connorp Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 This Sunday (4/14) is the opening day of the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor Natural History Museum. I'll be going at 8:45 AM which is when the ribbon will be cut. It looks like it's going to have some great exhibits. Hope some of you can make it, but if not, I'll make sure to post some pictures. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 I look forward to seeing what changes they have made. I went to a wedding at the museum there about 15 years ago and remember thinking it was a pretty decent little collection at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Opening day was quite packed! Felt a bit like the Field Museum. There were a few exhibits but all that was of much interest was the fossil exhibit of course. We'll start off with my favorite fossil, Charnia masoni from the Ediacaran of England. I've seen plenty of casts, but this was the first actual specimen I've seen! Pretty cool. Next is the famous Grypania spiralis from the Paleoproterozoic of northern Michigan. A bit hard to make out the fossils from the glare unfortunately. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Next was quite a surprise – a whole section dedicated to Archaeocyaths! These guys are very interesting, and I don't think I have ever seen them in a museum display before. The fossils weren't spectacular, but I was too happy to see them to care. Right next to the display were a bunch of nice Ordovician trilobites. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 This was definitely a highlight: a fairly large Ordovician diorama. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Tiktaalik and friends. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 A reconstructed skull of Dunkleosteus. Always a favorite. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 A very nice Dimetrodon display (not a cast!). 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 A new one I've never heard of: Desmatosuchus, a Late Triassic archosaur. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Now on to the dinosaurs. Here is a replica of a mostly complete Coelophysis bauri from Texas. Very cool to have it mounted in the open. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 I suppose this needs no introduction. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 A cool Rhamphorhynchus display. The skull of Tupuxuara. I was surprised by how large it was. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 A very cool free-floating Dolichorhynchops plesiosaur. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Mounted right next to the plesiosaur is a Cimolichthys fish and Hesperornis bird fossil. This created a nice Cretaceous sea display, which hung over the coffee shop so you could see multiple angles of it. Pretty cool. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 A lifesize Majungasaurus cast. This was supposed to be the highlight of the wing I believe. It was cool to have it standing so high. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 I do feel obligated to share the only really bad thing – this toolmarked leaf. No idea who let that be displayed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Here is one of my favorite things – a lifesize reconstruction of Quetzalcoatlus flying overhead. There is actually an exact copy at the Field Museum in Chicago. It looks much smaller there as its side-by-side with a large sauropod. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Basilosaurus and Dorudon, two frightening whales from the Eocene. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 And to finish it off, a male and female mastodon together. I believe the female is real and the male is a cast. Apparently one of them shows evidence of post mortem butchering by humans. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Overall a very nice remodel! Much nicer than the old museum in my opinion. There is certainly much more to see, so I recommend everyone to check it out if they have a chance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepTimeIsotopes Posted April 28, 2019 Share Posted April 28, 2019 Wow thanks for the comprehensive tour! I love the small Archaeocyathan display. 1 Each dot is 50,000,000 years: Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic........... Paleo......Meso....Ceno.. Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here Doesn't time just fly by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 Did they have any real-bone dinosaur skeletons on display? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 I missed your pictures somehow, thank you for the report! It looks much nicer than before, very modern and informative- and it seems a lot bigger too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 On 7/31/2019 at 10:42 PM, Peat Burns said: Did they have any real-bone dinosaur skeletons on display? I wasn’t too focused on those, but if I remember correctly there were no real complete dinosaur skeletons. There was a large sauropod femur, an ankylosaur club, and maybe a ceratopsian skull. 3 minutes ago, deutscheben said: I missed your pictures somehow, thank you for the report! It looks much nicer than before, very modern and informative- and it seems a lot bigger too. I only went once before the remodel so I can’t say I remember much. All my friends complain that it’s much smaller now though. I think it will feel bigger when they open up a few more exhibits in November. As of right now, it’s just this main wing plus a small mineral gallery. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Great report and pictures, thanks for posting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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