Top 5 at the Harryhausen Exhibit

Previously:

Top 5 at the Oklahoma History Center  - -  Top 5 at the Museum of Osteology

The smART Space section of Science Museum Oklahoma is committed to showcasing the convergence of art and science.  New exhibits rotate throughout the year and bring unique works of imagination and innovation to Oklahoma city crowds.

The most recent exhibit to inhabit the space is "Ray Harryhausen – Mythical Menagerie" which celebrates the work and innovation of legendary special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen.  If you don't know the name, I can guarantee you that his talent has influenced the work of some of your favorite filmmakers.

So without further ado, here are my picks for the Top 5 pieces on display in this menagerie of monsters:

5.  Skeleton Soldier (Jason and the Argonauts, 1963)

One of the most famous visuals of Harryhausen's work may the the sight of the sword wielding skeleton army in "Jason and the Argonauts."  A few of these guys survived and are on display as well as some partial pieces.  They were a part of an incredibly ambitious action sequence:

4.  Storyboards (Various)

Storyboards are one of the more underappreciated pieces of the artistic processes in film making.  A lot of time, effort and talent go into creating them and then they aren't seen by the movie audience.  This one is from "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" but there are several more on display.

3.  Medusa (Clash of the Titans, 1981)

The incredible details of the Medusa model doesn't fully come across in the movie.  So this is a great opportunity to really get a close look at the work that goes into a piece like this.  Just don't look at her eyes...you'll turn to stone.

2.  Bubo (Clash of the Titans, 1981)

Our friend Bupo here stands out from the pack since he's not your typical Harryhausen "monster," but instead, he is kind of/sort of a robot.  Or at least he's a mechanical creature created by one of the gods to be comic relief.  This model was used for close ups (something different was used for the flying effects seen below).

1.  This Crazy Walrus (Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, 1977)

This is another example of of an uncommon type of "monster" in Harryhausen's body of work but I knew as soon as I saw it that it would be my #1.  Look at this thing.  We typically think of walruses as essentially big sea sloths but when you lay eyes on this guy you know you wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley.

The exhibit runs until Dec 3rd so there's plenty of time to go see Hollywood history live and in person.  Take the kids and show them what movie monsters used to look like before computers took over.

Top 5 Bones at the Museum of Osteology

If you haven't visited the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City then put it on your list.  Born from the hard work and imagination of ambitious bone-enthusiast Jay Villemarette and his business"Skulls Unlimited," the museum houses more animal skeletons than you can shake a femur at.

But what's a weirdo museum without a seemingly arbitrary list of rankings?   So with that, I present the Top 5 Bones (and/or full skeletons) in the Osteology Museum:

5.  Magellanic Penguin

You don't really think of penguins having bones...or at least I usually don't.  But of course they do.  And seeing the remains of one like this makes me think of them a little more like chickens or turkeys after a nice holiday dinner.  Birds are birds, I guess

4.  Fruit Bat

A lot of people find the giant skeletons like the humpback whale or giraffe to be the most impressive but, for me, the smaller ones are the most interesting.  Clearly a lot of work went into cleaning, preparing and arranging the tiny, intricate bones of this little guy.  Plus you get the side-by-side comparison with his taxidermy specimen buddy.

3.  King Cobra

A couple of things stick out with this creepy guy: apparently a cobra's hood isn't just skin or cartilage, it's actual bones.  You can also get a look at how a snake's jawbone allows it to open extra wide to gobble up their dinner.

2. Two-Headed/Two-Faced Calves

There's nothing better to see in a kooky museum than some kind of biological oddity, particularly of the two-headed variety.  The accompanying plaque indicates that this also happens to snakes and humans but the overwhelming majority that I've seen have been cows.

1.  Skull of a Space Chimp!

What we have here is the skull of an honest to goodness chimpanzee from NASA's Space Chimp Program.  Son unlike the other animals at the museum, being on display at the Museum of Osteolgy is only his second biggest accomplishment.

So do you agree?  Disagree?  Let me know if you have a bone to pick with the list or just go visit the museum and make your own list!