Dr Phil Manning, Dinosaurs & space-shuttles: how space-shuttle technology was used to study a 67-million-year-old hadrosaur….
In 1999 the mummified remains of a hadrosaur dinosaur were discovered in North Dakota, USA. Skin, muscle, tendons and other soft tissue that rarely survive fossilisation were preserved in this 67-million-year-old dinosaur, allowing scientists to estimate its muscle mass and ability to outrun its predators. Dr Phil Manning and his team obtained scanning equipment normally used on space shuttles at NASA to examine the remarkable fossil and they made some surprising discoveries about these ancient creatures.
This talk will take you on a whistle stop tour of the people, places and science associated with a very special fossil dinosaur called Dakota.
Dr Phil Manning is Professor of Natural History at the University of Manchester. He has appeared in and presented many television documentaries for the BBC, Discovery and History Channels. Phil and his research team use a range of multidisciplinary tools and techniques, including x-ray imaging and computer modelling, in the analysis of the musculoskeletal form, movement and locomotion in extinct vertebrates.
The public talks are in partnership with Museums Aotearoa and the Royal Society of New Zealand.
Venues & dates:
Dunedin | 5.30pm Tue 5 May | Otago Museum |
Christchurch | 6pm Mon 11 May | Grange Theatre |
Wellington | 6pm Tue 12 May | Royal Society of New Zealand |
Napier | 7pm Wed 13 May | Exhibition Hall, National Aquarium |
Note: tickets for Christchurch and Wellington are general admission $10, students/children free. Entry to Dunedin and Napier talks is by gold coin koha.
Enquiries only: 04 472 7421 or lectures@royalsociety.org.nz
The New Zealand Historical Association 