RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Last year, I took a trip to a newly opened museum, the story of the museum goes back about 5 years. Originally the building was a dinosaur shop called the dinosaur store, they still sell fossils that are very high in quality and just stuff you normally don't see on the market. But in last 5 years the owner Steve Cayer has been accumulating an incredible amount of artifacts and fossils to make an even more incredible array of valuables in the form of a museum. The museum opened on earth day 2017, I hadn't had the time to post this, but I really want to share the incredible exhibits with you all, and that's what I'm doing today. Lets get started! This was at the foot of the entrance, right when you get off the elevator an amazing set of fossils was awaiting me. The sight of the psittacosaurus caught my surprise, as I had gone to the dinosaur store so many times to buy fossils that I didn't know what to expect. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 This is a cast of a Giganotosaurus, at this point I went into full nerd mode, reading every little sign, I was enthralled as I was only expecting a rustic; museum like building. Boy, was I surprised! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 (edited) Another incredible exhibit! This ceratopsian is mounted in a beautiful paleo-habitat surrounding it. Edited February 25, 2018 by RyanDye Unsure of accuracy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 A beautifully mounted Edmontosaurus arm, it's weird seeing something so valuable next to a cheap plastic model of the entire animal. It just shows how creative Mr. Cayer was being when creating the museum. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 I had to gasp when I saw these two articulated skeletons, these are not casts, but real fossils. I've never seen a mounted Oviraptor skeleton nor did I ever expect to see one in Cocoa beach Florida! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Nice museum and great pics, thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 4 minutes ago, Nimravis said: Nice museum and great pics, thanks for posting. Got plenty more, so many more that's the reason I delayed this post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 This one was a eye opener to say the least.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 Here's the recently extinct elephant bird, I recognised this from a documentary, another exhibit I didn't plan on seeing in my lifetime. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 A stunning genuine turtle fossil, the reconstruction is absolutely beautiful! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Very enjoyable post great photos too. Turtle is stunning. Thanks for posting. cheers Bobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Very nice thanks for posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Nice! I'll have to keep this in mind for my roadtrip through Florida later this year. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 Here's a high quality dodo bird replica skeleton, unfortunately we don't have any fossils of the dodo bird like this as of now; but it's nice to dream of what one would look like. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 This is one of my favorite pieces, this is a Tarbosaurus bataar, I personally asked a museum staff member if this was a genuine fossil, he replied to me that most everything in the glass cases were in fact genuine; including this amazing tyrannosaurid. I had to look at this for awhile, it was hard to walk away from. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 An incredible fossil, still in the matrix, if you look closely it appears the sabre toothed feline was about to enjoy a tasty hyaenodon as a snack. A rare fossil like this is incredibly rare, this was another fossil on the tops of my lists, probably 3rd favorite, my second being the Tarbosaurus. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 To be honest, I said the sabre toothed cat fossil was my 3rd favorite but it's so hard to choose! This is a genuine articulated Utahraptor skeleton, I didn't even know these existed! I actually drew this as a project in my art class, it was such a beautiful picture I wanted to draw it. It really is a treat to go to the museum, the fossils on sale are about as close to museum collections as you can get, making this completely underrated facility well worth your time! As for those who are too far, or cannot afford to make a trip, I hope these pictures will provide you as close to a real visit as possible. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 A very nice juvenile maiasaura, the display around it really compliments it, the habitat paintings around exhibits at the royal tyrrell museum were very old and outdated, since this museum is new if you go and visit you'll be surprised how accurate they tried to make the depiction of dinosaurs. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 Here are the fossils below the giant snake model I showed earlier, not quite sure the significance of these fossils, but I'm sure any reptile fossil enthusiast knows much more about it than me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 Here are some photos of the large 'wall of skulls', there are some pretty rare specimens here, the large one on the left is a replica of the largest tyrannosaurus "Sue" specimen. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 Two allosaurus hunting a giant diplodocus, only one word can summarize this photo, and that word is magnificent. Here's a better view of the first allosaur in all of its glory. definitely an eye widener. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 This display shows the tyrannosaur reaching for a flying ramphorycus, it just shows the imagination of the museum owner at it's finest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 This is the final exhibit hall, by far my favorite area in the museum. I think these fossils are beautiful and something we can... all relate too. The skulls are replicas, excluding the modern ones which are real, this is truly a beautiful array of human history. This is a truly incredible piece, a genuine Homo erectus vertebra from the Leakey's African excavations, truly a practically impossible piece. It's just not something you would normally see at any average museum. This is a reconstruction of an ancient human, likely of the clovis people crossing into North America, defending from the large canid, Canis dirus with only but a wooden spear and his own courage. All of these are incredible, but the final fossil is the most captivating of all. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 Lastly, a genuine Homo neanderthalensis next to Homo sapiens, for comparison. I never dreamed to see this anywhere, but the Louvre or Germany. The incredible detail put into the display of these fossils is no less than perfection, this is something I thought would only be in reference papers, drawing models comparing the two. Its as if I were standing thousands of years ago when the first modern humans met neanderthals, it was like a time warp, words can't describe the intense nostalgia felt in the corridor, like the tarbosaurus it was incredibly hard for me to walk out of this room. The image will never leave my mind, truly amazing! All I can say is, if I had the choice to put my remains anywhere in the world, I would not pick the smithsonian, or Harvard, but here would be the most meaningful, quite literally being buried with my ancestors. I hope you enjoyed this post, while it was a delight to share it with everyone, this will also be really useful because I never have to upload these photos again if I wanted to use them on a post, so its a win-win. I had a chat with one of the curators there, as well as the actual owner of the museum, there all incredibly kind people. If you ever get the chance I encourage you to stop by there, as it is not a cheap 'half-museum' most would expect for sure, along with fossils there's also many artifacts in the museum I didn't show, along with modern taxidermy. Thanks for reading! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Absolutely amazing and stunning pictures. The museum is fantastic and for a guy that owned a rock and fossil shop to assemble such an amazing collection is wonderful. Kuddos and two thumbs up for him. Thanks for the great pictures, write up and taking us along with you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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