TLS09E01 Displaying Dinosaurs

Terrible Lizards

We are into series 9 now and still going, though starting with this episode, in a bid to be more consistent and less panicked about completing series and the gaps between, we’re moving to being a monthly podcast. So no end in sight yet for all you dinosaur (and sometimes pterosaur) lovers.

Anyway, we’re kicking off by talking about arguably the most common way that people encounter dinosaurs and that’s museum displays and exhibits. Dave and Iszi talk through how these things get set up, the constraints and compromises necessary and how to try and cater for all. Unsurprisingly, it’s rather complex to balance space, time, money, science, accessibility and protect the fossils on display. Hopefully, it gives some insight into how these things come to be and how they are supposed to work at least.

We also cover whether T Rex and other theropods had primate like numbers of telencephalic neurons and what this means. Were they really like baboons?

Links:

A blog post about the little exhibition on pterosaurs Dave put together way, way back in 2007: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/the-great-pterosaur-exhibition-of-2007/

A website covering the Titus exhibition that Dave helped to create: https://fourfamilyadventures.co.uk/titus-t-rex-is-king-wollaton-hall-nottingham/

The paper we discuss: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cne.25453