In November of 2005, the Paleon Museum in Glenrock, Wyoming celebrated its 10th birthday.
The museum was founded when "Stephanie" the Triceratops was discovered outside of town.
For the tenth birthday party, I produced this 1/10th scale model of this specimen. The
"Stephanie" model is scaled specifically to the specimen that she is named for, so this is not just
another generic Triceratops.
Given the importance of the "Stephanie" specimen to the Paleon and its staff, a dynamic and
powerful pose was needed. Observations of galloping rhinoceros were used to identify the
most dynamic elements of theTriceratops gait. The startling discovery it that though rhinos are
such massive animals, when at a full 30 mile per hour gallop, there is a phase during which all four of
their limbs are off the ground; the entire animal is airborne. I determined that this would make the
most dynamic pose possible.
The museum was founded when "Stephanie" the Triceratops was discovered outside of town.
For the tenth birthday party, I produced this 1/10th scale model of this specimen. The
"Stephanie" model is scaled specifically to the specimen that she is named for, so this is not just
another generic Triceratops.
Given the importance of the "Stephanie" specimen to the Paleon and its staff, a dynamic and
powerful pose was needed. Observations of galloping rhinoceros were used to identify the
most dynamic elements of theTriceratops gait. The startling discovery it that though rhinos are
such massive animals, when at a full 30 mile per hour gallop, there is a phase during which all four of
their limbs are off the ground; the entire animal is airborne. I determined that this would make the
most dynamic pose possible.
The Story of Stephanie
| All Images © 2006 Jonathan Rader and respective copyright holders. All Rights Reserved. Content may not be reproduced without permission. |
Click thumbnails for enlarged view.