ArtLine Scavenger Hunt
Mountair Park Clue: Dermal Plate Gateway
Dermal Pale Gateway by PUNCH
Dermal Plate Gateway is a kinetic sculpture that is experienced in a variety of ways as visitors walk through or around the sculpture and experience dynamic shadow patterns based on the stegosaurus dermal plate structure. The “plates” are designed to spin in the wind (like a pinwheel effect), thus constantly creating a unique experiential environment that changes based on certain times of the day. The sculpture is a beacon for the ArtLine from the W Line light rail and was strategically placed for that purpose. The sculpture is illuminated by LED lights at night.
There's one iconic sculpture in each park on the ArtLine: Mountair, Aviation, and Walker-Branch. These three sculptures, created by PUNCH, are the most significant on the ArtLine and inspire wonder, interaction and exploration. PUNCH created “interactive, memorable, and playful” sculptures based on discovery and excavation of Colorado’s state dinosaur, the stegosaurus (first fossils found just southwest of Lakewood). The sculptures include kinetic, functional and earth art installations – the types of art most desired by the community based on extensive input early in the project.
Fun Facts
Stegosaurus is a four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period, characterized by the distinctive upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails.
These were large, heavily built, herbivorous quadrupeds with rounded backs, short fore limbs, long hind limbs, and tails held high in the air. It had a short neck and a small head, meaning it most likely ate low-lying bushes and shrubs.
Cool Facts:
Paleontologists once thought Stegosaurus had a brain in its behind!
Stegosaurus ate small rocks as a part of their diet when food was scarce.
Image: Perry Quan / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Strauss, Bob. "10 Facts About Stegosaurus, the Spiked, Plated Dinosaur." ThoughtCo, Aug. 25, 2020, thoughtco.com/things-to-know-stegosaurus-the-spiked-plated-dinosaur-1093799.