Burpee Museum Art of the Earth - Azhdarchidae Diorama 1026

Enhance your visit to Burpee Museum with a 60 min art class on select days at the museum, 1 - 2pm.

COST:

Adult Non-Members 14+: $18, ($3 Plus $15 Admission)

Youth Non-Members 4 - 12: $16, ( $3 Plus $13 Admission)

Members: $2 (FREE admission)

Learn how artists and scientists can work together to create a visual representation of a time on Earth we have never seen before: Paleoart! Learn how to draw a T-rex or Allosaurus using modern models, skeletons, and research. Imagine a mammoth and learn how artists recreate amazing prehistoric worlds through sculpture, video, painting, and more! Classes are taught by Burpee Museum resident artists. Examine plants, skulls, and animals up close and learn techniques that bring nature to life in your art!

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Saturday October 26, 1 - 2 PM

Azhdarchids are characterized by their long legs and extremely long necks, made up of elongated neck vertebrae which are round in cross section. Most species of azhdarchids are still known mainly from their distinctive neck bones and not much else. The few azhdarchids that are known from reasonably good skeletons include and . Azhdarchids are also distinguished by their relatively large heads and long, spear-like jaws. There are two major types of azhdarchid morphologies: the "blunt-beaked" forms with shorter and deeper bills and the "slender-beaked" forms with longer and thinner jaws.[9]

It had been suggested azhdarchids were skimmers,[3][10] but further research has cast doubt on this idea, demonstrating that azhdarchids lacked the necessary adaptations for a skim-feeding lifestyle, and that they may have led a more terrestrial existence similar to modern storks and ground hornbills.[11][12][13][14][15] Most large azhdarchids probably fed on small prey, including hatchling and small dinosaurs; in an unusual modification of the azhdarchid bodyplan, the robust may have tackled larger prey as the apex predator in its ecosystem.[16] In another departure from typical azhdarchid lifestyles, the jaw of may possibly be an adaptation to crushing shellfish and other hard foodstuffs.[17]

Azhdarchids are generally medium- to large-sized pterosaurs, with the largest achieving wingspans of 10–12 metres (33–39 ft),[18] but several small-sized species have recently been discovered.[19][20] Another azhdarchid that is currently unnamed, recently discovered in Transylvania, may be the largest representative of the family thus far discovered. This unnamed specimen (nicknamed "Dracula" by paleontologists), currently on display in the Altmühltal Dinosaur Museum in Bavaria is estimated to have a wingspan of 12–20 m (39–66 ft), although similarities to the contemporary azhdarchid have also been noted.[21]

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Basic supplies included in registration fee. Students should feel free to bring personal supplies they like to use. Each class lasts about 1 hour with guided instruction; however, students are welcome to stay longer and continue their work. Because admission is included in class fee, students should feel free to remain and explore the museum after class!

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Burpee Museum of Natural History, 737 North Main Street, Rockford, United States