Jurassic world comes to life at NTSEC exhibition

2015/12/22

A dinosaur exhibition documenting the fundamentals of biological evolution kicked off Dec.18 at National Taiwan Science Education Center in Taipei City.

Jurassic Adventure—The Return of the King features more than 300 related items, including models of unearthed Mosasaurus, Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. Also scheduled as part of the event are an excavation activity and fossil show.

NTSEC Director-General Chu Nan-shyan said the exhibition is specially staged to coincide with the upcoming festive season holidays and school winter vacations. “We are targeting young people with a view to helping them develop a deeper understanding of this important aspect of the planet’s history.”

A highlight is a fossilized Oviraptor and its eggs from the American Museum of Natural History. Containing an embryo in one of the eggs, the item was unearthed during a facility-sponsored expedition to Ukhaa Tolgod of Mongolia in 1993. The fossil shed light on the nesting habits of the dinosaur and established links with modern-day birds.

Of equal interest is a replica fossil of a Tyrannosaurus exhibiting for the first time in Asia. The 10.9-meter-long skeleton with 199 bones was excavated in South Dakota in 1987. The original piece is stored in the U.S. state’s Black Hills Institute of Geological Research.

Similarly fascinating is Sea Monsters: The Exhibition. Comprising more than 100 specimens including a jumbo squid, mako shark and ocean sunfish, the collection is preserved using lifelike plastination technology made famous by German national Gunther von Hagens’ touring Body Worlds show.

Running through Feb. 29 next year, the dinosaur event and its components are taking place alongside exhibitions featuring an inverted house and Japanese Gudetama cartoon character. The latter two are expected to prove popular with showgoers of all ages.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=240450&ctNode=2194&mp=9)