From Snoopy to Dino: the evolution of public art in St. Paul

Last month the Science Museum of Minnesota announced that as part of their 100-year anniversary, they would be participating in the creation of 100 dinosaurs to be unleashed on the streets of the Twin Cities. Though there probably won't be any dark alley knife fights with the Charlie Brown statue people (both series were produced by Capital City Partners), the dinosaurs probably have a slight edge since it looks like they will be slightly larger at 4.5 feet tall and 8 feet long. "A paleontologist ok'd all of the statue designs to make sure that it's scientifically accurate," states Sponsorship Coordinator AJ Kiefer. "They don't want to have anything out there that's cartoony, so all the proportions are accurate to what a dinosaur would look like. Though obviously a real dinosaur wouldn't look like Joe Mauer, probably... We don't know for sure though." We couldn't help but wonder after so many Twin Cities homages through the years with the Peanut character series, what they would come up with this year—would we see a Sex World-themed dinosaur? A Prince-themed dinosaur? Perhaps a First Avenue dino? Although a Joe Mauer dinosaur has been confirmed (complete with sideburns), we'll have to wait to see what else is pitched for this series. Artists can still submit designs until March 15th, followed by a massive spray paint high May 20th, when artists arrive at the Science Museum for a giant paint-off open to the public. All the dinosaurs will be created in the following four days, and will hit the streets May 28th. In early September, some of the dinosaurs will be auctioned off to benefit the museum.