Every year, the Museum provides almost 200,000 hours of science and social studies education for Texas students.
TOPIARY DINOSAUR
MEET FERNS WORTH, OUR TOPIARY DINOSAUR!
And the winner is… Ferns Worth! Congratulations to Lisa Grice of Fort Worth for submitting the winning entry in the “Name the Topiary Dinosaur Contest.” We received well over 300 wonderfully creative entries. In fact, there were so many great suggestions, we had a difficult time deciding, resulting in a delay announcing the winner. Lisa wins a family weekend in Glen Rose, the same area Ferns Worth and his relatives once roamed millions of years ago. She receives:
- An overnight stay for a family of 4 at the Holiday Express Inn & Suites in Glen Rose
- 4 tickets to Dinosaur World, home of over 150 life-sized dinosaurs
- 4 passes to Dinosaur Valley State Park, Texas’ dinosaur track destination
- Dinner for 4 at Three Rivers and On the Rocks restaurant
- Lunch for 4 at Storiebook Cafe
- 4 Exhibit passes to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
Thanks to everyone who submitted such clever names.
Not all dinosaurs at the new Fort Worth Museum of Science and History are of the articulated kind! At the north end of the Museum lives a rather large, green dinosaur. A 62-foot, two-ton steel topiary dinosaur to be exact, a replica of the Paluxysaurus jonesi, the State Dinosaur of Texas.
According to the topiary’s creator and builder, Joe Kyte -- also known as “Topiary Joe”– the dinosaur is believed to be the longest topiary in the world. The tallest topiary is in Manipur, India and measures 61-feet high, according to the “Guinness Book of World Records.”
The hand-made topiary took three weeks for Kyte and his team from Tellico Plains, Tenn., to build. Kyte said this topiary is one of his sustainable green projects. “It’s a structure that lives,” Kyte said. “Everything is organic except the plastic and metal.” The topiary is modeled after the Texas State Dinosaur, the Paluxysaurus jonesi. The hydroponics topiary is meant to grow without the use of soil and will last 20-30 years, according to Kyte. The green matting, made of coconut hair and attached to the frame, consists of several different types of sedum. “It’s a sustainable, low-maintenance and forgiving plant,” Kyte said. “It should do very well in the Museum Courtyard.”
The topiary will require minimum water after the roots have attached to the capillary matting beneath the frame. The capillary matting is a felt-type material and helps plants grow because of its ability to spread and retain water. Kyte said it will require a “haircut” once or twice a year. The topiary will weigh close to six tons once it is planted, according to Kyte.
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