GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For as long as dinosaurs walked the Earth, flying animals called pterosaurs ruled the skies. They ranged from the size of a sparrow to that of a two-seater plane. Close relatives of dinosaurs, these extraordinary winged reptiles – the first back-boned animals to evolve powered flight, and the only vertebrates to develop this ability besides birds and bats—are the focus of the intriguing exhibition!
Pterosaurs is included in your admission ticket to the Museum.
Several interactives in this exhibit help visitors see the world from a pterosaur’s-eye view. In Fly Like a Pterosaur, visitors can “pilot” two species of flying pterosaurs over prehistoric landscapes complete with forest, sea, and volcano in a whole-body interactive exhibit that uses motion-sensing technology. For a different perspective on flight, visitors will also be able to experiment with the principles of pterosaur aerodynamics in an interactive virtual wind tunnel that responds to the movements of their hands.
Five iPad stations offer visitors the inside scoop on different pterosaur species—Pteranodon, Tupuxuara, Pterodaustro, Jeholopterus, and Dimorphodon—with animations of pterosaurs flying, walking, eating and displaying crests; multi-layered interactives that allow users to explore pterosaur fossils, behavior, and anatomy; and video clips featuring commentary from curators and other experts.
Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs is Great for School Groups!
Students will experience the world through the eyes of a pterosaur by “piloting” two species of flying pterosaurs over prehistoric landscapes, analyzing bone fragments and more. Then explore life-size pterosaur models and rare fossil casts to discover how these vertebrates moved on land and in the air, how they hunted and more in multi-layered interactives! Students will come away with an understanding of why pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to adapt the ability to fly.
The exhibit is open now through September 4, 2022.
FOX 17 is proud to be a sponsor of the Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs exhibit.