Museo Carmen Funes facts for kids
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Location | Plaza Huincul, Argentina |
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Coordinates | 38°55′52″S 69°11′38″W / 38.931111111111°S 69.193888888889°W |
Type | museum |
Website | museocarmenfunes |
The Carmen Funes Municipal Museum is a cool place to visit in Plaza Huincul, Neuquén Province, Argentina. It's a museum all about paleontology, which is the study of ancient life, like dinosaurs!
This museum is super famous for its amazing collection of dinosaur fossils. It even has the only known fossil of Argentinosaurus huinculensis. This was the biggest dinosaur ever found on land! The museum also has the only known sauropod (long-necked dinosaur) embryos. These tiny dinosaur babies were found at a huge nesting site in Auca Mahuida, Patagonia.
The museum's official short name for its fossil collection is MCF-PVPH or just PVPH.
Discovering Ancient Life
The person who started and runs the museum is an Argentine paleontologist named Rodolfo Coria. He helps explore and study the amazing fossils found in the area.
The museum has a special area where you can see the fossils on display. There are also workshops where scientists carefully prepare the fossils they find. They even have storage rooms for all the discoveries.
Scientists from the museum often work with museums in the USA. They go on exciting trips to Patagonia, which is full of fossils. The museum's collection includes 11 holotype specimens. A holotype is the first fossil of a new species ever found.
Amazing Dinosaur Exhibits
The Carmen Funes Museum has hosted some incredible exhibits. These shows often travel to other museums around the world:
- "Tiniest Giants: Discovering Dinosaur Eggs": This exhibit showed off the sauropod eggs and embryos found in Patagonia. It was created with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
- "Giants of the Mesozoic": This exhibit featured a mock battle. It showed the Giganotosaurus, the biggest meat-eating dinosaur known, fighting the Argentinosaurus, the largest plant-eating land animal. This exhibit was made with the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia.
Visiting the Museum
The museum first opened in 1984. It was started with money from the local government. Since then, it has become a very important place for tourists in Neuquén Province.
You can find the museum at 55 Córdoba Avenue, Plaza Huincul. The postal code is 8318. It's located just east of where National Route 22 and Provincial Route 17 meet.
See also
In Spanish: Museo municipal Carmen Funes para niños