Justin Watkins, 2, checks out the From Dinosaurs to Mammals exhibit. photo by Norma Dawson
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By Blair Braitenbach
Staff reporter
Got a beastly craving for evolution? The dramatic rise and fall of dinosaurs to the rule of mammals will be brought to life for the next month at the Millarville Community Library.
Opening on March 13 and running until May 1, the Millarville library is hosting the traveling exhibition From Dinosaurs to Mammals, courtesy of the Canadian Museum of Nature – a natural history museum located in Ottawa. The historical transition from the gigantic reptiles to fuzzy mammals is explained through real specimens, graphic panels, a laptop computer bookmarked on dinosaur and ancient mammal information, placemats and books with illustrations.
Norma Dawson, Millarville librarian, said she finds the exhibit fascinating and so far the response from the community and elementary students has been very positive.
“It’s quite concise, and I think it’s well done,” Dawson said.
Some of the specimens include dinosaur jawbones of the herbivorous edmontosaurus and the carnivorous daspletosaurus, which walked the earth about 70 million years ago. Representing present day mammals are the skulls of a beaver and a deer.
The exhibit also explains the theoretic demise of the dinosaurs caused by a giant meteor, something Dawson said has some local significance. A sign in the Millarville Community School explains that in 1978 a meteorite was found in a field around the Millarville area.
Through all the interactive materials available in the exhibit, Dawson said youths and adults alike are given the opportunity to become amateur paleontologists.
“It’s pretty neat. It’s not like going to the (Royal Tyrell) museum in Drumheller where it’s so much greater, but I think it gives (people) a taste of it,” Dawson said.
All are welcome to visit the library and view the evolution exhibit. The Millarville library is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Wednesdays the library is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Fridays from 9 a.m. until noon.
For more information about the exhibition, people can call the Millarville library at 931-3919. |
