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Growing Up With Dinosaurs

By loom on March 16, 2005.

feathered dino.gifI can't remember the first time I saw the dinosaur fossils at the American Museum of Natural History, but they've been good friends for over thirty years. We've all changed a lot over that time. I've grown up and gotten a bit gray, while they've hiked up their tails, gotten a spring in their step, and even sprouted feathers.

I plan to take my daughters to see the new exhibit at AMNH, Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries, this spring, and it will be strange to watch them get to know these dinosaurs all over again. In January I got a chance to slink around the exhibit while it was still under construction when I paid a visit to Mark Norell, the museum's top dinosaur guru. I asked Norell what were the biggest questions he has today about dinosaurs, and we spoke about everything from the evolution of birds to just how wrong Jurassic Park turned out to be. Conversations with him and several other leading dinosaur experts led to my cover story in the new issue of Discover.

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evolution

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