Psst… There are more dinosaurs at the museum! |
Welcome to “Life at the Edge,” where we explore the precarious yet resilient nature of life on Earth. This exhibit invites you to consider deep time (did you know?… that’s the billions of years our planet has existed!) through the narrative of life at the edge of a mass extinction event. Dinosaurs lived at a critical turning point in Earth’s history, much like the one we humans face today under the threat of climate change. Using dinosaurs as our guide, we highlight their resilience and ultimate demise due to catastrophic environmental change. We draw parallels between Earth’s past and the present, aiming to stimulate reflection and encourage dialogue about our own future on Earth. This exhibit isn’t just about the past but about our future on Earth.
Life at the Edge FAQs |
Daspletosaurus torosus
This larger dinosaur in the exhibit is chasing away the smaller “raptor.” Daspletosaurus was a large tyrannosaur from the Late Cretaceous, living between 78 and 74 million years ago. It could grow up to 9-10 meters long and weigh up to 4 tonnes (the weight of an average-size adult elephant). This large carnivore, whose name translates to “frightful lizard,” was an ancestor of the iconic T-Rex and was the apex predator of its environment.
Dromaeosaurus albertensis
The smaller dinosaur in the exhibit, being chased away by the Daspletosaurus, was a medium-sized dromeosaur from the Late Cretaceous, living from 80 to 69 million years ago. Commonly referred to as “raptors,” dromeosaurs include the famous Velociraptor. Dromaeosaurus, whose name means “runner lizard,” was around 2 meters long and weighed around 35 lbs (the weight of a medium-sized dog, like a Border Collie). This meat-eater used its sharp teeth, strong bite, and iconic oversized toe claw to hunt and incapacitate its prey.
Chasmosaurus
Similar to a triceratops, Chasmosaurus is represented in the exhibit by a wooden silhouette of its skull. This dinosaur lived during the Late Cretaceous period.
This exhibit uses dinosaurs as a hook to discuss extinction, our changing planet, and ideas of deep time. We explore important Earth science topics such as climate modeling, plate tectonics, and histories of fossil and mineral extraction. Our scene depicts a Daspletosaurus chasing a sneaky Dromaeosaurus away from stealing its prey, a Chasmosaurus, much like a grizzly bear would shoo crows away from its dinner.
You can find this exhibit in the Earth Sciences Building, the auxiliary gallery of the Pacific Museum of Earth on the Vancouver Campus of the University of British Columbia. The exhibit is set in the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada, but the dinosaur casts are based on specimens from the Judith River Formation in Montana, USA.
