From live streaming beluga whale migrations to visiting the zoo of your choice, witnessing the wonders of the natural world is quite an incredible experience. But what about the wonder of long-dead species that roamed planet Earth millions of years ago? IFLScience took a trip to the Natural History Museum in London learn all about their shiny new bronze DiplodocusFern, and exactly what belongs to the production dinosaur specimens for display.
He is standing in front of a giant bronze Diplodocus welcoming visitors to the museum’s brand new Jurassic Garden, Professor Susie Maidment, the museum’s palaeontologist, explains what goes into creating a dinosaur display specimen. Fern is a marvel, 22 meters long and 4 meters high, but it is also a replica of the world famous Dippy. Diplodocus which has welcomed visitors to the museum’s main entrance hall for almost 40 years. However, Fern was made even more scientifically accurate and improved by new techniques and knowledge that did not exist when Dippy first arrived in London in 1905.
The original Dippy was discovered in Wyoming, America in 1899 when millionaire businessman Andrew Carnegie set out to obtain bones for display at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. But are the remains of long-dead creatures still bones? When a paleontologist or amateur fossil hunter finds a dinosaur skeleton in the wild, what does he actually find and then what does he put on display?
“We found fossilized bone, it will be a combination between actual bone tissue and minerals that infiltrated the bone over the millions of years it was buried and precipitated and replaced part of the bone,” Professor Maidment told IFLScience.
Inside the museum, you can witness a combination of these fossilized bones and replicas for various reasons. Not all skeletons can be exhibited, some have more scientific value to study, so museums around the world make replicas to show the skeletons to the public. Some bones must also naturally remain in the country they were found in, so creating replicas is a great way to showcase species to a wider audience.
Sophia Stegosauruswhich greets visitors at the second entrance to the museum is the most complete Stegosaurus in the world, and most of what you see there is real bone, Maidment told IFLScience. However, the actual skull is kept behind the scenes because it is broken and rather than being glued together for display, the scientific value is greater for researchers who can study it in detail, so the head on display is a 3D printed replica.
Dippy – and now Fern – is a complete replica of Carnegie Diplodocus with the main body formed from three separate skeletons and the skull from many more. In fact, originally Dippy’s back legs were also used as front legs because scientists didn’t know what their front legs looked like, but don’t worry, they’ve since been replaced.
To replicate the specimens, older casts like Dippy would be made using plaster of Paris to cover each bone, which would be used to create a detailed mold. This would then be filled with resin or plastic to replicate each piece.
“In the old days, you would take the bones and cover them with latex or a rubber-type liquid that would harden, then you’d peel it off the bone and put a patch inside to make an exact replica.” Maidment explained.
But times have moved on and new technology such as 3D printing has made it possible to scan all 292 of Dippy’s bones and create molds to cast Fern in more weather-resistant bronze for his place in the museum’s gardens. While creating a bronze dinosaur like Fern was a technical challenge, 3D printing also provides scientists with more flexible materials that may be more accessible when working with a life-size model of the 30-ton animal.