Stand in the shadow of the largest land mammal that ever
lived—the 16-foot-tall Indricotherium.
Peek at a Bumblebee Bat so tiny, it
weighs only about as much as a dime. A thrilling adventure, Extreme Mammals: The Biggest, Smallest, and
Most Amazing Mammals of All Time brings Rochester Museum & Science
Center visitors face-to-face with a wondrous array of extraordinary creatures.
Experience this remarkable exhibition from December 23, 2011 through April 15,
2012 in the Riedman Gallery and its surrounding areas.
Featuring spectacular specimens from New York City's American Museum of Natural
History, the exhibition examines the ancestry and evolution of numerous species
through fossils, skeletons, vivid mammal reconstructions as well as objects
from Rochester Museum & Science Center collections. Species range from huge
to tiny, from speedy to sloth-like, and display characteristics such as
oversized claws, fangs, snouts and horns. Wait…is that really a nose? Look over
there—a "walking whale!" Become utterly mesmerized.
Divided into ten main sections—Introduction,
What i
s a Mammal?, What is Extreme?, Heads-to-Tails: Heads, Reproduction, Heads-to-Tails Bodies, Mammals in Motion, Extreme Environment, Extreme Isolation, Extreme Extinction, followed by an Epilogue—the exhibition explores
how mammals survived the extinction of the dinosaurs and diversified, evolving
into the wondrous, and sometimes strange, creatures that are with us today. Through
the use of dynamic media displays, animated
computer interactive areas, hands-on activities, touchable fossils, casts and taxidermy
specimens, the exhibition highlights distinctive mammalian qualities and illuminates the shared ancestry
that unites these diverse creatures.
Did you know that you are a mammal? You are extreme, too!
Discover how this is so, and transform yourself into a creature even more
bizarre than you could ever imagine. Crawl into a model of a
glyptodont's shell to experience what it feels like to be sheltered by this
protective body armor, try on massive mammoth teeth, and see if you can match
fur to its animal owner.
Experts continue to make marvelous mammal discoveries today…even
about what might be the most extreme mammals of all—humans. Perhaps one day YOU
will reveal the mammal discovery of a lifetime.