American Museum of Natural History - March 2020

[ThePhysicist]

Thanks, all. 

@Shellseeker, thanks for adding! 

[EvaWills89]

 

Oh, I really want to visit this museum. I have heard a lot about him, but I will not gather. And another question, maybe someone knows how now the situation with the entrance to the museum, normally allowed (I ask because of the coronavirus)?

[Kane]

24 minutes ago, EvaWills89 said:

 

Oh, I really want to visit this museum. I have heard a lot about him, but I will not gather. And another question, maybe someone knows how now the situation with the entrance to the museum, normally allowed (I ask because of the coronavirus)?

Found fairly quickly using Google. Just scroll down to "health and safety during your visit": https://www.amnh.org/plan-your-visit

[Troodon]

 

Has a child I lived a few blocks away from the Museum and my father would take me there all of the time.  How I my passion for dinosaurs began.

 

 

A few more photos

 

 

 

[akazaran]

I have been many times to this museum and I always thought that most if not all of the big dinosaurs skeletton exposed there were casts. Am I wrong?

[ThePhysicist]

2 hours ago, akazaran said:

most if not all of the big dinosaurs skeletton exposed there were casts. Am I wrong?

There are indeed some casts, or casts incorporated into displays. However, I believe the vast majority of skeletons on display are real fossils, either entirely from one individual, or composite. Many displays will also state explicitly if they're a cast. Here are some examples (taken from google maps, since I didn't take pics while there):

 

T. rex:

"... is one of the few real specimens of Tyrannosaurus on public display."

- however the skull on the skeleton is a cast.

Triceratops:

"... is composed of fossils from [about six?] different specimens."

 

Deinonychus:

"This specimen is the only real fossil Deinonychus on display in the world."

 

Struthiomimus:

 

Apatosaurus:

[ThePhysicist]

One other trick to determine if a skeleton is "real" is to see how it's mounted. For free-standing skeletons, real specimens usually have exterior supports (don't want to drill into and damage real fossils), and casts are interior. I have seen casts with exterior mounts, so this isn't universally true, but is usually the case. Here is the cast of their Titanosaur, and their real Apatosaurus:

 

Titanosaur cast:

 

Apatosaurus skeleton:

[akazaran]

This is great. I have been there like 4 or 5 times and I was always frustrated because it was never stated wether the specimen were casts or real fossils. And there is nobody there who can give you more informations.  It is great to know that things have now changed.

Do you know if the exposed velociraptor skull (holotype) is a real fossil?

[ThePhysicist]

10 minutes ago, akazaran said:

Do you know if the exposed velociraptor skull (holotype) is a real fossil?

Yes, it is! 

 

 

[akazaran]

Wow... Very cool!

Aparently they have make a lot of changes lately. That was a bit frustrating because I went there like 5 times on a 4 years period and the fossiles exposed were  always the same specimen. Based on your photos I can see that finally they have make some changes wich is great. Too bad my brother doesnt live in New York anymore!

[Paleorunner]

Phew ... simply spectacular.
It must be impressive to be walking among so many great saurians.
Thank you very much for sharing such a wonderful experience.