Kathryn Chorney (9T8) and Hall Train would like to announce the opening of Battle of the Titans, a major new exhibit, currently breaking attendance records at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington ON.
Having created signature pieces for major museum clients for over two decades, Hall Train Studios has now conceived, developed, and fabricated a complete exhibit — from writing, graphics, and videos, to dioramas, interactive displays and, of course, full size dinosaurs!
Battle of the Titans places our two most familiar dinosaurs – T. rex and Triceratops – within the context of the ecological forces that shaped them and their world. The audience is asked to ponder the question of which one would win in a direct confrontation – and the answers may be surprising. As people move through the exhibit, they find that not only were these two dinosaurs perfectly matched to fight each other, but actually depended on each other to survive as species. Clues are given throughout the exhibit to the answer of this strange paradox of interdependence. It lies in the environment — the plants, forest, and ecology that shaped their entire existence, and ultimately led to their extinction. The show is about the mingled destinies of plants, dinosaurs, and mankind. And it’s also a roaring good time!
Hall Train, as Creative Director, masterminded the entire show. Associates included Kathryn Chorney who collaborated with Hall on writing, editing, and graphics production; the hardworking crew comprised several Sheridan College alumni including two graduates of the Bachelor of Illustration program.
Several public events have been organized by the RBG. A debate scheduled for Sat Feb 16 will feature Dr. David Evans of the ROM, Dr. Donald Henderson of the Royal Tyrrell Museum, and Dr. Phil Manning of the University of Manchester, chief paleontology consultant on Battle of the Titans. Another appearance by Dr. Manning takes place Thurs Feb 21, in which he will discuss the research aspects of the exhibit including breaking news from the Mesozoic. Details on tickets and registration are on the RBG website at http://www.rbg.ca/dinos.
Lastly, the Southern Ontario Nature and Science Illustrators (SONSI) invite you to join a group tour to be led by Hall Train on Sat Mar 9, meeting at the admissions desk at 10am. To join in on this, please email <kathryn.chorney@sheridancollege.ca> by Tues Mar 5 so that we can give our group numbers to the RBG. For now, plan on the normal admission charge/person, and we will let everyone know if we can get a discount. Hope to see you there!
If you can’t join us on Mar 9, Battle of the Titans will be at the RBG until April 7, at which point it will depart on a tour to other venues.