of Africa. Contains over 120 specimens, including 42 species of birds and 28 species of mammals are on display. Strake Hall of Malacology, with many specimens of mollusks. Morian Hall of Paleontology, the largest paleontology hall in the United States. Contains over 60 major skeleton mounts, including three Tyrannosaurus rex, a Diplodocus and the most complete Triceratops skeleton ever discovered. It also houses one of the largest trilobite collections in existence. Robert Bakker serves as Curator of Paleontology. John P. McGovern Hall of the Americas, showing more than 50 cultures worth of pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts. Welch Chemistry Hall, with interactive chemistry related displays and a periodic table of elements with a sample of each element. Wiess Energy Hall, with displays themed around energetics, petroleum geology, and oil exploration. Renovated and expanded in 2017, the hall consists of 16 sections, including a working replica of an offshore drilling rig drill floor, a 15K resolution video depicting the history of energy, the "Geovator" (a simulated trip into the rock beneath Houston and back in time to the Cretaceous Period), the "Eagle Ford Shale Experience" (a simulated journey to Karnes County, TX, to experience the hydraulic fracturing of an oil well from inside the cracked rock), "Energy City," (a 1/150th scale white model depicting the entire energy value chain brought to life through projection mapping using 32 laser projectors), and Renewable and Future Energy Sources. Hall of Ancient Egypt opened in May 2013 and contains many millennia-old artifacts and features recreations of Egyptian temples and mummies from this ancient primary civilization. Cockrell Sundial opened in 1989 and is one of the world's largest sundials. It includes lenses on a special chrome ball on top of the gnomon so that at solar noon on the equinoxes and solstices, sunlight shines through and casts an image of the Sun. Large sunspots can be seen by holding a white card in the beam and moving until it is focus. Earth Forum, which opened in 2002, is a computer-aided and hands-on exhibit teaching about Earth and its processes. The "Earth Update" software was developed by Rice University with NASA funding. Facilities Burke Baker Planetarium presents a range of science and astronomy shows. As of 2016, the planetarium is equipped with the Digistar 5 fulldome projection system. It is one of the first 8k planetariums in the United States. Originally opened in 1969 with a Spitz Space Transit