Museum exhibits draw children to dinosaurs, disasters

A young girl looked as though she'd be crushed by the giant woolly mammoth in front of Morrill Hall Saturday, eagerly waiting for her father to snap a photograph – before it was too late.

The photo came just in time. She ran up the stairs and into the building, ready to face dangers at every turn.

The fifth annual Dinosaurs and Disasters! event, hosted by the Nebraska State Museum, had three floors of exhibits and booths. This year's theme was "Changes Over Time."

Carrie Ford, University Museum educator, stood behind a booth that was particularly attractive to children.

"I'm asking the kids to arrange the pictures of elephants from oldest to youngest," Ford said as she pointed to the images on the booth. "How do you think they looked years and years ago, and how do you think they look now?"

Kids took guesses at what the elephant's trunk was for, yielding a range of answers.

"They'll say ‘It's for fighting!' or ‘To clean their babies!'" Ford said with a laugh.

Children arranged the images and learned that elephants developed a trunk for eating, then got to color a picture of an elephant to take home.

"Sometimes the kids think that the biggest elephant is the oldest," Ford said. "And then they realize that the smaller pre-historic elephants don't look like elephants do today."

Elsewhere in the museum, children put together food chains and tried not to go "extinct" in the board game "Earth History Survivor Game."

Visitors got a chance to have an expert identify the rocks, minerals and fossils they had found.

Norm Smith, geology professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was busy identifying finds. "We identify rocks people may find in their backyard, driveway or grandmother's attic," Smith said.

Kathy French, University Museum education coordinator, said a number of museum educators, UNL professors and students volunteered to work the event.

"They've done a really good job making their booths appealing to all ages," she said. "The adults have fun and learn things at the same time as the kids."

At a weather booth, visitors saw how meteorologists measured wind speeds. Allan Curtis, a senior meteorology major, explained the digital readout from the weather model.

"It's my third year volunteering," he said. "To be honest, I do it because it's a lot of fun."

Curtis was one of many students doing just the same: donating their Saturday to make the event possible.

"Everyone is smiling and having a good time," French said. "It's a huge outreach."

AnthonyTroester@dailynebraskan.com