe: The Science of Love Hall Tour: Akeley Hall Accessibility Programs An Immersive Oceans Course The Terrain Of Venus Wednesday, February 6 of African Mammals For more programs and Five Tuesdays, With Martha Gilmore Doors open at 6:30 pm Saturday, February 9 To learn more, email accessibility@ to purchase tickets, January 15–February 12 Monday, February 4 Program begins at 7 pm 10:30 am amnh.org or call 212-313-7565. visit amnh.org/calendar. 6–8 pm 7:30 pm Free Free Visitors who are blind or partially For updates and reminders, $240 $20 For adults 21+ with ID Registration required; sighted are invited to attend tours sign up for monthly Calendar Join Mercer Brugler as he takes Explore the surface of Venus, What is love? Turns out, call 212-769-5200 highlighting exhibits through verbal Highlights for Members by us on a deep dive into the the planet named for the it’s all in your head. Join This guided tour of the Akeley descriptions and touchable objects. sending your membership science behind the Unseen Roman goddess of love. What neuroscientist Bianca J. Marlin Hall of African Mammals takes The Museum also offers tours for number and request to subscribe Oceans exhibition during this can Venus’ oldest rocks tell us as she discusses her research visitors across the diverse both deaf and hearing audiences to [email protected]. The five-part immersive course. about the history of water on on the strong emotional topography of Africa, from the that are simultaneously signed and Museum does not trade, rent, Featured guest scientists The Art Of Diorama this nearby world? Planetary bonds that can exist between Serengeti Plain to the waters of spoken. And our Discovery Squad or sell this information. and experts will offer a close Six Thursdays, geologist Martha Gilmore humans, like those between the Upper Nile, to spot giraffes, Tours were developed specifically look at into some of the January 24–February 28 describes her research parents and children. Marlin’s zebras, and gazelles in their for families affected by autism Tickets oceans’ most awe-inspiring 7–9:30 pm studying our neighboring work investigates the use of natural habitats. spectrum disorders. January characteristics—from $195 planet’s terrain using neurochemicals like oxytocin Tickets are available by phone Hall Tour: Birds of the World bioluminescent organisms and (Materials are included) surface mapping and orbital (the “love drug”) as a potential Discovery Room at 212-769-5200, Monday–Friday, Saturday, January 12 giant squids to the unexplored For adults 18+ spectroscopy. treatment to strengthen fragile Free 9 am–5 pm, or by visiting amnh.org. 10:30 am or 1:30 pm depths of the oceans’ most Museum exhibition specialist and broken relationships. Monday–Thursday, 1:30–5:30 pm Please have your membership Free mysterious regions. This Tom Doncourt leads an after- Saturday, Sunday, and public number ready. Registration required; course takes place inside the hours look at our legendary Lunchtime Bird Walks school holidays, 10:30 am–1:25 pm Availability may be limited. call 212-769-5200 Unseen Oceans exhibition. dioramas. Discover how the In Central Park and 2:15–5:10 pm Please purchase tickets in advance. From the isolated regions Museum’s dioramas are made Six Tuesdays, Please be aware that ticket of the high Alps to Argentina’s from start to finish and hear February 5–March 12 The Discovery Room offers families, sales are final for all Member pampas lowlands, see how behind-the-scenes stories Noon–1:30 pm and especially children ages 5-12, programs. All programs go birds around the world have about how they were produced. $50 an interactive gateway to the ahead rain or shine. There are adapted to their habitats when In this six-part series, you’ll Glimpse owls and woodpeckers Milstein Science Series wonders of the Museum and a no refunds unless the program you join us for a guided tour in travel the world through some in the woods, finches and Sunday, February 17 hands-on, behind-the scenes look is canceled by the Museum. the Hall of Birds of the World. of our most popular exhibits sparrows in the fields, and 11 am–5 pm at its science. Please check amnh.org for and create your own miniature ducks and gulls in the lakes as Milstein Hall of Ocean Life Member ticket prices for live replica to take home. ornithologist Paul Sweet guides Free Gateway Storytime animal exhibits and giant-screen you through three Central This weekend series presents Free 2D and 3D films. Park habitats to observe the afternoon programs that give On Friday mornings during the Information about programs various bird species that call visitors a chance to interact school year, children ages 2–5 are is current as of November 30, 2018. New York City home. with scientists, discover invited to the Discovery Room for Please check amnh.org/calendar amazing animals, and storytime. Space is limited and for updates. celebrate science under the tickets are distributed on a first- iconic blue whale. come, first-served basis.

T. rex: The Ultimate Predator Unseen Oceans The Butterfly Conservatory Backyard Wilderness Free opening in march Free Free Members enjoy special benefits 2d and 3d Everyone knows Tyrannosaurus Unseen Oceans explores our blue This popular live-animal Discover the unexpected wonders rex. But do you know how this planet’s defining feature—the exhibition features up to 500 of nature that are in our own mega-predator evolved to become world’s oceans—as revealed free-flying tropical butterflies neighborhoods and communities. the most fearsome carnivore through 21st-century technology. from the Americas, Africa, Asia, See animal inhabitants in rare and of the Mesozoic? The exhibition Meet the elusive giants of the sea, and Australia. See iridescent breathtaking detail, moving along will introduce you to the entire including whales, sharks, and giant blue morphos, striking scarlet forest floors and pond bottoms, tyrannosaur family through squid; sink beneath the waves in swallowtails, and more, housed captured by cameras mounted fossils and life-sized models a virtual submersible theater; and in a tropical vivarium with inside dens and nests. Captioning of hatchlings, juveniles, and marvel at the vivid fluorescence flowering plants. devices and audio description a full-grown T. rex, with engaging displayed by marine animals but devices are available. interactives and a VR experience. invisible to us…until now.

Rotunda / Winter 2019 / AMNH.org 16 Next at the Museum 17

Animal Encounter: Reptiles March Member Preview Days: Amy Mainzer, Asteroid Hunter New Science, New Solutions Saturday, February 23 SciCafe: The Raw Truth T. rex: The Ultimate Predator Monday, March 11 Wednesday, March 20 11 am (recommended for younger About Cooking Friday–Sunday, March 8–10 7:30 pm 7 pm children), 1 pm, 3 pm (all ages Wednesday, March 6 10 am–5 pm $12 $12 welcome) Doors open at 6:30 pm Registration required Join astronomer Amy Mainzer New Solutions takes a $15 Program begins at 7 pm call 212-769-5200 to learn about the asteroid- closer look at societal Join us for an exclusive Free See the new T. rex: The hunting NEOWISE Project, problems through the lens animal encounter with For adults 21+ with ID Ultimate Predator before which has taken millions of of science, inviting experts Museum scientists Lauren All human cultures use it opens to the public! Hall Tour: David S. images of more than 150,000 in diverse fields to offer new Vonnahme and Arianna cooking and other means A weekend of exclusive And Ruth L. Gottesman solar system objects. Mainzer perspectives and potential Kuhn from the Department to process food. Why is food Animal Drawing Member Preview Days Hall Of Planet Earth explains the relationship innovative solutions. For of Herpetology. Get an processing so universal? And Eight Thursdays, March 7–April 25 begins on Friday, March 8. Saturday, March 9 between asteroid hunting more information, please up-close introduction to why might it threaten our 7 pm Everyone knows 10:30 am and planetary origin stories, visit amnh.org. extraordinary and colorful Exoplanets And The Search health today? Rachel Carmody $160 (Materials not included) Tyrannosaurus rex. But Free starting with Earth. live snakes, tortoises, lizards, For Water In The Universe explains how processing For adults 18+ did you know how this mega- Registration required; and frogs from all over the Tuesday, February 26 increases the calories we Illustrator and naturalist predator evolved to become call 212-769-5200 world, including your own 7 pm extract from food, ways this Patricia Wynne leads an the most fearsome carnivore Follow a Museum tour guide Neuroscience Night: backyard! Learn more about $12 practice has given humans an intensive after-hours drawing of the Mesozoic? This on an exploration around Wild, Wild Brains the role these amazing critters Jackie Faherty, Mark Popinchalk, evolutionary edge, and why it course using the Museum’s exhibition will introduce the globe and back in time in Thursday, March 14 play within their respective and Steve Beyer embark on a may present challenges for our celebrated dioramas, dinosaur you to the entire tyrannosaur our Gottesman Hall of Planet 7 pm ecosystems and what journey in search of water in present and future. skeletons, and other iconic family through fossils and Earth. See new highlights $20 conservation biologists our solar system and beyond. exhibitions as a backdrop. life-sized models of hatchlings, featured within the exhibition, For adults 21+ at the Museum are doing Visit some of the more likely Sketch subjects in their juveniles, and a full-grown, including an updated section How do our big human to help protect similar candidates for finding the “natural” environments as towering T. rex, with on climate change, to gain brains compare to those of species in the wild. precious liquid in our galaxy, you learn about the gifted engaging interactives and a deeper understanding other animal species? How Identification Day such as Enceladus, Europa, artists who created our world- a VR experience that will of our planet’s past, present, do bats echolocate? And do Saturday, March 23 and Mars, and learn about the class dioramas. reveal the amazing story and future. birds have a sense of taste? Noon–5 pm latest discoveries in the search of the most iconic dinosaur Explore the anatomy, behavior, Free for life in space. in the world. Warning: you and sensory systems of The Museum celebrates may never think of T. rex humans and our evolutionary natural history collections the same way again. relatives near, far, and by inviting visitors to bring extinct with neuroscientists in their own specimens for and evolutionary biologists. our annual Identification Join us in the Spitzer Hall Day. Get an up-close look at of Human Origins and the specimens from the Museum’s Sackler Educational Lab, drink rarely seen collections while in hand, for an evening of scientists attempt to identify after-hours exploration with your discoveries. hands-on experiments and lightning talks.

Dark Universe Northwest Coast Hall Restoration The conservation of painted Exhibition Credits Lead funding for Unseen Oceans Generous support for The The Museum also gratefully Narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, space show totem poles has been made and its educational resources is Butterfly Conservatory has been acknowledges major funding from Frederick P. Rose Director of The Museum gratefully possible by the Institute T. rex: The Ultimate Predator provided by OceanX, an initiative provided by the Eileen P. Bernard the Charles Hayden Foundation. the Hayden Planetarium, this recognizes the Eugene V. and of Museum and Library is generously supported by of the Dalio Foundation. Exhibition Fund. Space Show celebrates pivotal Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust Services under grant number Dana and Virginia Randt. Presented with special thanks discoveries and the cosmic and Lewis Bernard, whose MA-30-17-0260-17. The American Museum of Natural Dark Universe was created by the to NASA and the National Science mysteries that remain. Gaze up leadership support has made T. rex: The Ultimate Predator History gratefully acknowledges American Museum of Natural Foundation. at the Milky Way from Mt. Wilson the restoration of the Northwest Additional support has is generously supported by the Richard and Karen LeFrak History, the Frederick Phineas Observatory in California, plunge Coast Hall possible. been provided by the Gilbert Chase Private Client. Exhibition and Education Fund. and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Dark Universe was developed by into Jupiter’s atmosphere with a & Ildiko Butler Family Foundation Earth and Space, and the Hayden the American Museum of Natural NASA probe, and find out what The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Stockman Unseen Oceans is generously Planetarium. History, New York (www.amnh. scientists are learning about has provided critical planning Family Foundation Trust. supported by Chase Private Client. org) in collaboration with the dark matter and dark energy. support, including for consultation California Academy of Sciences, Captioning devices are available. with First Nations communities. San Francisco, and GOTO INC, Tokyo, Japan.

Rotunda / Winter 2019 / AMNH.org 18 Next at the Museum 19

january Program Credits: Support for Hayden Planetarium The Discovery Room was made April Programs is provided by the possible by a grant from the 12 15 24 The Spring Lunch: Science, Into the Deep: An Immersive Horace W. Goldsmith Endowment Edward John Noble Foundation. saturday tuesday thursday Society, and Our Environment Oceans Course is made possible Fund. Hall Tour: Birds of the World Into the Deep: The Art of the Diorama Tuesday, April 16 by OceanX, an initiative of the Additional support has been Member Program An Immersive Oceans Course Adult Course begins Adult Course begins Noon–2 pm Dalio Foundation, as part of its Selected Hayden Planetarium provided by the Ralph M. Cestone For more information or to generous support of the special Programs are sponsored by JetBlue. Foundation, the Louis and purchase tickets, contact Jodi exhibition Unseen Oceans and its Virginia Clemente Foundation, Doherty at 212-769-5932 or related educational activities and The Annual IRIS/SSA Lecture the Ducommun and Gross Family email [email protected] public programs. Series is presented in collaboration Foundation, the Larkin Family, The Spring Lunch highlights, with the Incorporated Research the V. and L. Marx Foundation, celebrates, and advances SciCafe: The Raw Truth About Institutions for Seismology and the and the Jane and Frances Stein the Museum’s longstanding Cooking and related activities Seismological Society of America. Foundation. commitment to environmental are generously supported by the research, conservation, Science Education Partnership New Science, New Solutions is and education. Hear from Award (SEPA) program of the presented in collaboration with the experts on the latest topics National Institutes of Health (NIH). New York University Institute on in science and share ideas the Arts and Civic Dialogue. and conversation under The Museum gratefully the blue whale. acknowledges The Mortimer D. New Science, New Solutions february Sackler Foundation, Inc. for its is generously supported by the support to establish the Sackler Abel Shafer Public Program Fund, 4 6 17 26 Brain Bench, part of the Museum’s a fund created by the Arlene B. monday wednesday sunday tuesday Sackler Educational Laboratory Coffey Trust to honor the memory The Terrain of Venus Science of Love Milstein Science Series Exoplanets and the Search for Comparative Genomics and of Abel Shafer. with Martha Gilmore SciCafe Family Festival for Water in the Universe Human Origins, in the Spitzer Frontiers Lecture Astronomy Live Hall of Human Origins, offering The Milstein Science Series 9 23 ongoing programs and resources is proudly sponsored by the 5 saturday saturday for adults, teachers, and students Irma and Paul Milstein Family. tuesday Hall Tour: Akeley Hall Animal Encounter: to illuminate the extraordinary Lunchtime Bird Walks of African Mammals Reptiles with Lauren Vonnahme Member Program workings of the human brain. Support for accessibility initiatives in Central Park and Arianna Kuhn Adult Program begins Member Program at the American Museum of Natural History has been provided by the Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation.

Join us for an exciting all-day march SAVE THE DATE program to celebrate the Museum’s 150th Anniversary. 6 8–10 11 20 To mark the month of wednesday friday–sunday monday wednesday TH the Museum’s creation, The Raw Truth About Cooking Member Preview Days: Amy Mainzer, Asteroid Hunter New Science, New Solutions 150 ANNIVERSARY enjoy a festival of family-friendly SciCafe T. rex: The Ultimate Predator Frontiers Lecture Special Program Member Program activities. Get a look at rare collections items, meet with 7 14 23 CELEBRATION scientists, and more. thursday 9 thursday saturday Animal Drawing saturday Neuroscience Night: Identification Day Adult Course begins Hall Tour: David S. Wild, Wild Brains Family Festival For more information, please visit and Ruth L. Gottesman Special Program SATURDAY, APRIL 13 amnh.org Hall of Planet Earth Member Program Page 14–15: D. Finnin/© AMNH, R. Mickens/© AMNH, D. Finnin/© AMNH, Illustration by Zhao Chuang; CourtesyPage 16–17:of Xi’an Yiniao Age CultureR. MediaMickens/© Co., AMNH, R. Mickens/© © AMNH, AMNH, C. © Chesek/©AMNH/M. AMNH, Shanley, D. Finnin/©HBO, SK AMNH,Films, D. Finnin/© © AMNH AMNH, R. Mickens/© AMNH

Rotunda / Winter 2019 / AMNH.org 20 Members at the Museum 21

500 teachers attend each Educator Evening, the most informal offerings of the More for Educators set. These after-hours programs orient teachers to current Museum exhibitions Night at the Museum, and research, as well as provide opportunities for networking with other Educator Guides educators from across the five boroughs. Guides for K-12 teachers, as well as grade-specific As Brown makes her way through the packed crowd in the Milstein Hall of activity sets aligned to Common Core and New for Teachers Ocean Life, she walks by a table staffed by Museum postdoctoral researcher York State standards, are available on amnh.org Sally Warring, who’s talking to teachers about her work exploring single-celled for all special exhibitions and 17 permanent halls. organisms found in New York City pond water, and another staff member Educator Evenings Offer describing the latest research from the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Seminars on Science Conservation. Other scientific organizations, like the New York Microscopical More than 10,000 educators from around the an All-Access Pass Society and U.S. Science Support Program, also have a presence, helping to round world have participated in the Museum’s online out the evening’s focus on local marine science. professional learning program since it began in 2000. With six-week online graduate courses in the life, Earth, and physical sciences, students connect directly with Museum scientists and “I come to find out about educators to engage on current science topics. new research and to see specimens and artifacts that Urban Advantage This pioneering Museum partnership with the I can’t find in a textbook.” Department of Education and seven other cultural institutions across New York City is famous for Zoe Brown Bushwick Leaders’ High School its annual Science Expo, but Urban Advantage also offers professional development for teachers. More than 1,800 middle school teachers have participated, and in 2016, Urban Advantage At 5 pm, Curator John Sparks takes the stage to introduce key themes of the launched an elementary school pilot program exhibition and to share a bit about his own research on marine biofluorescence. serving 56 teachers in grades 3–5. Museum staff distribute an Educator Guide, with an exhibition map, tips for self-guided exploration, background content, and essential questions to help guide Public support for the Urban Advantage program is students. “The Museum really caters to teachers. The Educator’s Guides give us provided by the Speaker and Council of the City of New a good overview of the special exhibitions and help me to generate a lesson plan. York, and the New York City Department of Education. That way, I can figure out exactly what I want to show students when we come, giving us time to enjoy more of what the Museum has to offer,” says Brown. Then, the main event: teachers are invited to see Unseen Oceans for themselves. LeFrak Class of the Month “It makes a difference hearing from the curators directly and getting to explore Essay Contest the exhibition with teachers,” says Thomas Anderson, a teacher from P.S. 87, a K-5 school on the Upper West Side who has been attending the Museum’s Educator Evenings for 13 years. “These evenings help so I can be better prepared to anticipate Each month, New York City public school Teachers explored the special It’s 4 pm on a Friday in November, and Zoe Brown is just arriving at the Museum students’ questions. And bouncing ideas off other teachers is fun, too.” students in Grades K–8 visit the special exhibition Unseen Oceans during after a busy week of teaching students at Bushwick Leaders’ High School in exhibition Unseen Oceans—and are invited the Museum’s Educator’s Evening Brooklyn. She’s here to attend one of the Museum’s Educator Evenings, which to submit essays about what they learned in November. tonight is built around after-hours access to the special exhibition Unseen Oceans. about a scientific phenomenon. Budding Brown, who is licensed to teach both Earth science and biology, has been science writers have a chance to win a prize bringing her classes to the Museum for years. “I come to find out about new for their class: certificates of achievement, research and to see specimens and artifacts that I can’t find in a textbook,” she a classroom library set of nonfiction books says. Now, she is back to hear about how the latest exhibition could spark her worth $1,000, and an invitation to a special students’ interest in marine biology. end-of-year celebration for students and The Museum’s outreach to educators dates back to 1880, when Museum founder families. Read select winning essays from Albert Bickmore launched a series of Saturday zoology lectures for 30 public past contest winners on amnh.org. school teachers. The reaction exceeded expectations, and the teachers proved their enthusiasm with “constant attendance in the severest weather,” according to the The American Museum of Natural History Museum’s annual report. Within a year, additional courses were added, and the gratefully acknowledges the LeFrak family’s Museum redoubled its commitment to working with teachers as “one of the best commitment to supporting scientific and means…to reach every family in our city which has a child in the public schools.” cultural understanding among the school Those efforts have only grown over the past few decades. Today, more children, educators, and families of New York than 4,300 educators participate in the Museum’s professional development City through the Richard and Karen LeFrak programs each year, including workshops, professional learning days that can Resource tables featured materials about Museum research and programs, Charitable Foundation, Inc.

provide continuing education credit (CTLE), and online courses. An average of M. Shanley/© AMNH and information about other scientific organizations

Rotunda / Winter 2019 / AMNH.org 22 Explore at the Museum 23 save the date the museum celebrates150 years on april 13 Whale Tales gone to pieces

As the Museum approaches the celebration of its 150th This model replaced a anniversary, each issue of Rotunda will bring you some little- 76-foot-long papier-mâché known facts about the Museum’s best-known exhibits. model of a blue whale created First up: a few surprising stories behind the beloved blue in 1907 for what was then the cutting room floor whale, the iconic 21,000-pound model at the center of the Hall of the Biology of Mammals Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life. on the fourth floor. Some of the Other scrapped plans? Depicting old model’s pieces were sold a beached whale, accompanied as memorabilia at auction in 1974. by a soundscape of scavenging A woman who bid $530 for a glass whoosh! birds and faux phosphorescent eye said, “Once you look in the bacteria. Propping it atop a eye of a whale, you never forget it.” During the planning phase, 3-foot-diameter pedestal on Richard van Gelder, then chair of its belly. Surrounding it with source material the Mammalogy Department, artificial water and three killer refused suggestions to depict whales in a walk-in habitat group. When the Museum redesigned the blue whale with its mouth Floating a rubber model filled the Hall of Ocean Life in open. He argued it would be with helium (van Gelder thought anticipation of its 100th scientifically inaccurate for a it “too much like the Macy’s anniversary in 1969, artist whale that was poised to dive— Thanksgiving parade.” ) Richard Ellis received one of the and also too tempting as a target biggest assignments: designing for “potential basketball stars.” the new life-sized blue whale model. But the first photographs of living whales underwater weren’t taken until the mid-1970s. So Ellis had to rely on eyewitness descriptions— and extrapolate from photos or casts of whale corpses.

record setter

On November 1968, the whale’s body was lifted up to the ceiling as two halves: the 66-foot-long front section and the 28-foot-long tail. The Hall of Ocean Life and Biology of Fishes opened on Wednesday, February 26, 1969—Members got a sneak true to life peek the day before—and the next Sunday, more than 35,000 The very last detail added to people came to see the whale— the model were 28 tiny hairs setting a new attendance record heavy weight on the whale’s chin. To determine for the Museum. their placement, the preparators The model ended up being consulted the Discovery Reports, 10 tons, including the weight dispatches by a British Museum of the polyurethane plastic, expedition on whaling in the the fiberglass coating, and Antarctic. But they forgot 600 pounds of paint. After about the belly button. That x-raying the welded joints, wasn’t added until the hall was engineers concluded the margin renovated in 2003 and became of safety built into the design the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. would handle it. © AMNH

Rotunda / Winter 2019 / AMNH.org Central Park West at 79th Street New York, New York 10024-5192 amnh.org Illustration by Zhao Chuang; Courtesy of Xi’an Yiniao Age Culture Media Co. Media Culture Age Yiniao Xi’an of Courtesy Chuang; Zhao by Illustration General Information

Hours Phone numbers Museum: Open daily, 10 am–5:45 pm; Central Reservations 212-769-5200 closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Membership Office 212-769-5606 Museum Information 212-769-5100 Entrances Development 212-769-5151 During Museum hours, Members may enter at Central Park West at 79th Street, Transportation and parking the Rose Center/81st Street, Subway: B (weekdays) or C to 81st Street; and through the subway (lower level). 1 to 79th Street, walk east to Museum Bus: M7, M10, M11, or M104 to 79th Street; Restaurants M79 to Central Park West Museum Food Court, Café on One, Parking Garage: Open daily, 8 am–11 pm; and Café on 4 offer Members enter from West 81st Street. Members can park a 15-percent discount. Hours are for a flat fee of $10 if entering after 4 pm. subject to change. To receive this rate, show your membership card or event ticket when exiting the garage. Museum shops The Museum Shop, Dino Store, Accessibility Planetarium Shop, Cosmic Shop, Find out how Tyrannosaurus rex evolved to become fiercest T. rex Shop Unseen Oceans Shop, predator on Earth in the new special exhibition T. rex: The Ultimate Predator. Members see it first during Member and Online Shop (shop.amnh.org) For information on accessibility, Preview Days, starting Friday, March 8. offer Members a 10-percent discount. email [email protected] or call 212-313-7565.