By Mary Beth Almond
C & G Staff Writer

BLOOMFIELD HILLS — One of the largest dinosaur fossils and fossil-cast installations in Michigan opened this month at Cranbrook Institute of Science.

Developed by the Institute of Science, “World of Dinosaurs; Land, Sea and Air,” is what geologist and paleontologist John Zawiskie said is arguably one of the world’s most significant private fossil collections.

“It’s undoubtedly the most comprehensive dinosaur exhibit that’s ever hit Michigan. There is well over 40 different species of dinosaurs and related prehistoric animals from mostly the Jurassic and Cretaceous time periods,” Zawiskie said.

Encompassing almost 6,000 square feet with more than 60 full-scale skeletal mounts, cast and restored from original specimens representing 40 species, “World of Dinosaurs” takes visitors back 250 million-65 million years to the Mesozoic Era and immerses them among the dinosaurs, reptiles and birds of the time.

Zawiskie said many of the dinosaurs in the exhibit are relatively new to people. “Some of the things that are in the exhibit are actually still un-described. They still have not been named or described by science, which is kind of cool,” he said.

One of the highlights of the show, according to Zawiskie, is a terrifying 40-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex — affectionately dubbed Stan. He is the second largest, and one of the most complete, of the 30 known Tyrannosaurus rex specimens discovered to date. Zawiskie said the fossil cast in “World of Dinosaurs” shows Stan had a rough life, with a healed broken neck, cracked ribs and puncture wounds the size of Tyrannosaurus rex’s teeth in the skull.

“Animals that lived at the same time are linked together in ecological scenes (in the exhibit) that would be plausible if you had gotten in a time machine and went back to the Mesozoic era somewhere. For example, T-rex is actually rampaging with his head close to the ground, chasing two other dinosaurs for lunch,” he said.

Throughout the exhibit, Stephen Pagnani, head of marketing for the institute, said brief narratives and graphics provide renditions of what many of the specimens may have looked like in life; explain their adaptations, living environment, size ranges and diets; and examine possible reasons for their ultimate demise.

Pagnani said there are also many activities to complement  the exhibition, such as a chance to sit on a real Apatosaurus limb bone, a “dig” area that enables young children to play archaeologist and uncover fossils, and a specially scheduled event that allows adults to prep real dinosaur bones from Wyoming still in the rock matrix in which they were discovered.

“Whenever we have a dinosaur exhibit, they are always very popular because people are always fascinated by them. This allows you to stand next to dinosaurs and ancient birds and reptiles and really gives you an idea of how diverse these creatures were, and how diverse life was at the time,” Pagnani said.

“World of Dinosaurs; Land, Sea and Air” runs through Jan. 2 and is free with admission to the Institute of Science, 39221 Woodward Ave.

For more information, call (248) 645-3200 or visit http://science.cranbrook.edu.