Friday, March 22, 2013

Day with the Dinosaurs


 
Walking into a museum is like stepping into an entirely different world. It’s what I love most about it. The escape from the everyday hustle and bustle, letting your mind wander, and traveling back in time.
 
Sebastian and I put on our explorer's hats and back in time we went… travelling millions of years to a land where humans didn’t exist, and dinosaurs roamed the land. From the moment we entered Toronto’s ROM, we were greeted with a massive Futalognkosaurus (say that five times fast!), and I found myself waiting in line for tickets just standing there, jaw-to-floor, in awe. It’s the kind of admiration where you know that if you weren’t so fascinated by looking at their skeletons, you’d be booking it in the opposite direction, filled with sheer terror.
 
As we walked through the Ultimate Dinosaur exhibit, I kept imagining what they were like in the flesh, while replaying the Jurassic Park Trilogy in my head… every so often, peeking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t being stalked by a Raptor. As we explored, our amazement only grew, all the things I learned when I was a kid was coming right back to me ten-fold. The massive skulls, horns, and razor sharp teeth stared down at us… this was a species who ruled Earth for 135 million years. You can’t help but think about how insignificant our own human history is in comparison, just a tiny blip on the radar.
 
Now, 65 million years after their extinction, which has been credited towards a variety of causes... an asteroid, volcanic explosions, tectonic plate activity, the ice age... all that's left is bones... and if you use your imagination, they come back to life all over again.
 

P.S. This video of the history of Earth's formation is really incredible to watch, if you're interested. (Might as well go full-nerd today!)

4 comments:

  1. I adore museums - there's something magic about seeing everything that came before we did! I've taken several modules in evolutionary biology, and the insignificant amount of time that humans have been around never fails to amaze me! And then it saddens me that we've been around for such a short time, yet caused so much damage. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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  2. I love museums! The photographs are so beautiful in this post.

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  3. You should have went during Friday Night Live at the Rom during the fall last year. Drink beers and party with the dinosaurs!

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