Paris: Gobelins Summer School - Anatomy Museum

Jardin des Plantes is a heaven for those who are interested in natural history. While there are many museums, the only one I manage to visit is Gallery of Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy.

I was very impressed by the exhibits. The sheer amount of skeletons there are just astounding. I have not seen as many bones in one place (except the Catacombs). The way they are positioned are truly epic. It is as though you are beset upon a stampeding horde of beast of all shapes and sizes, both aerial, terrestrial and marine.

I can see how this treasure trove has inspired Fred (one of our teachers in the summer school), and why the animation/art students would visit and sketch in such a place as this. There are even walk, run and flying cycles of various small animals, like birds, bats, jumping rats and turtles.

Above the great hall of beast, were the hall of those who came before. As I behold the fossils, the question begged asking that what has men imagined in their fantasy that has not already been created? One need not look further than these to see the shadows of monsters and aliens in movies old and new. Can one be called a character designer without mingling among these bones?

And outside the museum, stood the most amusing merry-go-round I've ever seen. Here, you have beast of nightmares, chimeras and hybrids. Not necessarily something you'd expect for a children entertainment contraption.

Walking among the remains of these magnificent creatures can remind us once more, that even the Ziz, Behemoth and Leviathan will fall.