Haplocanthosaurus delfsi, "Happy"

The Museum's Late Jurassic sauropod, nicknamed Happy, is the only known adult specimen of this dinosaur complete enough to display in its entirety. This impressive dinosaur, the holotype of its species (Haplocanthosaurus delfsi), was discovered by a Museum team in June 1954 at a dig site in Red Canyon, near Canon City, Colorado. In life, this dinosaur was probably more than 72 feet long and 14 feet tall at the hips, with a weight of about 25 tons. Nearly half the bones in this 70-foot-long, 14-foot-high mounted skeleton are real fossil material.

The Museum’s logo, featuring an elegant representation of the beloved Happy, was created in 1972 by the locally based industrial-design firm Nottingham Spirk. In five simple calligraphic brushstrokes, the logo evokes the same larger-than-life fascination that visitors young and old alike experience as they walk through our galleries.

It is said to be one of the most recognizable in all of Cleveland. In fact, it is so iconic, it has been a mainstay of the Museum’s brand in the nearly five decades since its creation.

The dinosaur was originally displayed in 1961 in a prone position. Two years later, the dinosaur was remounted in an upright pose.