Ancient Dinosaurs

 One last look for this visit up at Gaia.

The central staircase descends from the second floor down to the first, and is a work of art in and of itself.

Particularly the columns, adorned with carved animal heads.

The Fossil Gallery is down here, and the visitor first meets daspletosaurus, a cousin of the T-Rex.

There are a lot of fossils in here.

Dinosaurs have a lot in common with birds, a debate that continues today. Those of you on social media may be familiar with an emu by the name of Karen at Useless Farms. I'm convinced Karen is definitely a dinosaur.

And not all predators had to be big throughout the age of the dinosaurs. Dromaeosaurus is a raptor- a pack hunter and a relentlessly efficient one.

85 percent of the specimens in here are real fossils as opposed to casts, which are often used to fill in the gaps in a specimen.

Another look up at the big guy.

This is a cast, not the real thing- coprolite is fossilized dinosaur dung. 

Fossils are found throughout the world.

Majestic Canadian Wildlife

 Mammals communicate with their own, and with other kinds of mammals, in a variety of ways.

This dramatic diorama features a stand off. Muskoxen, animals of the Arctic, stand in protection of a youngster on one side of the diorama.

On the other, a curious sled dog.

Mammals adapt to the four seasons in Canada.

The Arctic hare is a resident of the north, and this diorama features a pair of them.

The last diorama in this gallery features a mother mountain lion keeping an eye on her two cubs in a Rocky Mountains setting.

Between them, the cubs have their attention drawn to a vole in the grass and rocks.

All Creatures Great And Small

 The next diorama in the Mammal Gallery features caribou, in the midst of migration.

Two display cases side by side feature small animals with their own defenses. The skunk is one of them.

And the porcupine is another.

Across from them are small dioramas. This one features the Arctic ground squirrel.

This is the eastern grey squirrel.

The collared pika is a resident of northern and mountain landscapes.

Wildlife Of The Northern Nation

 Side by side here is a moose skull, with that of a thinhorn sheep skull.

Here we have three thinhorn sheep, residents of the northern mountains.

One of the most majestic animals to be found in Canada- the moose. This diorama, with its combination of specimen, painted background and textured foreground, really stands out.

Across the way, a display case features several kinds of mustelids. On the top shelf are the least weasel, the ermine, and the long tailed weasel. Below them is the fisher.

The American mink and American marten are paired together.

The sea otter and river otter are part of the mustelid family.

As are the American badger and the wolverine.

Moving along, this smaller diorama features the Richardson's ground squirrel, a resident of the Canadian west.