Dinosaurs, Bones and Art, Oh My!

Dinosaurs

By Karyn Simpson
Medill Reports

When Paul Sereno and his team at the Fossil Lab at the University of Chicago find dinosaurs, they typically just look like bits of crushed bone and rock.

How do these paleontologists, fossil preparators and paleo artists transform these fragmented fossils into life-size, flesh-and-bone dinosaurs? It takes hundreds of hours, extensive research, and just the right combination of art and science.

Photo at top: Reconstructed dinosaur model at the Paul Sereno Fossil Lab (Karyn Simpson/ MEDILL)