DinoFest - Symposium Info - Last of these posts before the Symposium

["Allan Edels" <edels@email.msn.com>]

Everyone:

    Just a few more notes concerning DInoFest and the Symposium:

1)    Wear comfortable shoes.  The DinoFest exhibit area is over 130,000
square feet.  "Nancy" (the _Nurosaurus_ - a sauropod) is 83 feet long and is
located in the center of the width of the area (This suggests the width of
the area is 200-250 feet or more ).  I guess the length of the exhibit area
is around 500 feet long.  (The height of the area is at least 50-60 feet).

2)    When you enter the Center, you turn to the right to go down the
escalator or stairs.  On the right of the down escalator (on the right) is a
large _Tyrannosaurus rex_ skull.  On the left of the up escalator (on the
left) is a nice _Centrosaurus_ skull.  (By the way, the stairs are between
the escalators).  If you choose to delay going down the stairs or escalator,
you can walk past them to the windowed balcony over-looking the exhibit.

3)    In my last post, I mentioned "Fossil Art" - which are slabs of trace
fossils.  These are real fossils and are LARGE slabs - around 7-8 feet tall,
2-3+ feet wide.   They are really neat fossils, but not dinosaurs.  (They
are mostly much older).  The title of "Fossil Art" is confusing, even more
so before they labeled the slabs.

4)    Latest Philadelphia Weather for the weekend:
        Friday:    Storms - High of 76 F.
        Sat:         Clear & Dry - High of 65 F.
        Sun:        Chance of Showers - High of 63 F.

5)    Public Transit:
        Subway:    Blue Line (34th and Market St.)  - 4.5+ block walk
                           Green Line
        Buses:       Routes 21, 30, 40, and 42 (40 and 42 pass right in
front of the
                            Civic Center)
        Regional Rail Lines:    Train Routes R1, R2, and R3.  The station to
exit at is
                                                University City Station - 1+
blocks away (behind the
                                                Civic Center.  [You can get
these trains from 30th St.
                                                Station (about 10+ blocks
from the Civic Center - a
                                                15+ minute walk).  Note that
30th St. Station is a major
                                                transportation hub for
Phila. and the Northeast
                                                corridor].  (The cost by
taxi is $5.00 with tip, and takes
                                                about 5 minutes).
        From the Airport:           The Airport Express Train leaves every
half-hour (4
                                                minutes after the hour,
etc.) and takes 22 minutes to
                                                get to University City
Station.  (It costs $4.00).
                                                Taxi: $17.00 including tip -
takes about 20 minutes.

6)    Parking:    Under the Civic Center, or next to the center for $7.00.
There is parking at Penn Towers, nearby.  There is also parking on the
street.  All these are on a first come basis.

7)    For the sharp eyed, check out the fresh teeth emerging from a few
tooth sockets in the _Tyrannosaurus rex_ skull which is in the Ceratopsian
exhibit.  They look really good.  (Left lower jaw).

8)    DinoFest is somewhat noisy.  There is a tape loop of what the
designers think a forestful of dinosaurs might sound like.  Also they
ocassionally announce the two rules for DinoFest.  (1) Enjoy the Exhibit. 2)
The important one -  you shouldn't touch anything in the exhibit).

9)    After the Symposium ends, you can go downstairs to the exhibit until
9:00 PM on each night.

10)    ENJOY!!!!


        Allan Edels