EXPLORE THE MUSEUM’S NEW DINOSAUR TRAIL
A new, outdoor Dinosaur Trail permanent exhibit is now open at MDWFP’s Mississippi Museum of Natural Science!
Nestled along one of the museum’s nature trails, you can see seven large-scale, 3-D dinosaur models, including a Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Chasmosaurus, Nodosaurus, Appalachiosaurus, Pteranodon, and an Eotrachodon with nest and newly hatched babies.
Along the way, learn a fascinating fact about each dinosaur as well as its height, length, weight, diet, and time period.
The Dinosaur Trail Project also includes several electric ride-on dinosaurs and “Blue” - a “dino-mite” large dinosaur costume that appears occasionally at the museum during special events.
The new trail officially opened on July 1, 2022, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony honoring the memory of the project’s benefactor, Gerard “Jerry” Case, a long-time friend of the museum (see below). The museum and the Foundation are grateful for this gift and proud to recognize Mr. Case’s achievements in the field of paleontology with this new Dinosaur Trail that will delight generations of museum visitors!
PLAN YOUR ADVENTURE
The Dinosaur Trail is included with MMNS Foundation Membership or the museum admission fee.
Plan to explore the new, state-of-the-art LeFleur’s Bluff Playground (no admission fee) during your museum visit, too.
Get more details about the museum’s events, permanent exhibits, and special exhibits.
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MUSEUM HOURS: M-F: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sat: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sun: 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. The museum and the playground will be closed on New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
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Get FIELD TRIP / BIRTHDAY PARTY INFO.
ABOUT GERARD R. CASE
A veteran of the US Navy, Gerard “Jerry” Case was an artist, illustrator, and author who had a great passion for paleontology resulting in an illustrious and prolific career in the field.
In all, Case named 180 fossil genera and species in well over one hundred publications and at least a dozen species and one genus have been named in his honor.
In 1992, Case received the Paleontological Society’s Harrel L. Strimple Award, which is the highest honor for an avocational paleontologist.
In 2022, Pratt Institute, Case’s much-beloved alma mater, presented him with a Doctor of Liberal Arts (Honoris Causa) for his contributions to the arts and sciences.
Read more about Jerry’s illustrious career, here.
(L-R) George Phillips (MMNS Paleontology Curator), James Starnes (Mississippi Office of Geology), and Gerard R. Case, February 2019
Gerard R. Case (right) with vertebrate paleontologist Don Baird of Princeton (left), 1972
Gerard R. Case with paleontologist Rainer Zangerl of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, early 1970s
Gerard R. Case with LeRoy and Lena Anderson and Pastor Ken Olson collecting the Judith River Fm, Rattlesnake vicinity, Blaine County, Montana, 1976
Gerard R. Case with lifelong friend and cartoonist/illustrator Clifford Augustson, among whose characters include "Felix the Cat"
