Natural History Machines are two exhibits of kid powered life-size, interactive, steel marionette dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts.

Through interactive, integrated learning, young visitors and families can explore concepts and their own ideas in Art, Natural Science, Mechanics, and Language Arts, all inspired by kid-powered steel dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures created by sculptor puppeteer and inventor John Payne of Asheville, North Carolina.

Two exhibits to choose from:

"Dinosaurs of the Mesozoic" includes the sickle clawed raptor, Deinonychus, huge Diplodocus and the birdlike speedy Ornithomimus. 

"Prehistoric Creatures" includes the giant bird Diatryma,duckbilled Ouranosaurus and the spike toothed Plesiosaur, Cyrptoclidus.  Check out the Natural History Machines Floor Plan!

Language Arts
Organize magnetic words and picture (mix, match and make up stories, and spell those difficult names).

"Can you spell EUOPLOCEPHALUS?"

Make up your own stories and create your own interactions with specially designed hand puppets.  Connect your staff and visitors by easily switching the sculptures to a staff control mode producing dynamic marionette shows with provided interactive scripts.

Mechanics and Simple Machines
Discover the mechanical advantage of levers, pulleys and the inclined plane.  Experiment with balance.  Learn about uni-body construction, torsion bars and ball joints.

Natural Science
Learn about the dinosaurs and prehistoric animals themselves.  Examine and compare anatomical features to speculate about what they might have eaten, how they moved and what they might have looked like.

Art
Design and draw your versions of your favorite animals.  Examine John Payne's artistic process from raw materials to finished product.  Get inside a full size Ouranosaurus puppet and "live" in the Cretaceous period.

And More!
Exhibits in development....