Research into a Stegosaurus Conclusion

I wrote the gentleman first. I laid out what I'd read and what I thought I knew. I included pictures of the placard, the Stegosaurus, and one of the Struthiomimus cause the picture he had on his site was a bit grainy. I accused no one of being right or wrong. I expressed confusion and sought his opinion. Evidentially I phrased things correctly as he responded with enthusiasm and interest. We had a brief conversation via email from which I gained at least two important facts: he was currently living in Sheboygan, WI (what were the odds?!?) and all the documentation he'd seen pointed to the Struthiomimus at the Fair being destined for the Milwaukee Public Museum. He seemed confident. He also pointed out the company that generated the models for the World's Fair. The Jonas Studios still exist and I investigated their website. On it there is a picture of a Stegosaurus in Massachusetts. It looks exactly like my buddy Steggy. My theory became that the information regarding the Stegosaurus' origin wasn't documented necessarily but was one of those passed down stories that had gotten a bit twisted in the telling.

There was only one thing for it: I'd have to ask the Museum.

Luckily for me I had plans for a Museum visit anyway. As we checked in at Member Services, I asked if there was a contact email for questions about the 'Did you Know?' placards, expecting a general email box to be the answer. The lady I asked had a specific individual in mind and hooked me up with her email. Score! I had a great day at the Museum and began phrasing the new email in my head. Once again, I accused no one of being right or wrong. I pointed to the fact that the Museum trip had caused me to do extra research on a topic that caught my interest. I laid out my research, including links to the websites that had caused all my confusion. The information had come from another party in the Museum and she'd have to check with them.

A couple days later came the reply. Our theories were correct. The Stegosaurus was the same model as the one from the World's Fair but not the same exact model. The Struthiomimus was the exact same model that was displayed at the Fair. I was thrilled to be right. To be fair, who doesn't like being right?

I had thought my confusion was due to the phrasing of the placard but, in re-reading it a few more times for this telling, I think the card just has the wrong dinosaur listed on it. It's just a typo, in a way.

And I fixed it. That is awesome.

Website links:

http://www.nywf64.com/sinclair01.shtml - front page for the Sinclair 'Dinoland' section of a larger 64/65 World's Fair site run by Bill Young. Great pictures of the 'Dinoland' as it existed for the Fair.

http://www.jonasstudios.com/customfabrication/exhibitsdisplays/sampleseh/stego.html - The 'Steggy' in MA.