Visitors to the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca will soon be greeted by a new prehistoric resident: a 19-foot-long dinosaur model created by a recent Rochester Institute of Technology graduate.
Andrew Bovenzi, who earned a bachelor’s degree in studio arts from RIT in May, donated the life-sized dinosaur to the museum after displaying it as part of his senior capstone exhibition.
The model depicts Velifrons, a lesser-known plant-eating dinosaur from the hadrosaur family. According to Bovenzi, the species is known from a single specimen discovered in Mexico in the early 2000s and has long been a personal favorite.
The dinosaur was constructed using foam and joint compound over a wood and chicken-wire frame. Bovenzi said he paid close attention to the animal’s skin texture, drawing inspiration from fossilized hadrosaur skin impressions. The coloration, however, is based on artistic interpretation.
Bovenzi began work on the project in July 2025 following visits to several museums, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and the Edelman Fossil Museum in New Jersey. The project took about 10 months to complete.
In addition to the life-sized model, Bovenzi’s capstone exhibition featured 57 miniature dinosaur sculptures.
He said the project was designed to help museum visitors better understand both the appearance and scale of dinosaurs.
“I made this model to show what these animals looked like in life, and how large these animals were compared to you, the viewer,” Bovenzi said.
Museum officials said the project aligned with the institution’s mission of connecting science and art.
“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,” said Warren Allmon, director of the Paleontological Research Institution, which operates the Museum of the Earth. “It’s an impressive feat of paleoart.”
Bovenzi said he hopes to pursue a career creating museum exhibits while also teaching art.
The Velifrons model is currently being installed and is expected to be fully on display in early June.
The Museum of the Earth is open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
