Local artist joins in on dinosaur exhibit

The Museum of Idaho is going prehistoric, welcoming “Hatching the Past: The Search for Dinosaur Eggs and Babies” exhibit.

The exhibit gives Idahoans the opportunity to get a glimpse of how the huge giants got their start.

The exhibit includes interactive play areas for children to dig up fossils and cast models.

“It’s a special and interesting look at dinosaurs,” said Chloe Doucette, director of Education,”Usually we see the big giant skeletons but we’re kind of taking a look at the smaller side of things. The early stages of dinosaur life, which is a great thing to come and learn about with kids.”

Local artiest Mark Fisher sculpted a baby allosaurus in the process of hatching.

“Its great. I’m excited to see the reactions the little kids get from looking at it. We just had a group looking at it and they seem to enjoy it. There’s some pride knowing that the community gets to see it,” Fisher said.

It took Fisher 250 hours to create the allosaurus, which is 8 1/2 feet tall.

Fisher carved it out of an 8 foot block of Styrofoam, sculpting and painting the dinosaur.

“I did a lot of things like this for museums and theme parks, movie sets and stuff like that. This is a great opportunity for me to keep my skills sharp and dive into projects like this once in a while,” Fisher said.

Fisher’s work can also be seen at Melaleuca Field, where he sculpted a statue of a Chukars player.

Fisher’s dinosaur, is located outside the Museum of Idaho and will be there until May 7. the final day of the exhibit.

To find out more about the exhibit, visit MuseumofIdaho.org.