“Hatching the Past” focuses on dinosaur eggs

How to Go:

For more information: (937) 275-7431 or BoonshoftMuseum.org

What makes dinosaurs so endlessly fascinating? Just ask Mackenzie England.

A paleontologist whose serves as assistant coordinator of school and teacher services at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, England is especially excited about the museum’s current exhibit: “Hatching the Past: The Great Dinosaur Egg Hunt.” The show will be on view through Aug. 23.

“People find dinosaurs to be mysterious,” said England, who grew up with “Jurassic Park” and was always interested in dinos. “There’s a lot we don’t know about them because all we ever find is the bones. We very rarely find the eggs or impressions of their skin or feathers, so when we find a nest, we’re very excited to see it!”

That’s what makes the current bi-lingual exhibit at the Boonshoft quite different than the animated dinosaurs displays we’ve seen over the years. This one, which focuses on the family lives of dinosaurs through their eggs, nests and embryos, was developed by Charlie and Florence Magovern of The Stone Company, Boulder, Colorado in association with the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

You’ll actually see authentic dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all over the globe — including those of each of the major plant and meat-eating dinosaur groups. The displays that are under glass are actual specimens; those that aren’t under glass, you’re free to touch.

“All dinosaurs lay eggs and the dinosaurs in this exhibit are both oviraptors — an Asian dinosaur — and some other dinosaurs as well,” explained England. “I find it interesting that you can both see the real fossils and get to touch some replicas of those exact same fossils. And I also like how there are multiple dinosaurs represented. This exhibit shows the different kinds of nests.”

Geared toward older children and adults, the show does have some interactive elements for the little ones — they can dig for eggs, for example. You’ll want to have a camera in hand when they don dinosaur costumes to become a titanosaur or an oviraptor. There are dinosaur nests that contain fabric eggs and a neat bone puzzle where kids have to figure out — just like the paleontologists — how to fit the dinosaur bones back together. Children can sit on an egg and pretend to hatch a baby dino and play video games featuring dinosaurs.

On the day we visited, six-year-old Isaac Callahan of Fairborn was absorbed in looking at the oviraptors with feathers. “They’re really interesting to look at,” said Isaac.

About the eggs

According to the exhibit creators, although dinosaur eggs were first identified in the 1920s, their scientific significance was not fully appreciated until the end of the 20th century. Today, they are recognized for their enormous scientific value and for offering fascinating details and fresh insights into the behavior, growth and evolution of dinosaurs.

You’ll learn that there are two types of dinosaur fossils: a “life assemblage” that occurred when a catastrophic event occurred so suddenly that the dinosaurs were buried fast enough to preserve them in action, and a “death assemblage” when an animal died and was buried after the body may have been moved around by predators, weather or rivers.

You’ll also learn that the dinosaurs dug depressions in the ground to make nests for their hard-shelled eggs and that they were laid in different patterns — a spiral pattern, irregular clusters, arcs and parallel rows.

What’s new in this exhibit

“Hatching the Past” offers new discoveries about dinosaur reproduction and behavior and introduces visitors to long-debated theories that dinosaurs and birds are closely related. In addition to touching the real dinosaur bones and reconstructed nests — one more than eight feet in diameter — there are animated video presentations featuring well-known dinosaur experts. Each section features life-like models of embryos and hatchlings, colorful illustrations of dinosaur family life and photographs of some of the world’s most renowned dinosaur hunters and their discoveries. There’s lots of interesting wall text for those who want to learn even more.

The collection of real fossils on view includes an authentic bowling ball-sized egg of a sauropod from Argentina laid by a long-necked plant-eating titanosaur that lived 75 million years ago; a large cluster of eggs laid by a duck-billed, plant-eating dinosaur, and the longest dinosaur eggs ever discovered – almost 18 inches long — laid by a new giant species of oviraptor, a carnivorous, ostrich-like dinosaur.

England said the response to this particular exhibit has been quite positive. “A lot of people are very interested in seeing it and learning from it.”