DinoFest recently took place at the Natural History Museum of Utah. One weekend every year the museum goes all out with dinosaur-themed lectures, vendors and exhibits. Also, a big hit for my two-year old: museum staff walking around in dinosaur costumes. A key feature of the event is the opening of the paleontology collections which are usually behind locked doors. Inside those doors you can observe an awesome array of ancient bones, teeth and impressions. I was especially moved by a replica of Archaeopteryx hung modestly on the wall before the main collections. Any casual observer can see the pattern of feathers — from 150 million years ago.
But what moved me even more than the dinosaurs was the many upright, bipedal primates who were there to see them. Some were quietly sifting through the crowds by themselves. Others moved in herds jockeying for position. There were large primates chasing after smaller ones, all teeth and laughter. There were old primates in wheelchairs being pushed by younger primates. There were middle-size primates holding each other’s hands. They arrived in machines powered by ancient life and the sun. Because so many primates were there, they had to leave those machines in overflow structures and walk in freezing temperatures. Primates of all shapes and sizes spent their hard-earned currency to see the bones of animals that lived millions of years before they did.
The success of DinoFest is a credit to the curious primates who dug in the Earth to uncover these bones. And to the primates who skillfully organized and preserved them. It’s also a credit to the primates who hold the power to fund the curious and skilled primates. DinoFest is a great weekend for dinosaurs, but it is a triumph for the primates who are in awe of them.
Michael S. Werner, Salt Lake City
