Dinosaur displayed at the capitol building

HARRISBURG - If you're planning on visiting the capitol building this week, don't be surprised if you think you've entered Jurassic Park rather than a legislative building.

On Monday, Barry and April James, in collaboration with Rep. Merle Phillips (R-108), unveiled the 83-foot-long, 160-million-year-old skeletal remains of "Apollo" - a brontodipolocus from the Jurassic period - inside the Capital Rotunda.

"Beyond being the greatest scientific discovery, Apollo the dinosaur is a symbol of what small town Americans can accomplish using their craftsmanship, creativity, knowledge and unity," said Barry James, who holds a master of science degree in vertebrate paleontology and co-operator of Sunbury-based Prehistoric Journeys.

The newly discovered species was excavated from Dana Quarry in Wyoming and reassembled in an old dairy barn on eight acres of farmland near Sunbury by Barry and April James.

The dinosaur is believed to be the first and oldest sauropod dinosaur in paleontological history to have been found in the same place with its skull, neck, vertebrae, legs and bones intact.

The herbivore measures 83 feet long, stands 14 feet high and would have weighed 8,000 pounds alive. The skeleton on display has 273 bones - about 90 percent of the original creature.

Beautifully framed

The free-standing fossil was moved from its temporary Sunbury home to the capitol to be displayed until Wednesday. When entering the building, the dinosaur takes up the left side of the Rotunda with its tail positioned in such a way where visitors and employees must walk beneath it in order to reach the left wing.

"It frames it beautifully," said April James, co-operator of Prehistoric Journeys. "We couldn't ask for a more beautiful set up."

Phillips, who has been an avid supporter of Prehistoric Journeys, spearheaded the exhibit.

"What an amazing feat to be able to have this skeleton on display here at the Capitol, which I believe is the first time that a dinosaur skeleton has been on display in legislative building - and I'm proud that Apollo will be the first," said Phillips.

It is not the first time he has been involved with the group though. He helped pass a House resolution for the firm's work on Einstein, an apatosaurus from the same site in Wyoming. He was also able to bring the fossilized skull of Apollo, which was still in stone, to the Rotunda in 2008.

The James couple and their team - Matthew Frick, Dean Raker and Scott Rohrbach - "are fine people," said Phillips, "and I am happy to have helped with this one-of-a-kind project."

Phillips said it was fitting to have the dinosaur displayed close to where President Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech during the dedication of the Capitol in 1906. The former president, said Phillips, was a lover of natural history and his father helped found the Museum of Natural History in New York City.

"I'm sure he didn't visualize a handsome dinosaur like this," said April James.

Barry James called the unveiling "an opportunity for all towns and cities in America to recognize their citizens' skills and achievements."

It is time, he said, to be proud and appreciate that we are Americans - the people with the most freedoms and rights in the world.

"If citizens can unite to excavate, move, prepare and put together one of the greatest dinosaurs, then surely our leaders in Washington, D.C., can put aside differences and remember that they and we are Americans," said Barry James. "Whether Democrat or Republican or Independent, our leaders need to work as a team and help maintain the strength of the American people."

Everything about Apollo is American, said Barry James, including the materials used to create the metal armature - which was custom-designed and created by Prehistoric Journeys and allows the sauropod to be free-standing - the glue, the paint and even the dinosaur itself.

On display in Sunbury, then Wyoming

Founded in 1987, Prehistoric Journeys is a unique professional paleontological services company that brought 156 dinosaur skeletons and extinct mammals back to life for museums, national parks, entertainment and cultural centers, movie studios and major corporations. Their work has been featured in books, magazines and news reports around the world.

Preparation and display-mounting of Apollo was accomplished in 23 months.

Apollo will be on display at the Capital until Wednesday. Following this appearance, Apollo will be transported and reassembled at the Sunbury Armory, where it will be on display from Friday, Oct. 1 until Wednesday, Oct. 6. A School Kids Dino Day is slated Oct. 1, Veterans Dino Day is set for Oct. 2 and Military Family Dino Day is scheduled Oct. 4. The public is invited each day.

After being displayed, Apollo will reach its permanent display home in a museum in Wyoming.