GIANTS: African Dinosaurs is a living diorama
organized around seven conceptual themes.

Top: Juvenile Jobaria. Left: Jobaria carcass and tail vine; Right: Afrovenator
Top photo: E. Vecchione © Project Exploration; Bottom left photo: S. Mann © Project Exploration; Bottom right photo: © M. Hettwer

Growing
A full-size skeleton of an adult rearing Jobaria towers 33 feet over the exhibit entrance. Among the fl ower beds, a femur field of partial Jobaria femur bones springs from the earth, surrounded by palms and other tropical
plants. Death and rebirth are represented by Jobaria neck & ribs—a partial dinosaur “carcass” returning to the earth and emerging as a tail vine which winds up the trunk of a giant palm. Larger than life, these conceptual vines are created with articulated Jobaria tail bones and blend seamlessly into the botanic setting. A photo station allows visitors to size themselves up
against a pair of six-foot-tall Jobaria femurs.

Lost World
The sight of the predatory Afrovenator standing over a juvenile Jobaria carcass transports visitors to a prehistoric lost world. A second juvenile Jobaria feeds on ancient ferns; overhead an African pterosaur soars—the most complete pterosaur skeleton ever unearthed from the African continent. In a bed of Birdsnest ferns, Afrovenator claws mimic unfurling fern fronds. Quivering dinotails, made from the bones of Deltadromeus, dot the lush landscape.