Dinosaur museum plans in Dorset, England

This video, recorded in England says about itself:

Jurassic Coast Dorset Fossil Finds

21 October 2010

In tribute to Mary Anning (from 200 years in her future) I present these images of fossils from my “pilgrimage” to the Dorset Coast of England. The Royal Society and the Lyme Regis Museum are presently celebrating the accomplishments of Mary Anning — and so am I. She sure found some amazing things before any established academics did — though they weren’t shy about taking credit apparently.

I collected these fossils (and took pictures of ones too big to collect) in February of 2007 on the beaches at Lyme Regis, Charmouth, Seatown, and below Golden Cap.

Many of the ammonites were preserved in pyrite or marcasite, and many had yellow/green calcite in the chambers — very beautiful.

From the BBC in England today:

Planned Dorset Jurassica dinosaur museum announces first sponsor

The charity behind a proposed £80m dinosaur-themed museum on the Jurassic Coast has confirmed it has a commercial sponsor, weeks after losing out on a £16m lottery grant.

Jurassica would be built in a semi-subterranean cavern in a 35m (114ft) deep quarry on Portland, Dorset.

Dorset brewery Hall and Woodhouse said it would provide “financial support” to the attraction.

That sounds better than some Big Oil corporation (a threat to the Dorset Jurassic Coast) doing ‘greenwashing‘ by sponsoring this museum.

Jurassica‘s chief executive Michael Hanlon said it was “splendid news”.

Anthony Woodhouse, Hall and Woodhouse’s managing director, did not disclose the actual amount being discussed but said there would be “significant investment” as Jurassica developed.

“It’s an amazing visionary project,” he said.

“We are delighted to be able to support a project which will benefit not only Portland, but the whole of Dorset.”

Animatronic dinosaurs

The project was turned down for a £16m Heritage Lottery Fund grant last month.

Mr Hanlon said: “The lottery was a setback but we’ve always known that [t]he bulk of our funding will be from the private sector.

“It is cash – which we need. But as important is the association – they are exactly the sort of company we want to be associated with. We hope they are the first of many such sponsors.”

He said the project would move into the “full development phase”.

“We will be open by 2021. That is my promise, to Dorset, the UK and to the people of Weymouth and Portland,” he added.

Set under a translucent roof in a disused quarry, Jurassica would depict the coast 150 million years ago.

Sir David Attenborough is the project’s patron and the Eden Project‘s Sir Tim Smit is its trustee. It also has the backing of the Royal Society and the Natural History Museum.

A model of the planned museum, complete with Jurassic seashore and animatronic swimming dinosaurs, was unveiled in February.

The picture with this BBC report does not say ‘animatronic swimming dinosaurs’, but ‘animatronic swimming plesiosaurs‘. Plesiosaurs are not dinosaurs. They are different reptile species, which lived at the same time as dinosaurs. Contrary to dinosaurs, they lived in water, not on land.