Talisman Energy Fossil Gallery
In addition to dinosaurs, the gallery has outstanding specimens of marine reptiles, fish, mammals and plants on display.
The Talisman Energy Fossil Gallery presents a unique look at the dramatic events that led to the extinction of dinosaurs and rise of mammals through a 50-million-year slice of time (spanning roughly 85 to 35 million years ago).
See 300 amazing specimens -- three-quarters of the fossils are real, a remarkably high number for public display. Gasp in amazement when you walk into a swamp forest to find seven life-sized dinosaurs locked in a dramatic confrontation.
You will see:
- dinosaurs, marine creatures, early mammals and more
- 25 complete skeletons from the end of the dinosaur era, 85 to 65 million years ago.
- 11 complete skeletons from 64 to 35 million years ago, the exciting early years of the "Age of Mammals" that followed the extinction of the dinosaurs.
- two vivid diorama scenes with 15 fleshed-out, life-sized models produced by some of the world's top model-makers
- 3D animation that brings some these extinct animals "alive".
Get up-close-and-personal with the carnivorous Daspletosaurus torosus, the frilled Chasmosaurus irvinensis, and the feathered Sinornithosaurus millenii.
Experience the great asteroid impact in our Extinction Theatre, and then emerge to the dawn of a different era in which new creatures took over the world.
Check out the giant sea turtle, Archelon ischyros; the walking whale, Ambulocetus natans; and even early primates, our own remote ancestors.
Explore these and other questions:
- What happened 65 million years ago? Did dinosaurs become extinct because an asteroid collided with the Earth, or from hundreds of thousands of years of volcanic activity and changing climate? Or both?
- Why did some animals survive and others die out?
- How did a four-legged land animal evolve into a whale?
- Did birds evolve from feathered dinosaurs?
It's a 50-million-year-long mysterious journey you won't forget!
Innovation
Specimens are beautifully mounted using innovative techniques. Panel mounts made by Charles Sternberg in the early 1900s demonstrate a method of display that few had attempted at the time. New, articulated mounts by Nature's own blacksmiths depict realistic postures based on up-to-date science; the graceful supports cradle bones so they are not damaged and permit them to be lifted out again for study.
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