First Fridays Science Discussion | Natural History Museum Of Los Angeles

Ever since a single fossil feather, and its presumed owner Archaeopteryx, was discovered 150 years ago, the origins of birds have been one of paleontology's greatest debates. Recent discoveries of feathered dinosaurs in China have only stoked the controversy. Dr. Luis Chiappe, lead curator of the Dinosaur Hall which opens July 16, is a longtime advocate of the dinosaur-bird link. In this lecture, he'll examine the evidence in support of the idea that birds are the living descendants of meat eating dinosaurs, and therefore, that dinosaurs are not extinct.