Gondwana? Where the heck is that?

I have always been very fascinated by archaeology and paleontology and have sometimes looked back at my life and wondered if I should have pursued it as a career in some shape or form.  As a child and teenager I devoured any books or articles I could find about new discoveries in the history of humans or in the world of dinosaurs.  My oldest son, Bryan, was obsessed with dinosaurs when he was little, and we could often be found pouring over the pages of dinosaur books together, memorizing all the different types.  When the movie Jurassic Park was released, I watched it in absolute fascination and delight imagining what it would be like if dinosaurs could actually be recreated.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I found out that a new dinosaur exhibit was coming to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto.  The ROM has always been known for its amazing dinosaur exhibit, and as a child it was my favourite part of the museum, but this new exhibit was supposed to surpass anything ever seen at the ROM.  I finally convinced Mike to take a trip to the city to see Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants From Gondwana, and my expectations were very high.  I wasn’t sure how they were going to outdo the previous exhibits.  Well, I’ll tell you – it certainly didn’t disappoint!!

I bought a souvenir book while I was there which explains the exhibit as follows:  “Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants from Gondwana unveils specimens that most of us have never before seen, those of the prehistoric southern hemisphere continent of Gondwana where, on that separate landmass, these dinosaurs evolved differently than their counterparts in the northern hemisphere.  The southern colossus Giganotosaurus may indeed have been the primeval ruler, even more powerful than the northern Tyrannosaurus rex, and the largest land predator that ever lived.”

I was in seventh heaven walking around the exhibit, and I took tons of photos of these new dinosaurs.  You begin your journey over 250 million years ago when there was one supercontinent and journey forward through time as the landmass breaks into two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwana.  Then you begin learning about new dinosaurs that you have never heard of before.

I have many photos to share, but I thought I would start out with something a little different.  The walls behind the dinosaur skeletons were painted with scenes of what the world might have looked like back then, and this closeup shows what I believe is a volcano in the background.  I think it gives a really neat effect.

Advertisement