Director: Vanderbilt's dinos will be saved
Suffolk County fire marshal Kevin Petersen makes an external inspection of the building after a portion of the roof collapsed. The building housed a traveling collection of dinosaur artifacts and displays. (Feb. 4, 2011) Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Now playing at the Vanderbilt Museum: "Jurassic Park" meets "Ice Age."
The roof of the Suffolk County museum's dinosaur exhibit collapsed Thursday under the weight of ice and snow. But while the exhibit overall may be endangered, the models will be salvaged, the Centerport museum's director said Friday.
Centerport Fire Chief Andrew Stevenson said the weight of snow and ice likely caused the roof to collapse. He said firefighters responded to a call about 10:45 p.m. Thursday and promptly cut off power to the building, which is not part of the historic Vanderbilt mansion.
The Suffolk County fire marshal was investigating, Stevenson said.
The prefabricated metal building will likely be a "total loss," said Carol Ghiorsi Hart, the museum's executive director.
But most of the items from the display, including fiberglass dinosaurs and skeletons based on the "Jurassic Park" movies, will be saved, she said.
Hart said the building remains cordoned off and that she has yet to get a complete report on the damage.
"We'll probably know more in a couple of days, once we get a more thorough report from engineers," Hart said. She added that she was unable to estimate a dollar amount of the loss.
No one was injured, Suffolk County police said.
