Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, GA

[Over9K]

Checked out the Tellus North Georgia Science Museum, just north of Atlanta today. The wife and I agreed that waiting until Fall Break might be our best chance to truly enjoy the museum, with most schools being off. We arrived, just as the museum was opening, to find one school group, and that was it. There were a few families with young kids, but we had the whole place largely to ourselves, which was really nice.

In my youth, growing up in New England, I was used to semi-annual visits to New York and the Natural History Museum there, and their Tyrannosaurus rex. When I realized the Tellus held a cast of Stan, I knew I would be visiting, and often. It's been 16 years since I had had a chance to see a T.rex mount and it was amazing to finally get a look at Stan. I now understand why he's the most copied and mounted specimen, he really is charismatic to look at. The jaws agape, running pose is dynamic, if a bit generic, but it does suit the cast. They've got him placed nicely as well, and he dominates one whole side of the smallish Mesozoic gallery. Unfortunately, they have not really considered photography. The gallery has  lights pointing downward in so many directions it is nearly impossible to get a shot without a light shining directly into the lens. At the same time, the walls are colored very dark, which saps the light from behind the specimens. 







Right behind Stan is the skull of "Lane", the Triceratops sp.. It's a beautiful skull, but I can't help but think an opportunity was missed by not including a cast of the skin the original specimen includes.



Directly across from Stan and Lane is a display featuring three Pterosaurs on one end, two Dromeosaurs on the other with Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis making a run on an Edmontosaurus annectens in the middle . The Appalachiosaurus  is apparently the only articulated mount of this species, known from some skull material, a few vertabrae, and partial hind limbs. That said, this speculative mount is gorgeously executed. The pose is full of motion and menace. This mount features new forelimbs, showcasing the Tyrannosaur lineage now attributed to the species, where in the not-too-distant past the mount wore much larger arms, with three-fingered hands. 

This display is lit ok, and decent photos are not difficult to get, if you are competent with a camera, which I am not. As a result, my photos of the Pterosaurs and the Dromeosaurs were total bunk, but I did manage to get a couple shots of Appalachiosaurus and the Edmontosaur.







I almost missed the Dunkleosteus skull, hung in an odd spot, too high and too poorly lit to get what I'd call a nice picture. It really needs to be lower, to get the full effect of just how large and wide the skull really is. Shame.



In their gallery of marine fossils, the Tellus has an Elasmosaurus, a Mosasaurus, a Xiphactinus, and a Protostega, a species of large marine turtle. This gallery, was lit even dimmer than the Mesozoic gallery, with dark blue walls, meant to simulate an undersea environment, but making the room very dark, despite the spotlights on the mounts.

The Elasmosaurus, Xiphactinus and the Protostega are well mounted and dynamically posed. Unfortunately, such care was not taken when mounting the Mosasaur, which is lifeless, rigid and arrow straight. Even my wife asked why the others were posed as if they were alive, but the Mosasaur as if it were laying dead on a beach. The specimen deserves better.









In the main hall, between the planetarium and the film theater, they feature a Brontosaurus mount. I'll admit, it felt really good to see the name "Brontosaurus" on a museum plaque again. Taking a break, on one of the museum's many well-placed and comfy benches, we were able to observe and overhear the initial reactions the elementary school group children had, when confronted with the most dinosaur-ish of dinosaurs. it warmed the heart to hear that Brontosaurus still thrills. Moments later, the children were herded off to the planetarium by border collie parents and teachers, led by their King Teacher, holding aloft a literal battle standard like a Roman Centurion, and I was able to get a couple shots of the mount in an empty hall.





Also included in the fossil display are a Giant Ground Sloth, a Mastodon, a Smilodon and a Glyptodon, as well as a Megalodon jaw holding what appear to be genuine teeth. Unfortunately, not one of my photos from that section of the display were good enough to share.

The museum also features a pretty decent mineral and gemstone collection, which my wife greatly enjoyed, being a gem hound herself.

There is also a "Hall Of Motion", a gallery of early motorcars, motorcycles, and the accoutrements of the pre-shuttle space program. Sorry, no photos of those, because by that time, the children were out of the planetarium and we didn't feel like fighting the screaming, yelling children. We'll go back again, probably during Christmas break, on another Wednesday morning, when the number of school groups is limited.

If you're in the region, and you're so inclined, check out the Tellus Science Museum, IMO the fossil halls and the mineral/gem collection alone are worth the $17 entry.

[Dinoxels]

Great overview of a great place.

[Dusty Wren]

Thanks for taking the time to write this up, @Over9K. I somehow missed this museum while I was in Atlanta visiting my in-laws a few years ago, and that's a shame, because it looks like a cool place. You got some great photos of the mounts! Not sure why you think you're not competent with a camera, because these photos are lovely (especially since museum lighting is not camera-friendly).

That Appalachiosaurus mount really is something special, too.

[Shonisaurus]

Nice photo credit, that museum is tall has iconic species from the Mesozoic era. Very complete museum. Your description is very detailed.

[Duck]

I've been to the Tellus Museum before! It's a very nice place.