By some ironic twist of fate, the Hastings Museum’s Winter Celebration has been postponed due to winter! With the weather forecast predicting heavy amounts of snow for Friday and Saturday, the Museum staff felt it best to postpone the Winter Celebration to next Saturday, February 11. All showtimes and activities for this event will be at the same time next Saturday, February 11.
Shake the Winter Blues with Hastings Museum’s Winter Celebration
It’s time to shake the winter blues with the Hastings Museum’s Winter Celebration on Saturday, February 4 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. It will transport you to the Cretaceous sea to meet the new resident in the Museum’s lightwell, the Xiphactinus (pronounced zi-fac-tin-us).
Created by Hastings College graduate, Grand Island native and award-winning paleo-artist Gary Staab, the Xiphactinus at the Hastings Museum is a 17-foot re-creation of this prehistoric fish with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. While the Xiphactinus looks rather tough with all its teeth, in the exhibit it will be placed tantalizingly close to the Tylosaurus’s mouth! This is appropriate since the Tylosaurus was at the top of the food chain in the Cretaceous sea and enjoyed a Xiphactinus for lunch from time to time.
Click here to see pictures of the installation of the Xiphactinus.
At 2:00 p.m., Mike Everhart, an expert on the Cretaceous sea, will speak on the relationship between the Xiphactinus and Tylosaurus in a program called “Xtreme Predator: Xiphactinus audax” in the Abbott Room.
Also showing at 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. is a new digital 3D film from Hastings Museum and 3D Entertainment Distribution. Take an incredible voyage, 200 million years back in time, for a face-to-face encounter with the T-Rex of the seas in Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World. The film gives Museum visitors a spectacular 3D view of the underwater world known to the Tylosaurus and Xiphactinus.
You’ll travel across the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods to discover a little-known universe populated by amazing animals: the powerful Liopleurodon, the long-necked Elasmosaurus, the “eye-lizard” Ophthalmosaurus, the ferocious Prognathodon, and the gigantic 75-foot Shonisaurus.
Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World is rated “Universal” by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the equivalent of a “General Audience” or “G” rating from the MPAA. According to the BBFC, films classified as “Universal” are suitable for audiences aged 4 years and over.
Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World is sponsored locally by NTV and 107.7 The Island.
Also at 2:00 p.m., you’ll also have a chance to blast into space and learn how the Earth, Moon and Sun work together in the planetarium’s new fulldome show with the help of Coyote, a fun character adapted from Native American oral traditions. While especially designed for children in grades 2-5, it’s really fun for everyone! Earth, Moon & Sun plays on Tuesday-Sunday at 2:00 p.m. through June 5.
While here, attend the opening of the Life Up Close Photography Exhibit and Sale including 77 photographs from 26 photographers that match the theme of the Museum’s new tagline “Life up close.” The selected artists stretch across the state from Sidney to Ralson. Subject matter includes the rich natural and cultural history of Nebraska and varies widely from architecture, animals, people and the natural Nebraska landscape. Meet several of the photographers plus you can be a judge and help decide which artist is worthy of the popular People’s Choice Award. The exhibit will be on display through March 25.
So turn off the T.V. and gather the family — Winter Celebration will warm your heart and expand your mind! Plus free fish-shaped cookies can’t hurt either!
