The Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) is home to several permanent exhibits, including the Morian Hall of Paleontology. Established in 2012, Morian Hall features fossils from various prehistoric animals. Rather than arranging fossils in standing rows, The people behind the Morian Hall of Paleontology have placed dinosaurs and other animals in settings similar to their natural environments. Instead, the museum depicts animals as they lived millions of years ago: hunting for food, raising their young, and struggling to stay alive. The fossils on display include Platybelodon (prehistoric elephant), Psittacosaurus (horned dinosaur), Chilotherium (prehistoric rhinoceros), and the saber-toothed tiger.
Platybelodon was a member of the family Amebelodontidae. While all members of the family are extinct, they were part of the Proboscidea order, which includes present-day elephants. Platybelodon was smaller than most modern elephants, weighing between two and three tons and measuring 10 feet in length. On the other hand, Chilotherium was slightly taller and far heavier than modern rhinos, weighing between one and 2.5 tons.
Psittacosaurus fossils, meanwhile, measure about 6.5 feet from nose to tail. Visitors will notice the biped's unique skull, which sports a high, narrow build and a rostral or small bone forming an upper beak.
Morian Hall does not focus exclusively on prehistoric animals. Visitors can also learn about the long journey of human evolution. Attractions include tree-climbing ancestors, the australopithecines, and more modern examples of homo sapiens, such as the mammoth-hunting tribes.
Robert T. Bakker, Ph.D., a globally recognized paleontologist and one of the earliest proponents of the concept of feathered dinosaurs, curated all exhibits. Throughout his career, he has played an integral role in shifting the public perception of dinosaurs from plodding, cold-blooded animals to intelligent, and in some cases, warm-blooded creatures that ruled the planet for over 200 million years.
Visitors to the Morian Hall of Paleontology can also learn about the paleontologists who make all of the exhibits possible at the HMNS Fossil Prep Lab, as well as information regarding the mass extinction event that brought an end to the time of the dinosaurs.
Preparation or “prep” is an umbrella term used by paleontologists to encompass all techniques and processes that safely and effectively extract fossils. Paleontologists extract fossils from a variety of locations and surfaces, collectively referred to as the encapsulating matrix. Professionals use an array of techniques in fossil preparation, all of which visitors can explore during hands-on tours of the HMNS Fossil Prep Lab.
The extinction of dinosaurs, meanwhile, has remained a major source of interest for paleontologists and casual museum-goers for decades. Most evidence suggests that a major asteroid impact ended the dinosaurs’ time on earth. However, the impact did not immediately kill all dinosaurs on the planet, and several additional factors influenced the decline of dinosaurs and the eventual rise of mammals, including volcanic eruptions and climate changes.
The Morian Hall of Paleontology also manages age-based programming, such as the HMNS Senior Social and a virtual camp for junior paleontologists. Morian Hall has scheduled several in-person events for the fall of 2022, including Six Degrees of Science: The Reign of the Mammals and The Age of Man: Primates and Humans.
