The Museum of the Earth in Ithaca has a new dinosaur exhibit, thanks to the artistic talent of an upstate college student.
Andrew Bovenzi is a recent graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), earning his undergraduate degree in Studio Arts this May. For his senior project, he made a life-sized dinosaur model, which he recently donated to the Museum.
The 19-foot long model is a hadrosaur, a group of plant-eating dinosaurs that includes names familiar to dinosaur fans, such as Edmontosaurus and Parasaurolophus. Bovenzi chose to base his model on Velifrons, a lesser-known hadrosaur, known only from a single specimen found in Mexico in the early 2000s. “It’s my favorite dinosaur,” he says. “[I’ve had] a years-long passion for the animal and its locality.”
The model is made of foam and joint compound over a wood and chicken-wire frame. Bovenzi gave particular attention to the skin, basing its pebbly texture on hadrosaur fossils that preserve skin impressions. The striking colors are conjectural.
He says the project started in July of 2025, after a trip to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and the new Edelman Fossil Museum in New Jersey. After 10 months of work, he presented the model as a part of his capstone show at RIT. He also displayed 57 miniature dinosaurs as part of the exhibition. The miniatures are viewable on his website: https://waxosaurusmakes.squarespace.com/
Bovenzi says he made the model to do two things that he feels are missing in many museums: “what these animals looked like in life, and how large these animals were compared to you, the viewer.”
It was the combination of art and science that made the model attractive to the Museum of the Earth. “Andrew contacted us and asked if we would be interested in having the model after he displayed it in his senior show,” says Warren Allmon, Director of the Paleontological Research Institution, which operates the Museum. “When we saw it in person, we knew it would be a really wonderful addition to our exhibits, many of which focus on the interconnection of art and paleontology. It’s an impressive feat of paleoart.”
Bovenzi hopes to go on to a career of both making and teaching art. “I have two plans for my post graduate career,” he says. “One is to continue making these kinds of pieces for museums around the world, inspiring kids to change the way they look at these animals. Another is as an art teacher, using my experience as a child who used art to learn new things to inspire other kids to explore their passion.”
“Oftentimes,” he says, “the greatest art doesn’t give us all the right answers, it makes us ask the right questions. Those questions could be anything, but what I want those questions to do is feed your hunger for knowledge.”
Bovenzi’s Velifrons model is currently being installed in the Museum of the Earth, and it will be fully on display in early June. The Museum is open Thursday to Monday, 10 am to 5 pm. Plan your visit on museumoftheearth.org now!
About the Paleontological Research Institution
Utilizing its unique collections, staff, physical facilities and digital presence, the Paleontological Research Institution pursues and integrates education and research, and interprets the history and systems of the Earth and its life to increase knowledge, educate society, and encourage wise stewardship of the Earth.
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