Because the prepare rushes trough the flat panorama, because the cities and villages grow to be fewer and farther between and because the forests of the Veluwe give approach to the lakes and fields of the North, I really feel strengthened. I’ve lived centrally within the Netherlands for years, however my interior compass nonetheless factors due North. It’s all the time price popping out all this manner.
There’s all the time some dinosaur exhibition happening someplace. Three years in the past, it was Denekamp; final 12 months, it was Vlaardingen. Now, it’s the flip of Natuurmuseum Fryslân in distant Leeuwarden, giving me the excuse to exit to the beautiful North and go to a museum I’ve by no means been. And what a beautiful day it was, sunny however quiet. Our museum is housed on this charming seventeenth century former orphanage.
Via the entry reward store we go, into this coated courtyard. It’s scorching right here in the summertime. However, espresso and tea are complimentary, so I my wonderful temper continues.
Right here is the occasion that caught my consideration: “Dino Dubbelgangers”. As you may need guessed, it means “Dino Doppelgängers”, and the premise of the exhibition is that it compares extinct dinosaurs to their dwelling analogues.
A Mesozoic dinosaur appears into the mirror and sees a Holocene animal that, roughly, fills the identical area of interest. On this case, Thescelosaurus acknowledges itself within the roe deer… or is it the opposite method round? They’re each smallish herbivores in an atmosphere with loads of greater issues round, poised to flee from hazard relatively than struggle. I’ll share my ideas concerning the premise of this exhibition later… however lets first admire the beautiful minimalist design of the exhibit right here, the well-lit animals towards the easy black backdrop and the mirror offering a transparent and putting picture that communicates the intent very properly.
The reconstructed Thescelosaurus skeleton is taken into account the spotlight of the exhibition. It isn’t a very large dinosaur, nevertheless it’s nonetheless bigger than a human and fairly fascinating in its personal proper. It’s a Late Cretaceous ornithischian discovered within the Hell Creek formation, along with staple dinosaurs reminiscent of T. rex and Triceratops. Its lengthy tail and atypical, elongated, barely squashed snout with massive eye sockets are very putting and chic. Alive, I wager it might have been cute.
Extra of the identical thought, however at a smaller scale. A dinosaur is in comparison with a contemporary animal, with the mirror separating them. In the remainder of the instances, the dinosaurs themselves are represented by collectible figurines. Toys at museums! I can’t escape them! There are not any extra dinosaur mounts, however not less than there may be some fossil materials current for every featured dinosaur – most frequently a tooth. Majungasaurus right here is being in comparison with a lion. It’s speculated on the signal that majungasaurs may need hunted in packs – although the signal performs down any certainty we now have over dinosaur behaviour, which is correct. Observe how the indicators are bilingual – in Dutch and Frisian, that’s!
Inevitably, Spinosaurus is in comparison with a crocodile. The visualizing figurine is an Ibrahim-inspired swimmer, however the signal could be very fast to level out that there’s plenty of uncertainty and debate across the life look of Spinosaurus. This exhibition is put collectively by conservator and palaeontologist Dennis Voeten, and he clearly is aware of his stuff. I do not know if the spinosaur snout on show is real.
Evaluating T. rex to a hyena makes a whole lot of sense. Thankfully, no person is taking part in the drained previous “hunter or scavenger?” recreation – the textual content notes that hyenas do each, and so in all probability did Attractive Rexy. The comparability is made due to each animals’ penchant for chewing bones. I’m positive Marc will inform us within the feedback what all these collectible figurines are.
Oh pricey, we now have A Take. Nanotyrannus is offered individually from T. rex! Oh the controversy! The signal, once more, brings nuance to the desk. It notes that, whether or not or not Nano is a juvenile T. rex or not, it actually had a unique food plan and stuffed a unique area of interest, and that’s what we’re actually keen on. Not like a hyena, a lynx doesn’t chunk by way of bones, however relatively strips them. I don’t know if that is additionally the case for nano/teen rex (delete as acceptable). Nuance on the signal is all properly and good, however not everybody’s going to learn the signal… The tooth on show is completely tiny. Grownup T. rex enamel are, want I remind you, as large as bananananas!
Ouranosaurus is a cow.
An even bigger set piece then: Triceratops in comparison with an elephant! I’m very glad they didn’t go together with a rhino. Solely final week did I see a Dutch information broadcaster name a Triceratops a “prehistoric rhinoceros“, so us science communicators nonetheless have a lot work to do… Triceratops is as large as an elephant and twice as lengthy, so it’s not less than as acceptable. Apart from this, and each animals utilizing pointy bits for interspecific fight, the connection between the 2 animals is a bit far-fetched, and the signal wants to achieve to seek out factors of comparability.
The elephant skeleton is actual, and provides the exhibition one thing spectacular to have a look at. The Triceratops is only a life-sized cutout on the wall, however its sheer dimension nonetheless makes it fairly spectacular. A full Triceratops mount was current on the Leeuwarden library through the summer time, however now not – it is going to be a part of an upcoming exhibition in Naturalis. So right here’s a small-scale duplicate of a Triceratops cranium as a substitute.
Naturalis has additionally supplied the museum with a few actual Triceratops bones to point out off, although it isn’t clear to me which of them. They’ve cabinets and cabinets of Triceratops materials at Naturalis, and so they’ve solely simply completed prep work on all of it. However we’ll get to that another day.
And that, roughly, is it for the Dino Dubbelgangers. It’s actually not a really large exhibition, nor are there many particularly spectacular gadgets on show – no Large Al right here. However I feel the museum has used what it has been given to most impact. With restricted area and price range, Dennis Voeten and the folks of Natuurmuseum Fryslân have succeeded in making a properly thought out and handsome exhibition. There’s a very clear premise, adopted all through, that enables the informal customer to come back away with good new information concerning the creatures of the previous. The signage is prime notch.
If I’ve any criticism, it’s this: evaluating dinosaurs to modern-day animals this manner stays very imperfect. Not solely are dinosaurs very completely different from mammals, mesozoic ecosystems are significantly completely different from holocene ones, particularly with our nature in such dramatic decline. It’s very probably that many dinosaurs had been doing issues that actually haven’t any passable analogue within the trendy world. One of many issues that make dinosaurs so endlessly fascinating is all of the methods during which they’re in contrast to any animal we’re acquainted with.
However, there may be actually one thing to be mentioned for eradicating dinosaurs from their standing as “super-monsters” and bringing them to degree with our acquainted animals. It stays essential to remind everybody that dinosaurs are simply that – animals. It’s the antidote to Jurassic World and the neverending monsterization, which continues to be overwhelmingly the dominant narrative in popular culture the place dinosaurs are involved. Turning dinosaurs into the deer, cows, hyenas and lynxes of their day demystifies them, makes them a part of an actual nature relatively than one thing out of science fiction. To the younger creativeness, it simply serves to make dinosaurs that extra actual. So, in the end, the Dino Dubbelgangers exhibition will get my approval.
And when you evaluate this modest, small price range exhibition to the relatively extra ropey affair final 12 months in Vlaardingen, Natuurmuseum Fryslân is right here to point out us find out how to make significantly better use of restricted sources.
Let’s discover the remainder of the museum for a bit, then. I’m not going to point out you all the things, as this place turned out to be fairly large! Right here’s a small everlasting exhibition on geese!
The whale corridor particularly was relatively spectacular. There have been not less than ten totally mounted whale skeletons, principally toothed whales and dolphins. There was an orca, a narwhal, a small rorqual and an enormous sperm whale as its centerpiece. The corridor itself was made additional atmospheric with the home windows colored blue and every kind of whaling paraphernalia alongside the partitions, together with some taxidermied seals.
I’d like to attract your consideration to the blue whale jaws on the ground, surrounding the sperm whale. The jaws themselves are half the dimensions of the total sperm whale. It’s nearly unimaginable to grasp how large blue whales are. An amazing exhibition.
Equally as spectacular is that this wondrous journey cupboard corridor. You understand how a lot we love an quaint museum with wood cupboards right here. That mentioned, this all appears barely too neat to be genuine. The distribution of taxidermy is just too tasteful, the curtains too frilly, the furnishings too stylish. This can be a room themed to an previous journey cupboard; there’s even some lore a few fictionalized model of a Frisian explorer, Kapitein Severein. We even get to satisfy him in a bespoke pre-show! Don’t get me fallacious: I liked strolling round right here as I used to be doing it. Trying again now although, I’m questioning… Are we getting into kitsch territory right here?
Relatively than an genuine old school museum corridor, right here we now have a completely trendy museum corridor themed to an old school one. Museums are studying from theme parks, and I’m unsure if it’s all the time the appropriate classes. As an alternative of an genuine museum expertise, we’re getting a hyperreal, fabricated, idealized model. On this nation, each day out in the end needs to grow to be the Efteling. Layers upon layers of kayfabe. Is that higher or worse than a museum actually untouched by time? I don’t know, nevertheless it’s good to pay attention to the distinction. I’ll let these ideas percolate… Anyway right here’s some superior previous scientific illustrations of sharks and eels to distract me.
A number of stunning taxidermy.
Right here’s one other cool factor. This room was all about animal enamel and their type and performance, so what’s the room themed to? A dentist’s workplace, in fact! You possibly can even sit within the dentist’s chair and do some tooth-themed quiz on that monitor display! A ding for each proper reply, and an electrical shock for a fallacious one. Possibly, I don’t know, I had all of them right.
On the very prime flooring, a room is styled to “Darwin’s attic”. We now have to think about Darwin sitting right here, obsessively logging the variations between particular person bugs, growing his hypotheses and drafting On The Origin Of Species. It’s one other closely thought-out room, positively respiratory ambiance. There’s stuffed birds on each ceiling beam, animals, cupboards, bones and illustrations in all places. That is what the science of pure historical past appears, feels and smells like. I additionally admire how unflinchingly the museum tackles and explains evolution, a topic that another Dutch museums are suspiciously mum about… no matter concern they’ve about angering sure teams, it’s no concern right here. The whiteboard takes the polar bear for example, and explains the way it could have developed from the brown bear.
Maybe it’s no coincidence that the Efteling was on my thoughts, as a result of the most important shock of this museum was within the basements, the place (at an affordable upcharge) there may be an precise, honest-to-Vader-Laaf darkish journey to expertise! Styled as an underwater safari, you board just a little trackless car that takes you on an underwater tour by way of ponds and rivers, surrounded by fish, diving birds and sunk issues, boats overhead. Then you definately cross a sluice door and enter the ocean. The entire expertise is round ten minutes lengthy, and at this level I’ve utterly forgiven this museum for eager to be a theme park. It’s carried out so properly! It utterly matches in with the premise and themes of this museum. And it’s clearly a love letter to the native nature of Frisia.
I’m normally very important concerning the themeparkification of Dutch museums, however, truthfully, I had a blast at Natuurmuseum Fryslân. Possibly a few of it’s kitschy, nevertheless it has succeeded in capturing one thing of the very essence of pure historical past, the feel of it. Picket cupboards, whale skeletons, musty attics and taxidermy. Birds and fish and bugs and ammonites. And dinosaurs, in fact. It’s captured the love of nature, the delight find out how our planet works, the amazement that comes with exploring the dwelling world. One other factor it has captured: my coronary heart. I’d love to come back again right here some day. The North isn’t rid of me but.
The Dino Dubbelgangers exhibition might be seen at Natuurmuseum Fryslân till January 5 2025.
