Ellis Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Just a heads up to all you parents and dino lovers.... After April 28th, you'll have to wait 5 years to take the kids to one of the most "woooah cooool!!" places any kid has every been! My 20 month old son loves dinosaurs but I think this place might scare him. We'll give a try anyway! I know 5 years from now when he's close to 7 yrs old, he'll love that place. More than 65 million years after they went extinct, dinosaurs are about to disappear again — at least from public view in Washington. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History said Friday that its high-traffic dinosaur hall will close April 28 for a previously announced $48 million makeover. Most of the popular specimens won’t reappear until 2019, when the Fossil Hall at the world’s second-most-visited museum is reopened. Once completed, the 31,000-square-foot hall will have a new centerpiece: the Wankel T. rex, one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever unearthed. “Those five years are going to fly by,” promised museum director Kirk Johnson, who didn’t sound fully convinced. “It’s definitely going to be traumatic for me, because I’m a paleontologist. . . . I’m also thinking of the kids who won’t be able to see the dinosaurs.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/smithsonian-dinosaur-hall-to-close-april-28-for-five-year-renovation/2014/01/17/acba089e-7f3d-11e3-95c6-0a7aa80874bc_story.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 great 5 years... to make an exhibit less interesting (guaranteed). the entire remainder of my children's childhood...... what could POSSIBLY take 5 fricking years? the BUILDING is already built! the dinosaurs are already dead. already fosilized, and even already dug up...... and how awesome is it that they take 5 years to take down the cool diaramas and views of people messing with bones... and replace them with youtube videos (that would be better to watch from home) every single improvement that has been made in that museum has replaced something cool, with something less cool..... let the lame-ification go on !!!!! (very slowly) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 5 years + unexpected delays. It took Michelangelo less time to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGoodBits Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 5 years? By the time it re-opens they better have cloned and bred brand new dinosaurs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Thanks, Slow-bama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Took the family to the Dino exhibit of the Smithsonian on Saturday. Fantastic day! The place was quite packed. I had not seen this exhibit since I was a kid some 20 yrs ago. It was still very impressive but it definitely needs to be upgraded. Only two weeks left to check it out before it's shut down for the next 5 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vilandil Tasardur Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I worked very closely with the curator of dinosaurs at the museum and I'll be working there again this summer. I'll have a had in some of the renovations and will also be writing a lot of the material for the new exhibits in the Origin of Life section. All I can say is I beg for patience. The current exhibit really needs updating. A lot of those specimens are showing the wear and tear from being suspended by cables and wires. The specimens are the number one priority. The museum needs to reimagine the exhibit and the space in a way that tells a more appropriate story that before. There are a lot more awesome things to showcase than just dinosaurs. In order to make that possible, the location needs reimagined. And part of why it will take five years is because all of the specimens are going to be cleaned, maintained, and studied while they're down to take advantage of them already being off display. Most of those specimens went up before they did CT scans on skulls or other modern study techniques like that. If you've got them down and off of display, now's the time to get all that done before they go back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 What will happen first? Ellis' boy goes the exhibition. Or Elis' boy sees a Resskins SB return. This will be interesting to follow. Might have to open up a book. Hail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 . And part of why it will take five years is because all of the specimens are going to be cleaned, maintained, and studied while they're down to take advantage of them already being off display. Most of those specimens went up before they did CT scans on skulls or other modern study techniques like that. If you've got them down and off of display, now's the time to get all that done before they go back up. BUT MY KIDS MUST SEE DINOSAURS! Do your fancy pants science somewhere else Aaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RemoveSnyder Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 What will happen first? Hail. See ya in 5 years GHH. That oil bath is going to feel soooooo good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HogNose Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 5 years of work? When it reopens it better come to life like it did in that Ben Stiller flick Night at the Museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HogNose Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Took the family to the Dino exhibit of the Smithsonian on Saturday. Fantastic day! The place was quite packed. I had not seen this exhibit since I was a kid some 20 yrs ago. It was still very impressive but it definitely needs to be upgraded. Only two weeks left to check it out before it's shut down for the next 5 years. Yeah we took our boys back in the Fall and had a great time. It definitely needs to be updated, cleaned up, etc. Can't wait to see it in five years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpacePenguin Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 This is how Jurassic Park started. Beware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckus Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I love folks complaining that it will take 5 years with absolutely zero understand of what needs to be done. Classic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 My son loved the Dino exhibit. He's only 20 months old, but seeing the dino bones assembled was awesome to him. Hearing "wooooow!" every 2 minutes was one of the best feelings I've had as a parent. We showed him dinosaurs in books for a good 2 weeks before we went there which probably took the edge off of his fears a bit. He really did love the whole experience and I could tell he was in awe. He really liked seeing the Africa section as well. (Where the giraffe and lion and many, many other animals are displayed.) He was a bit scared to walk under the whale (suspended from ceiling) in the Ocean section but we made it fun and he did it a number of times after that. The only thing that really scared him was the polar bear, probably b/c the teeth are showing. The Smithsonian is such a great American treasure. I'm really proud that we have access to something this magnificent in our country. The last thing I would want is for some part of it to become stale simply b/c change was considered a bad thing. I'll be more than happy to patiently wait for an updated exhibit. And just to touch on the 5-year hiatus... I am completely ok with it. The dino exhibit can be so much more with a bit of rethinking. Some of the displays are showing some wear and tear on it and there's no evident chronological order to the hall as a whole. Ya just kinda mingle around through it and it's difficult to spend any long period of time in one place. (But I admit, this weekend wasn't the best time to do that with the cherry blossom parade and heavily tourism). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 A buddy of mine works at the Smithsonian. he's been posting pics of the delivery of the new T Rex. T Rex arrives... Signing off on the delivery... T Rex femur bone... Press conference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 BUT MY KIDS MUST SEE DINOSAURS! Do your fancy pants science somewhere else Aaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhh Thanks Obama! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 The museum needs to reimagine the exhibit and the space in a way that tells a more appropriate story that before. They should fully reimagine it first, finalize their plans for the renovation, then close it down. I understand these things take time, but 5 years is too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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