Dinosaur Audio Guide: Design the Sentences

Bones, Gaps, and Possibilities

1Welcome to the dinosaur gallery. I’m Renata, a student volunteer recording this guide with exhibit designer Idris. Before you examine the skeleton ahead, notice its shadow across the wall. The lighting makes the animal seem ready to step forward, but the skeleton itself is held in place by a metal support. Our recording will separate what you can observe from what researchers must work to infer. You can pause the recording at any stop and spend more time with an object.

2The first stop is a mounted Triceratops skeleton. Its skull has three horns and a broad, bony frill. If you want to examine the frill more closely, follow the floor arrow to the side platform. The platform stands beside the display case. From there, look for the small labels that identify which displayed pieces are original fossils and which are casts. A cast reproduces the shape of another object; it is not the original fossil. Read those labels before deciding what the display contains.

3Now turn toward the footprint panel. A footprint is a trace fossil: it records an animal’s activity rather than preserving part of its body. Several prints in a trackway can provide clues about movement. Researchers compare the shapes and spacing of prints, and they consider the material in which the tracks formed. Because different conditions can change a footprint’s shape, a single print may leave questions unanswered. The panel presents an interpretation, not a recording of the animal’s steps. Notice how its caption distinguishes an observation from a possible explanation.

4Our final stop is an artist’s reconstruction beside a fossil photograph. The photograph shows preserved evidence; the reconstruction combines evidence with choices about details that remain uncertain. Although the picture looks complete, some details remain uncertain, and the caption identifies those gaps in our knowledge. Look back and forth between the two images. Which features can you connect directly to the photographed fossil? Which would require other evidence? Before leaving, replay any section that raised a question. A useful guide gives you information and makes room for careful looking.