Triceratops on Tour to Celebrate Louisiana Purchase

In 1904 the city of St. Louis, Missouri hosted the grand Louisiana Purchase Exhibition. It was a chance to celebrate the centennial of the grand acquisition of the midwestern states, and many states contributed exhibits to the festival. The Smithsonian Institution was represented there, too, and as this photo shows, a cast of Triceratops was one of the star attractions they chose to show. It was one of several dinosaurs put on display, but the others seem to be hidden behind the massive bulk of the whale diorama.

Riley Black | | READ MORE

Riley Black is the author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs and many other books. She is a science correspondent for Smithsonian magazine covering fossils and natural history, and she writes about the prehistoric past for a variety of publications.