Dinosaur Isle


Dinosaur Isle is a purpose-built dinosaur museum located in Sandown on the Isle of Wight in southern England.
The museum was designed by Isle of Wight architects Rainey Petrie Johns in the shape of a giant pterosaur. It claims to be the first custom-built dinosaur museum in Europe.

History

Throughout the 19th century, many collectors such as the Reverend William Fox exhumed the types of new species: Aristosuchus, Hypsilophodon foxii, Polacanthus... Most of the discoveries then left the island's territory, which is why, the Isle of Wight Council began its own collection.
In 1914 the Isle of Wight's first geological museum opened in Sandown.
The £2.7 million cost of Dinosaur Isle, the new museum, was provided by Isle of Wight Council and the National Lottery Millennium Commission. Dinosaur Isle opened to visitors on 10 August 2001. It currently houses 40,000 specimens, including nearly 200 types.
The museum offers many field trips to discover the island's main palaeontological sites.

Exhibits

The visit to the museum begins with a presentation of the different past ecosystems that can be found in different parts of the island.
The large central room is dedicated to dinosaurs. Many life-size replicas and models are found there, including Ornitischians: Iguanodon, Polacanthus and Hypsilophodon as well as saurischians like Eotyrannus, or Neovenator - Neovenator salerii was discovered in 1978 and described by Steve Hutt one of the curators of the museum.
The skeleton of the Iguanodon Pink Iggy is particularly interesting. It was discovered in 1976 by Steve Hutt in an almost anatomical position.
On one of the walls of the room, reconstructions of heads of different pterosaurs are displayed. Indeed, the museum houses the holotype of Caulkicephalus
Guests are given the opportunity to speak to experts and watch them at work.