'Hatching the Past' at Melbourne Museum

Melbourne, AU - Never before seen in Australia, the exhibition features over 130 dinosaur egg casts, 15 complete articulated dinosaur cast skeletons, life-sized models as well as baby chickens, alligators and other live exhibits. What came first – the dinosaur or the egg? Find out the answer in Hatching the Past: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, a new exhibition on display at Melbourne Museum from 30 May to 24 August 2008.

Hatching the Past will feature a variety of ‘modern day’ dinosaurs, including baby chicken hatchlings, baby alligators and baby lizards. The family-friendly exhibition also features the opportunity to touch cast dinosaur bones and nests, dig for eggs and experience hands-on learning centres.

Also featured in the exhibition is the nearly complete skeleton cast of a dinosaur embryo found by Hatching the Past creator Charlie Magovern. Nicknamed ‘Baby Louie’ after National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos, the discovery was made in 1993 when palaeontologists were cleaning a large block of eggs from China.

The exhibition showcases an extraordinary collection of 100 fossilized eggs from each of the major plant and meat eating dinosaur groups. Collected from all over the world, the fossils include a bowling ball-sized egg of a titanosaur from Argentina and the longest dinosaur eggs ever discovered- those of the oviraptor, a carnivorous, ostrich-like dinosaur discovered in Central China.

“Hatching the Past presents new discoveries about dinosaur reproduction and behaviour. We are especially looking forward to the ‘live’ components of the exhibition – the baby chicken hatchlings, baby alligators and lizards said Brett Dunlop, Manager, Melbourne Museum.

Although dinosaur eggs were first identified in fossils in the 1920’s, their scientific significance was not fully appreciated until the end of the 20th century. Today, dinosaur eggs are recognized for their enormous scientific value and for offering fascinating details and fresh insights into the behaviour, growth and evolution of dinosaurs. Including scientific contributions from palaeontologists from Yale University, the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the exhibition also showcases the world’s largest and smallest hard shelled eggs.

For more information related to dinosaurs, visit rareresource.com.