TO MATTER OF FACT, THIS NEXT STORY TAKES US BACK WAY BACK. DINOSAURS HAVE BEEN EXTINCT FOR ABOUT 65 MILLION YEARS, AND YET WE SEE THEIR LIFE SIZE REPLICAS IN MUSEUMS ALL OVER THE WORLD. THEY’RE THOUGHT TO BE PRETTY ACCURATE DEPICTIONS OF WHAT DINOSAURS LOOK LIKE FROM THEIR SIZE TO OTHER FEATURES LIKE TAILS AND TEETH. AND THAT’S DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE. SCIENTISTS HARDLY EVER FIND A COMPLETE SKELETON. DESIGNERS LIKE ROBERT GASTON WORK WITH PALEONTOLOGY ARTISTS TO ACCURATELY RESEARCH AND REDESIGN THE LIFE SIZE FIGURES. GASTON NOW OWNS ONE OF ONLY A HANDFUL OF COMPANIES CREATING AND BUILDING THESE PREHISTORIC LOOK ALIKES. OUR PRODUCER, TARA CLEARY, TRAVELED TO WESTERN COLORADO TO AN AREA KNOWN AS THE DINOSAUR DIAMOND TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT GASTON’S WORK. MY DISCOVERY OF GASTONIA WAS THE THE WHOLE LAUNCH INTO WHAT I DO TODAY. WHAT WAS THROUGH PARTICIPATING IN THE EXCAVATE ATION THAT KIND OF SNOWBALLED AID MY DEGREE WAS IN FINE ARTS, SO I WAS REALLY WELL SUITED TO ALL THE SKILLS THAT YOU NEED TO RESTORE DINOSAURS. SO IT WAS JUST KIND OF SOMETHING I NEVER COULD HAVE PLANNED FOR, BUT JUST REALLY KIND OF A DREAM COME TRUE. NOBODY TO THAT POINT HAD EVER DONE A RECONSTRUCTION OF THAT TYPE OF ARMORED DINOSAUR. SO THAT WAS REALLY EXCITING TO TAKE THAT ON AND THAT WAS THE DISCOVERY THAT LAUNCHED EVERYTHING FOR ME HERE. IT’S VERY, VERY BADLY CRUSHED. THIS SKULL IS DISTORTED. IT’S THE PROCESS BASICALLY BEGINS WITH THE PREPARED MATERIAL THAT THE MUSEUM HAS EXCAVATED. A LOT OF TIMES THE ANALOGY I LIKE TO USE IS CARS AND JUNKYARDS. YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THAT TYPE OF CAR. YOU GET ONE THAT’S BEEN RUN THROUGH THE CRUSHER AND AND YOU DON’T REALLY HAVE A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. BUT MAYBE YOU HAVE OTHER SPORTS CARS THAT LOOK SIMILAR. WE BETTER DO THAT NOW. AND SO YOU’RE TRYING TO, WITH THE HELP OF PALEONTOLOGISTS, DECIPHER WHAT THAT ANIMAL’S BONES LOOKED LIKE BEFORE OR THEY WENT THROUGH THAT WHOLE PROCESS. SO WE PATTERNED HER PLUMAGE AFTER A RED TAILED HAWK. I’M DR. JULIE MCHUGH. I’M THE CURATOR OF PALEONTOLOGY FOR THE MUSEUMS OF WESTERN COLORADO. YOU DIDN’T STAB YOURSELF ENOUGH WHEN YOU WERE MOUNTING THE FEATHERS. I DIDN’T STAB MYSELF AT ALL. I FIRST STARTED WORKING WITH ROBERT PRETTY SOON AFTER I CAME TO THE MUSEUM OF WESTERN COLORADO. THAT’S THE ANIMAL’S BLIND SPOT. BLIND SPOT? YEAH. SO IT’S REALLY DIFFICULT FOR SOME PEOPLE TO IMAGINE FROM JUST A HANDFUL OF BONES WHAT A WHOLE ANIMAL WOULD LOOK LIKE. AND SO THESE FULL SKELETON MOUNTS PROVIDE THAT MISSING LINK TO BRING THESE PIECES OF INFORMATION TOGETHER, TO CREATE A REPRESENTATION OF WHAT THESE ANIMALS WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE IN THEIR LIFETIME. WHEN YOU RECONSTRUCT THIS, THE THING THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO STRESS WITH THIS PROCESS IS WE DON’T WANT TO ATTEMPT A RECONSTRUCTION IF WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MATERIAL, THEN IT IS A WORK OF FICTION. WE’RE NOT JUST DECIDING, OH, LET’S THROW THIS HERE, LET’S THROW THAT THERE. LOOK AT THE BASE OF THOSE BROW HORNS. IF THEY WERE COMPLETE, THEY WERE GIGANTIC. YEAH. TO SEE SOMETHING WE’VE DONE IN A MUSEUM IS REALLY A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. AND THE OTHER THE OTHER PART OF THAT IS KNOWING THAT WE’RE HERE FOR SUCH A SHORT TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE’RE LOOKING AT ALL THIS STUFF AND ON A GEOLOGIC SCALE, OUR OUR LIFETIME IS POOF. IT’S GONE. WE’RE WATCHING CLIMATE CHANGE TAKE PLACE OVER DECADES, WHICH MAY BE TO US SEEMS LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF A PROTRACTED EVENT, BUT LOOKING GEOLOGICALLY, THIS IS INSTANTANEOUS, LIKE A METEORITE HITTING. AND SO TO KNOW THAT YOU’RE DOING SOMETHING THAT LEAVES A MARK THAT WILL BE HERE AFTER YOU’RE GONE IS REALLY, REALLY WONDERFUL. KIND OF COOL, COOL THING TO TO KNOW. SEEING THAT DOES MAKE YOU THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT OU