If you build it...

I've mentioned before that one of the fun things about writing CHRONAL ENGINE is that it provides an excellent excuse to visit natural history museums and other places where paleo-stuff abounds. 

T.rex ("Sue") and H.sapiens (unidentified)

Over the past few years, a number of the major natural history museums have revamped their dinosaur and paleontology displays.  The Field Museum in Chicago did so a few years back in conjunction with the acquisition of Sue, the largest, most complete T.rex.  The Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh also recently completed a remodel, changing their old dinosaur hall into an exhibit called Dinosaurs in their Time.

Exhibit in progress.  Photo courtesy Carnegie Museum of Natural History

More recently, in 2009, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History opened its new building and a new display of north Texas dinosaurs, including Paluxysaurus, the state dinosaur of Texas.

Paluxysaurus. Photo courtesy Fort Worth Museum of Science & History

Just to the east, in Dallas, the Museum of Nature and Science is expanding into a new Victory Park Facility, to be named the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and scheduled to open at the end of 2012.  I understand they're going to be having a fantastic display of my favorite sauropod, Alamosaurus.

Photo courtesy Dallas Museum of Nature & Science

In Houston, the Houston Museum of Natural Science expansion is also scheduled to open in 2012.  The museum will be nearly doubling in size and a good portion of the space will be the paleo display(s), including the azhdarchid pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus.

Quetzalcoatlus skull

Over in Salt Lake City, the Utah Museum of Natural History is moving into new digs this month and will include  an entirely new (naturally) paleontology exhibit.  Also in Utah, at Dinosaur National Monument, the new Visitor Center is finished and the Quarry Exhibit Hall is now open again!

Quarry Exhibit Hall.  Photo courtesy National Park Service

Finally, up in Waco, for the mammal aficionados, the Mammoth Site opened in 2009.  It's a display of a dig site of entire herd of Columbian mammoths and a couple other Pleistocene creatures.

Photo courtesy Waco Mammoth Site

 Road trip, anyone?