‘Pterosaurs’ exhibit opens today - News - MailTribune.com - Medford, OR

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‘Pterosaurs’ exhibit opens today ScienceWorks' new exhibit, "Pterosaurs: Ancient Rulers of the Sky," includes interactive exhibits such as this one showing how the arms of birds, bats and pterosaurs differ from their own. Photo courtesy of ScienceWorks Saturday Apr 28, 2018 at 2:01 AM A new exhibit on giant flying reptiles who lived with the dinosaurs opens today at ScienceWorks Hands-on Museum in Ashland. “Pterosaurs: Ancient Rulers of the Sky” includes interactive exhibits in which visitors can fly along with these reptiles the size of a small aircraft and learn how they launched themselves in the air from a standing start. Visitors can also learn why many pterosaurs had enormous and colorful head crests, why males and females may have looked different, and how they lived in a variety of environments, from beaches to forests. Built in-house by the ScienceWorks team, the exhibit opens to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and continues through December. It’s designed to travel to other museums after it closes in Ashland. Pterosaurs lived 228 to 66 million years ago and were the first flying vertebrates. Their wing spans ranged from 18 inches up to 36 feet, depending on the species. Their wings were made up of individual fibers called actinofibrils that could shift with the changing air currents. Pterosaurs had hollow bones (like birds) and air sacs that lessened their weight and increased metabolism, ScienceWorks researchers say. Starting May 1, ScienceWorks will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays year-round. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for kids age 2-12 and seniors 65 and older. The museum is at 1500 E. Main St.