Sky Dome
Opened in 1965 as a new addition to Reptile Gardens, this indoor jungle was virtually unheard of in the US at the time. The Sky Dome was rebuilt after a fire in 1976 destroyed everything except for an old Ponderosa Pine skeleton. The same tree still stands as the centerpiece of the Safari Room on the main level. The new Sky Dome was opened in 1977 with new animals and exotic plants.
Not only does the Sky Dome feature beautiful plants, unique creatures and sculptures from Papua New Guinea and Bali, Indonesia, but this indoor jungle also houses a replica of the largest turtle fossil ever found, an Archelon turtle fossil, the largest turtle species yet discovered. The original fossil was found by paleontologists a short distance from Reptile Gardens in the 1970s. Despite efforts from owner Earl Brockelsby, the original fossil was sold to a museum in Vienna, Austria.
Read more about this topic: Reptile Gardens
Famous quotes containing the words sky and/or dome:
“When the sky is clear, carry an umbrella; though your stomach is full, carry provisions.”
—Chinese proverb.
“Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894)