Hadrosaurus foulkii was a plant-eating duckbill dinosaur discovered in 1858 in Haddonfield, N.J., by an Academy member. It was later reconstructed by the artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins based on Academy research. It became the world’s first mounted dinosaur skeleton at the Academy in 1868. The exhibit was an instant sensation, drawing people from all over the world.
To this day the Academy is known as “the dinosaur museum.” Fittingly, Hadrosaurus is displayed in the museum’s Art of Science Gallery as the centerpiece of an exhibit that reveals the science and art of visualizing a living animal based on fragmentary fossils. This exhibit isn’t your ordinary dinosaur exhibit. Behind it stands an enormous chalkboard on which artists have drawn their own interpretations of what Hadrosaurus looked like in life. Below we share three time-lapse videos of Hadrosaurus coming to life right before our eyes. Read on to find out how you can see a similar show live on March 3 and 4, 2018.
This weekend (March 3-4, 2018) is Paleopalooza, the Academy’s annual festival of fossils. Local graffiti artist Christian Rodriguez, whose work has been displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, will recreate the famous Hadrosaurus foulkii on our giant chalkboard while visitors watch. Find out why you can’t miss this 10th anniversary celebration of this festival of epic proportions!