The simulation at the heart of Be the Dinosaur™ is the largest and most complex restoration of an extinct ecosystem ever created, representing over 2 square miles of Late Cretaceous environment. Our panel of paleontology advisors supervised at every stage of development for the various dinosaur species to ensure scientific accuracy of the creatures’ carefully crafted artificial intelligence, muscle and digestive systems. Action in the world is orchestrated by a state of the art physics engine, and the environment is complete with period specific insects, fish, pterosaurs, small mammals and amphibians – all based on fossil evidence from a specific formation in North America. This spectacular virtual world is complete with wind patterns to distribute digital odors emanating from the virtual plants and animals, and accurate plant-life with proper nutritional values based on research from the field of paleobotany.
In the "Paleontologist's Field Station" and other elements of the exhibit, we review some of the issues considered during the digital restoration of the dinosaurs:
The 20th century was a time of incredible growth in our knowledge of dinosaurs and their world. Paleontology has revealed so much about dinosaurs that it is often surprising for visitors to discover just how much we do NOT know. All the marvelous contributions from great scientists in the field cannot tell us what color dinosaurs were, what they smelled like, or what sounds these ancient creatures made. Many great mysteries of dinosaur science have yet to be unraveled, and still more are yet to be discovered.
What we do know comes from the direct evidence of fossils and other remnants of the dinosaurs and their environment preserved in rocks around the world.
Fossils can tell us about the size of a dinosaur, where it lived (or at least died), they can give us clues about what they ate, and sometimes even what they may have looked like – but they can’t tell us how a dinosaur behaved.
To imagine what a dinosaur might have been like when it was alive, we need to think about the fossils while keeping in mind what the fossil evidence actually tells us.
We consulted paleontologists at every turn to ensure that this simulation maintained high levels of accuracy and realism, was true to the science of paleontology, and still invokes a sense of fun and adventure while being intensely educational.
The educational impact of the Be the Dinosaur™ simulation is so compelling that some of our advisors have been using imagery from the simulation in their presentations to peers and graduate students. Dr. John Hutchinson, Chief Paleontologist on the exhibit advisory panel, and an expert on dinosaur locomotion, has even expressed interest in installing several simulators in his university classroom!
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How Can We Infer The Behavior Of Extinct Animals?
Do the bones of T. rex tell us whether it was a hunter or a scavenger? No. The bones of T. rex tells us that it was a large and powerful animal with crushing jaws and huge banana-sized teeth – but they don’t tell us whether or not it used them to hunt live prey.
Because animal behavior begins with the brain, scientists scanned the skulls of T. rex in order to figure out what kind of brain might have existed in the space within. What do the size of the brain structures tell us about how T. rex may have behaved?
A large olfactory bulb, or smell center, would have allowed a T. rex to smell a carcass from a great distance - but this sense of smell could also have been important for hunting or social behavior.
A robust optic nerve paired with forward facing eyes suggests excellent vision - important for both hunters and scavengers.
Large inner-ear structures, the largest organs of balance in all of the tyrannosaurs, means that T. rex likely was a very agile animal. Important for hunting.
Bones of the inner-ear are also more developed, suggesting that it had superior hearing. An important trait for a hunter, but of much less benefit to a scavenger.
Evidence gained by examination of fossil remains suggest that the behavior of T. rex was more like that of a hunter than a scavenger. Across 65 million years, the bones give us a picture of an animal’s daily life. Scavenging would certainly have been one of the ways T. rex got its food – but current paleontological consensus suggests it was probably not the only way.
How Fast Was T.rex?
Well... we don’t really know. With some basic detective work, however, paleontologists can build a strong theoretical model to explain T. rex locomotion.
Examination of fossil footprints, also known as trackways, can tell us quite a bit about how a dinosaur moved. Though no trackways have been found for T. rex, we can use evidence from related carnivorous dinosaurs for clues to how the great carnivore walked.
The distance between prints – the stride length- can give us clues as to how fast the animal moved. The depth of the tracks provide clues about how heavy the creature was and a lack of tail marks shows us the creature held its tail up off the ground when it walked. The type of rock where the tracks were found can even give us an idea of what type of ground the dinosaur had walked on.
Other lines of evidence help refine our understanding by comparing extinct creatures to animals alive today, such as running birds, elephants, crocodiles, and other creatures.
We study the basic structure of animals, their anatomy, to help us reconstruct dinosaurs based only on their bones.
We can also learn from studying how modern animals move, how their bones fit together and how muscles move those bones, a field of study known as biomechanics.
In recent years more and more paleontologists have turned to computers and simulations, similar to what you will experience in this exhibit, to test their ideas.
While there will always be a lot of uncertainty about dinosaur movement, based on these lines of evidence so far we can say that a T. rex could walk no more than 10 mph, might be able to run, but couldn’t sprint faster than 25mph at best, perhaps even slower.
T. rex walk cycle development video for the Be the Dinosaur™ simulation
The simulation at the heart of Be the Dinosaur™ is the largest and most complex restoration of an extinct ecosystem ever created, representing over 2 square miles of Late Cretaceous environment. Our panel of paleontology advisors supervised at every stage of development for the various dinosaur species to ensure scientific accuracy of the creatures’ carefully crafted artificial intelligence, muscle and digestive systems. Action in the world is orchestrated by a state of the art physics engine, and the environment is complete with period specific insects, fish, pterosaurs, small mammals and amphibians – all based on fossil evidence from a specific formation in North America. This spectacular virtual world is complete with wind patterns to distribute digital odors emanating from the virtual plants and animals, and accurate plant-life with proper nutritional values based on research from the field of paleobotany.
In the "Paleontologist's Field Station" and other elements of the exhibit, we review some of the issues considered during the digital restoration of the dinosaurs:
Fossils can tell us about the size of a dinosaur, where it lived (or at least died), they can give us clues about what they ate, and sometimes even what they may have looked like – but they can’t tell us how a dinosaur behaved.
Do the bones of T. rex tell us whether it was a hunter or a scavenger? No. The bones of T. rex tells us that it was a large and powerful animal with crushing jaws and huge banana-sized teeth – but they don’t tell us whether or not it used them to hunt live prey.
Well... we don’t really know. With some basic detective work, however, paleontologists can build a strong theoretical model to explain T. rex locomotion.
We can also learn from studying how modern animals move, how their bones fit together and how muscles move those bones, a field of study known as biomechanics.
