Dinosaur Gallery: Keep the Guide's Voice

Tracks, Teeth, and Questions

1Welcome to the dinosaur gallery. Take a moment to explore the footprints beside you; each one offers a clue worth noticing. The display contains casts, or copies, of fossil footprints. A label identifies where the original tracks were found. The footprints form a trail across the low platform.

2Start with the track nearest the entrance. Notice the three long toe marks spreading from its center. Footprints can preserve information that a skeleton cannot, including where an animal stepped. A series of prints may offer clues about how it moved. Researchers compare the shapes and spacing of tracks before suggesting which kind of animal might have made them.

3Now turn toward the mounted skeleton. Some of the pieces on display are replicas that stand in for missing or fragile fossils. The small diagram on the wall distinguishes the original fossils from these copies. Using replicas allows a museum to present a more complete outline while protecting delicate material. The diagram also makes clear which parts visitors are seeing.

4At the next case, compare the shapes of the teeth. Some dinosaur teeth had broad surfaces suited to grinding plant material. Others had sharp edges suited to cutting flesh. Tooth shape is one piece of evidence about an animal's diet. Scientists also consider other clues, such as jaw structure, rather than relying on a single feature.

5Before leaving this stop, return your attention to the footprints. The tracks and the skeleton reveal different kinds of information about animals from the distant past. Neither display answers every question. As you continue through the gallery, notice how each label separates observations from explanations. You can use that distinction to consider how the evidence supports an idea.