March 28 - June 28, 2009
First Look for Families - Saturday, March 28 - 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
This preview includes hands-on activities, exhibition tours and more!
Experience a world of huge carnivorous marine reptiles with double-hinged jaws and teeth in the middle of their palates, gigantic flesh-eating fish big enough to swallow an adult human being whole, flying reptiles with three-foot skulls and the biggest sea turtles to have ever lived. Unrivaled for their amazing varieties, voracious appetites, incredible teeth and gaping jaws, the creatures in this exhibition are unlike anything known in today's world. When dinosaurs ruled the land, these spectacular creatures ruled the American Inland Sea.
Gaze out at the world from the jaws of a giant Megalodon shark. Gasp in awe at the world's largest Protostega, a 15-foot-wide sea turtle, and a tiny juvenile turtle, Toxochelys. "Swim" with a school of the first three-dimensional reconstructions of the carnivorous fish of the day, the largest being a record 17 feet long! Sift through time and sediments as flying reptiles soar overhead. Learn how these ancient aquatic creatures lived and died in the late Cretaceus period over 70 million years ago... and who survived to today.
This exhibition, developed and created by Triebold Paleontology, includes 16 prehistoric marine skeletons including casts and life restorations, as well as engaging informational kiosks, graphic panels and touch specimens. Together, they provide visitors with a greater understanding and appreciation for these magnificent denizens of the distant past - how they lived and how they are believed to become extinct.
Have fun learning about these amazing sea creatures through many interactive activities for kids and the whole family (including "Underwater World," our newly renovated Family Learning Center)
You can also learn how the animals sank to the bottom of the sea when they died, where they were buried in chalky sediment layers and eventually became fossilized.
Triebold has collected and preserved Mesozoic Era fossils for more than twenty years. The process of casting enables the "re-inflation" of a pile of crushed bones to the animal's original shape, and allows for a life-like exhibition of these animals. The casts included in this exhibition were made from specimens collected by Triebold or loaned to the company for casting by institutions that hold the specimens as part of their permanent collections.
UNDER THE SEA FAMILY DAY
Saturday, June 27 – 11 am – 5 pm - Free
Bring the family for an "underwater" adventure on Saturday, June 27 in conjunction with the special exhibition Savage Ancient Seas: Dinosaurs of the Deep. See the distant relatives of the ancient sea creatures in our live reptile demonstration; let the kids participate in a "dino dig"; create underwater paintings; make your own "sea monster diorama"; and enjoy story readings and family tours throughout the day with a special performance by the Institute of the Arts theater students.
The Reading Public Museum is supported in part by grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Images (from top): Jaw restoration of a Carcharolcles megalodon jaw, standing at eight and one half feet high, was capable of swallowing a whole human; Skeleton specimen of Clidastes propython, the smallest mosasaur in the North American Inland Sea, with lengths ranging from eight to 20 feet; Skeleton specimens of Pachyrhizodus canibus, a prehistoric ray-finned fish, are on display in a dynamic three-dimensional schooling pose.
To download a PDF file the most recent press release, click here.