Press Release

New Exhibition MYTHIC CREATURES:  DRAGONS, UNICORNS & MERMAIDS
Tracks Anthropological Origins of Legendary Creatures at Fernbank

ATLANTA-DECEMBER 9, 2010-Mythic Creatures:  Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids, a new exhibition at Fernbank Museum of Natural History, traces the natural and cultural roots of some of the world's most enduring mythological creatures from Asia, Europe, the Americas, and beyond. On view from February 19 through August 14, 2011, this fascinating exhibition includes eye-popping models, paintings, textiles, and other cultural objects from around the world to reveal the ways people throughout time have been inspired by nature to envision and depict these strange and wonderful creatures. Along the journey, visitors will encounter life-sized models of some of these creatures, including a mermaid, a unicorn and a kraken.

For many centuries, humans have brought mythic creatures to life in stories, music and works of art.  Today, these creatures-which were sometimes inspired by unusual fossils or living animals-continue to delight us. The exhibition reveals the relationship between nature and legend throughout history from Pliny the Elder, who, in 77 c.e., asserted that mermaids were "no fabulous tale," to the current sightings of Scotland's renowned but unsubstantiated Loch Ness Monster.

"Cultures have been inspired to create stories about the natural world's mysteries for centuries. This exhibition taps into our curiosity and fascination with mythic creatures by investigating the origins of some of our most fabled beliefs and examining the most recent research separating fact from fiction," said Dr. Bobbi Hohmann, an anthropologist and curator of Fernbank Museum's McClatchey Collection. "With mermaids, dragons, unicorns, griffins and more, this exhibition explores a topic that intrigues visitors of all ages with very enriching content that is both educational and enjoyable-a cornerstone of all Fernbank's programming."

Mythic Creatures features preserved specimens and fossils of prehistoric animals to investigate how they could have-through misidentification, speculation, fear, or imagination-inspired the development of some legendary creatures. Visitors will discover how narwhal tusks from the North Sea, introduced to continental Europe by Scandinavian traders, lent credence to the centuries-old belief in the unicorn, and how dinosaur fossils uncovered by Scythian nomads may have been mistaken for the remains of living, breathing griffins. Persistent tales of undersea monsters may simply be sightings of real creatures such as the oarfish and giant squid, which are just as wondrous as any imaginary denizens of the deep.

Mythic Creatures offers a variety of interactive stations throughout the exhibition inviting visitors to touch casts of a narwhal tusk, the lower jaw of Gigantopithecus, and a life-size reproduction of the talon of a Haast's eagle (Harpagornis moorei).  Hands-on activities include rearranging scale models of mammoth bones to look like a giant human skeleton and Protoceratops bones to look like a griffin skeleton. Visitors also can build their own dragon in an engaging touch-screen interactive and watch it come alive before their eyes in a virtual environment. Videos include interviews with experts, including Fernbank's Curator of Native American Archaeology, Dennis Blanton, in various fields discussing the significance of mythical creatures and their possible real-life counterparts. Other video highlights include Christopher Paolini, the young author of the best-selling books Eragon and Eldest; award-winning artist Takeshi Yamada, who creates "mythic creatures" today; and artists from motion-picture visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic (founded by George Lucas) demonstrating the process of creating dragons for popular movies.

Other highlights include "life-size" models of mythical creatures, including a 17-foot-long dragon, a 10-foot-long majestic unicorn, a Roc with a 20-foot wingspan and talons that swoop above the heads of visitors, a kraken with 12-foot-high tentacles that appear to be surfacing from the sea; a 6-foot-tall, extinct primate called Gigantopithecus; and the largest bird ever to have lived, the 9-foot-tall extinct Aepyornis.

Mythic Creatures:  Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (www.amnh.org), in collaboration with The Field Museum, Chicago; Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau-Ottawa; Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney; and Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta. 

Special programming, a Mythic Creatures Store, and other unique opportunities will also be featured in conjunction with the exhibition.

Tickets to Mythic Creatures are included with Museum admission, which is $15 for adults, $14 for students and seniors, $13 for children ages 3 to 12, free for children ages 2 and younger, and free for Museum members. Fernbank Museum is located at 767 Clifton Road NE in Atlanta. For tickets and information call 404.929.6300 or visit fernbankmuseum.org.

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