USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum extends popular exhibit

The USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum has decided to stick with a winner and will extend its “Clubs, Horns and Shields” exhibit through Jan. 15. “It has been hugely popular with our visitors,” explained Sandra Budd, the museum’s head of exhibits.
For millions of years, defense and display have triggered the evolution of bizarre and extreme body structures. In the Clubs, Horns and Shields exhibit visitors will witness such extraordinary animals as a giant scorpion from a prehistoric ocean, an armored dinosaur with 14 inch spikes along its back and a formidable 30-foot crocodile.
The exhibit uses diverse fossil skeletons and models to bring these creatures to life. Animals living today are juxtaposed with these anatomical wonders. Visitors of all ages will be amazed to see a 4,400-pound prehistoric armadillo (Glyptodon) with an elaborate club tail. The exhibit includes a selection of human armor that mirrors these extreme body structures.
“Clubs, Horns and Shields” is produced by Robert Gaston of Gaston Design Inc. located in Fruita, Colorado. Gaston Design Inc. specializes in restoration, molding and casting of fossil skeletons and has restored several armored dinosaurs from the prehistoric museum collections. Rob Gaston’s long history with the prehistoric museum, stems from his 1989 discovery of a new armored dinosaur Gastonia burgei, north of Moab. Many of the armored animals featured in this exhibit were collected from the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management. For further information, contact Sandra Budd, head of exhibits; email: Sandra.budd@usu.edu, phone: 435.613.5760.