There
be Dinosaurs!
At the Sternberg Museum -- by Freda Parker
If the Sternberg Museum, a department of the Ft. Hays State University in Kansas, had a carnival barker instead of a polite attendant at its ticket desk, you might very well hear something like this, "Step right up, Ladies and Gents. Get your ticket and enter prehistory. Observe the flying reptiles; see plants that flourished millions of years ago; walk beside a fearsome, meat-eating Tyrannosaurus rex - one of the largest creatures to ever roam our planet!"
And once you entered the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, a Monolithic Dome two hundred feet in diameter and sixty-five feet tall, that is exactly what you would experience. Greg Liggett, assistant director of the Sternberg, described the inside of the dome as a "walk-through diorama where we put life-size dinosaurs from the last period of their existence."
In addition to the dinosaurs, the Sternberg Museum has an international reputation for its fossil collection - some 3.7 million artifacts and specimens that rank the Sternberg among the top twenty museums in the United States. "Primarily, we have fossils preserved here in western Kansas and throughout the central plains during a time period called cretaceous - the final stage of the dinosaur age," Liggett said.
"The dome structure itself made this re-creation possible. It lent itself to the concept and made it possible for us to build the environment we wanted, so that we could create a walk-with-the-dinosaurs atmosphere," he continued. "The dome is 4 stories high. That's a good size, open area. We could put in full-size trees and life-size dinos and not have to worry about fitting them around building supports. That is a very unique advantage of the dome. Its openness helps create the reality. People walking through are able to forget the building."
But converting this Monolithic Dome into a museum wasn't easy. Built in 1979, it originally opened as a sports center and private country club. Its attractions included a bowling alley and a large swimming pool in a precast, rectangular structure connected to the dome. Unfortunately, the center did not succeed and its owners abandoned it. In 1990 when Dr. Edward H. Hammond, president of Fort Hays State University, envisioned the dome's conversion to a new, much needed site for the school's museum, the facility had been abandoned for more than two years.
"It was in bad shape," Liggett said. "We knew it would take a lot to turn what was there into what we wanted and needed, but the need was dire." In their old facility, the museum had a scanty ten square feet for displays, and its holdings in storage were spread throughout five campus buildings.
So they proceeded with the conversion - despite the facility's condition. Liggett said, "It looked like somebody just left for lunch one day and never came back. There were open file cabinets and things on desks just left."
In the rectangular building, they had left the pool filled, so it harvested all kinds of microbiology. Mold and mildew permeated the rectangular building. And that structure's roof leaked, so the carpets were ruined."
As for the Monolithic Dome, university architect Dana Cunningham said that the Airform had never been sealed or protected in any way. Consequently, it was damaged.
Cunningham called Mike Anderson of Skylight Construction L.L.C., a Ulysses, Kansas company that specializes in Airform coatings. Anderson said, "This project really emphasized the need to protect the Airform. That damage would not have happened if the Airform had been properly maintained. But it never was. So it absorbed the sun, especially on its south and southwestern sides, got dried out and crumbly. Pinholes developed, moisture got in from the humidity, and blisters occurred."
Anderson repaired the damage by peeling off the Airform, cutting out the blisters he found in the foam, filling those cavities by spraying fresh foam, and priming over the exposed foam with a UCSC product called Bounce Back.
According to university officials, three factors made the acquisition of the abandoned structures "a good deal" - the price, the dome's condition, the university's ability to use its own professionals and labor force.
Dr. Hammond said, "We bought this complex from the Chrysler Corporation Finance Division for $1. It was actually a gift from Chrysler. The $1 was paid to relieve back taxes." He explained that Chrysler could not sell the facility because "there simply were no buyers for it. But, structurally the dome was very sound."
Despite the dome's soundness, Hammond said, "At first, others thought I was crazy. They didn't understand, so, in the beginning, they thought Hammond had really lost it." Eventually, Hammond won the support of both the Board of Regents and the community. That led to four years of serious fund raising, since the extensive conversion cost $11 million and took eight years.
Architect Dana Cunningham recalled those conversions. "The interior renovations were many and they were a challenge. We added a mezzanine. We created huge overhead door openings so the museum could get its displays in without damaging them. The bulk of the work was done by university staff, which was a great money savings."
Greg Liggett also remembered some of the changes they made. He said, "We basically rebuilt the inside of the building - almost from scratch. We gutted the entire structure and installed an all new, computerized, environmental control system."
Since excessive temperatures and/or humidity could harm the museum's displays, interior environment control is vital. Liggett said, "Our system is working very well. We try to maintain a temperature in the low seventies and a fifty percent humidity. The dome is much easier to maintain than the rectangular building."
Cunningham concluded, "Overall, the project turned out very well. We have a new facility that's attracting many more visitors. It's very well received. The proof is in the pudding. In the old facility, we had 20,000 visitors. In twelve months at our new facility we had 150,000." Obviously, people like walking with dinosaurs!
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