Ohio museum ready to move 10,000-year-old mastodon

[January 06, 2011]  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Moving day has arrived for an Ohio museum's roughly 1-ton, 10,000-year-old mastodon.

In Columbus, the Ohio Historical Society on Thursday is scheduled to begin taking its 10-foot-tall skeleton apart and then reassembling it in a more flattering position. The mastodon's giant back end now greets visitors through a lower-level entry way which became the main entrance in the current, handicapped-accessible era.

Shifting the mastodon -- named Conway after the man who unearthed him in 1887 -- is expected to take three days.

The skeleton was last moved during 1993 renovations at the historical society.

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Online:

Ohio Historical Society:
http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/

[Associated Press]

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