Dinosaurs, again
This past weekend The Bookworm, Beijing's popular English-language bookstore/restaurant/hang-out, hosted Damien and Ludovic from the Yizhou Dinosaur Park again. This is the same museum and park where we went last October to study dinosaurs. There were two programs on Saturday for children, a morning session with Ludo on fossil casts and an afternoon session with Damien about dinosaurs in general. We had originally only bought a ticket for the morning session. Once we got to the Bookworm, though, having driven all that way, we figured we may as well get him a ticket for the later talk as well. The whole afternoon worked out great for us because we got to eat lunch with a local tweep, Sarah, that I had not yet had the chance to meet face-to-face.
The morning casting lab was, of course, fantastic. The room was packed with very enthusiastic kids. As I tweeted then, it's a good thing that's my scene. Myles chose a mature allosaurus claw for his cast this time. I mentioned in a post below about children using real materials. The molds Ludo brought with him were from the museum's own shop. The kids used the same kind of elastomeric molds and plaster that they use at Yizhou to produce fossil casts for their own museum or other institutions.
Unlike last year at Yizhou, he wasn't grossed out mixing the plaster. It is a slimy process, so I can't blame him. After mixing it by hand they shoveled the plaster into the mold.
And when it was done he had a beautiful plaster cast.
Sunday afternoon at home Myles painted it. Because of time and space constraints, the program at the Bookworm was only the plaster work, not the finishing. Fortunately, last year at Yizhou, Myles saw how Ludo's assistants paint the casts there. Myles really wanted his claw to look museum quality. He layered the black and brown paints to create the illusion that this is sedimentary rock, not plaster.
Back to Saturday...
In the afternoon, Damien presented the many fossil casts (and a few genuine fossils) he brought with him from Yizhou. The largest was a femur from Mamenchisaurus. I mean, look at this thing.
During his presentation, Damien often sought answers from the audience. Myles was more than happy to supply them after others passed up the chance to volunteer. We had discussed this before because I wasn't sure if he understood this classroom etiquette. It was obvious to anyone what Myles' passion is. My favorite exchange went something like this:
Damien, holding up an example of an ammonite: And what sea predator that can be found in China ate this?
Myles, gleefully: A Mosasaur!
Damien: Well, yes they did, but they were not in the seas of China.
Myles, even more gleefully: An ichthyosaur!
Many of the small samples were passed around for the kids to examine. Myles enjoyed showing them to Brigid. That is a trilobite, for the uninitiated.
And one more picture for good measure.
The morning casting lab was, of course, fantastic. The room was packed with very enthusiastic kids. As I tweeted then, it's a good thing that's my scene. Myles chose a mature allosaurus claw for his cast this time. I mentioned in a post below about children using real materials. The molds Ludo brought with him were from the museum's own shop. The kids used the same kind of elastomeric molds and plaster that they use at Yizhou to produce fossil casts for their own museum or other institutions.
Unlike last year at Yizhou, he wasn't grossed out mixing the plaster. It is a slimy process, so I can't blame him. After mixing it by hand they shoveled the plaster into the mold.
And when it was done he had a beautiful plaster cast.
Sunday afternoon at home Myles painted it. Because of time and space constraints, the program at the Bookworm was only the plaster work, not the finishing. Fortunately, last year at Yizhou, Myles saw how Ludo's assistants paint the casts there. Myles really wanted his claw to look museum quality. He layered the black and brown paints to create the illusion that this is sedimentary rock, not plaster.
Back to Saturday...
In the afternoon, Damien presented the many fossil casts (and a few genuine fossils) he brought with him from Yizhou. The largest was a femur from Mamenchisaurus. I mean, look at this thing.
During his presentation, Damien often sought answers from the audience. Myles was more than happy to supply them after others passed up the chance to volunteer. We had discussed this before because I wasn't sure if he understood this classroom etiquette. It was obvious to anyone what Myles' passion is. My favorite exchange went something like this:
Damien, holding up an example of an ammonite: And what sea predator that can be found in China ate this?
Myles, gleefully: A Mosasaur!
Damien: Well, yes they did, but they were not in the seas of China.
Myles, even more gleefully: An ichthyosaur!
Many of the small samples were passed around for the kids to examine. Myles enjoyed showing them to Brigid. That is a trilobite, for the uninitiated.
And one more picture for good measure.
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