Dinosaur Discoveries at MOSI

NEW AT MOSI: Dinosaur Discoveries: Ancient Fossils, New Ideas

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Get your prehistoric questions ready. Dinosaur Discoveries: Ancient Fossils, New Ideas opens January 25 at MOSI, Tampa’s Museum of Science & Industry, and it’s all about exploring what living, breathing dinosaurs were really like.

Have you ever wondered…

A young boy in a bright green rash guard and patterned swim trunks smiles excitedly with his arms outstretched while standing in shallow water at a colorful water park. Behind him, vibrant blue, red, and yellow water slides and play structures tower under a partly cloudy sky.

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How did a running T. rex really rampage through the wilderness?
How high could a long-necked Apatosaurus really reach into the towering trees?
How beautiful did a horned Triceratops and its cousins really look before they were turned into fossilized bones?

Dinosaur Discoveries is packed with exciting insights about dinosaurs that kids will find fun and fascinating. They’ll see how scientists use cool tools like computer programs and special X-rays to uncover secrets about dinosaurs—what they looked like, how they acted, and even how they walked. Plus, kids can dive into the big question: why did dinosaurs disappear? Or did they?

The limited-time exhibition at MOSI uses a combination of major fossil finds, computer simulations, and amazing models to connect us with these incredible creatures.

“It’s a fantastic blending of artifacts from millions of years ago and brand new, cutting-edge science. In Dinosaur Discoveries, history and science are working together, and that combination gives you new ways to explore the world of dinosaurs that kids (and adults) find so fascinating,” said MOSI CEO John Graydon Smith.

Related: Where to see dinosaurs in Tampa Bay

Dinosaur Discoveries: Ancient Fossils, New Ideas is MOSI’s first collaboration with one of the top dinosaur research museums in the world—the American Museum of Natural History in New York City—so you’ll learn about some of the coolest and newest findings on how dinosaurs walked, ran, and lived their everyday lives.

“This exhibition illustrates how scientists are using different ideas, discoveries, and technologies to revolutionize our understanding of dinosaurs,” said Mark A. Norell, curator of Dinosaur Discoveries and Curator Emeritus of the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History.

While studying dinosaurs still involves plenty of digging in the dirt, Norell said kids can see how understanding new fossils also depends on people who love science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

“Our work reaches across many disciplines involving paleontologists, biomechanical engineers, paleobotanists, and others to showcase how we go about reconstructing the mysterious life of dinosaurs,” he said.

The exhibition is included with MOSI admission, and it’s located on the third floor of MOSI’s iconic blue dome building. MOSI just announced that the dome building will also become the home of America’s second-largest planetarium and a new, eight-story-tall Digital Dome Theatre later this year.

Don’t forget to stop by Grossology near the entrance of MOSI to learn all about the sticky, icky things about being human like boogers, burps and more! It’s equal parts fun and fascinating!

Dinosaur Discoveries: Ancient Fossils, New Ideas is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org), in collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco; The Field Museum, Chicago; the Houston Museum of Natural Science; and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh.