While the word "fossils" may have once once conjured images of elderly, nearsighted scientists toiling in silence in dank, dark basements, San Diego's Natural History Museum is breathing new life into its collection with the addition of a $5.1 million Paleo Center that, yes, is downstairs and opens to the public on Friday.

The story of Amazement in the Basement, as "the Nat" has coined the exhibit, began 150 years ago when the museum was founded and continues today with curated highlights in the new Tom Deméré Paleontology Center, which finds fresh ways to connect San Diego with its antediluvian past.

This 16-foot shelf of specimens was moved into the Nat from a remote storage facility to give visitors a peek at what goes on behind the scenes. (Eric S. Page)

"It's the first time in ou

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