HMNS paleontology hall wows on opening weekend

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It's a feast for the eyes and playground for amateur paleontologists. The Hall of Paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science opened this weekend to wide-eyed reviews of the dynamic dinosaur exhibits.

"I'm blown away. I didn't know that there would be this many, and it's an excellent collection," said Wade Harris, who made the drive down from College Station with his son to see the fossils.

The exhibit is larger than a football field, two stories high and you could fit five to six Goodyear blimps inside. But it's not only size which makes it special, according to the museum's president, Joel Bartsch.

"This is giant dinosaurs posed as if they are fighting each other, dramatically lit," Bartsch described.

And you don't have to be a kid to enjoy this exhibit. Just ask Houston Mayor Annise Parker.

"This is so cool. It will bring out the kid in everybody that comes in here," Parker said. "This is going to be another tourist destination in our pantheon of great places to go when you visit Houston."

Bartsch agrees, saying that people are fans as soon as they enter.

"Kids of all ages -- whether they're nine or 90 -- when they walk in here, they just go 'wow!'" he said. "And then we got 'em."

For more information and ticket sales, visit www.hmns.org.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Houston Museum of Natural Science putting finishing touches on new Hall of Paleontology

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is putting the finishing touches on its new Hall of Paleontology set to open June 2

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Houston Museum of Natural Science is putting the finishing touches on its look back at the land before time.

The museum plans to open its Hall of Paleontology to the public this summer. The hall is the length of a football field and features dozens of different dinosaurs.

Included in the display are some favorites, like the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Triceratops, and some relatively unknown dinosaurs like a display 7-year-old Hannah Aaronson donated to the museum. It's a replica fossil of an arthropod more than 500 million years old

"We went to Tucson and there was an auction there, so we went to the auction and I bought it," said Hannah Aaronson, who donated the display. "I thought that it may be really cool for other kids to see my thing."

The museum's new Hall of Paleontology opens June 2.

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