AMNH Opens FLYING MONSTERS, 7/1

Flying Monsters, a new giant screen adventure about the world of a group of reptiles who ruled the skies about 220 million years ago, opens at the American Museum of Natural History on Sunday, July 1. The film will screen at the Museum through January 4, 2013. Produced by award-winning Atlantic Productions and distributed by National Geographic Entertainment, the film follows world-renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough as he sets out to uncover the truth about the enigmatic pterosaurs, who, after insects, were the first creatures to fly. Attenborough, who wrote and narrates the film, works with scientists and engineers to try and understand how and why pterosaurs flew, traveling to New Mexico’s “Ghost Ranch,” Big Bend National Park in Texas, Lyme Regis in the United Kingdom, an ancient pterosaur landing site in Southern France, a fossil pit in Germany where near-perfect pterosaur specimens have been found, and China’s remote Liaoning Province in search of answers.

How did creatures the size of giraffes with a wingspan of 45 feet fly through the air? The audience will be immersed in the world of the pterosaur and experience the enormous challenges these creatures faced to survive, let alone flourish, in prehistoric skies. The film will introduce viewers to Dimorphodon, the earliest known pterosaur with a complete fossil; Darwinopterus, which, with a lighter build thanDimorphodon, had a wingspan of 2.3-3.3 feet; Tapejara, which may have configured its body to sail across the ocean in search of prey; and Quetzalcoatlus, which, with a wingspan of 33-40 feet and an 8-foot-long beak, is the biggest known animal that has ever flown.

Flying Monsters 3D won a BAFTA award in 2011 from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in the Specialist Factual category; Best 3D Program at the 2011 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival; and Best Science Film from the Association of International Broadcasting.

Flying Monsters will be shown daily in the LeFrak Theater, 10:30 am to 4:30 pm (hourly). To purchase tickets in advance, the public should call 212-769-5200 or visit amnh.org. A service charge may apply.