They say Jurassic Park is fictional, but did you know that dinosaurs arenยt actually extinct? Theyยve evolved into birds, says David Temple, associate curator of paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, speaking to us from a dig site in north Texas. Heยll be back in town to lead the Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the museumยs Hall of Paleontology, talking about the interesting and weird stuff that isnยt written on the hallยs exhibit labels. Whether itยs about how the dinos pooped or the variety of dino teeth structures or even dinosaur sex (that had to be loud), Temple will keep it lively and interactive, changing the tour depending on the groupยs interests. He compares the event to VH1ยs Behind the Music and MTVยs Pop Up Video, where they tell you interesting, sometimes scandalous insider info. Except, of course, Temple will be talking about skeletal remains, and VH1 talks about, ah, musical skeletal remains.
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2007.