Tyrannosaurs – Meet the Family is Scienceworks’ latest exhibition which opens this Saturday 23 May and it’s certain to be a blockbuster. What kid doesn’t like dinosaurs?
The exhibition was developed by Australian Museum in Canberra and it’s a fun, drugs healing informative and interactive display that showcases the tyrannosaur family tree and the latest scientific discoveries. Turns out there’s more to tyrannosaurs than T-Rex.
The exhibition covers four rooms which are all very dimly lit, with the sounds of dinos roaring adding a rather scary ambience. As such, depending on your child the exhibition may not be suitable for very young kids who may be freaked out by the threatening atmosphere.
There are several fossil specimens to see but most of the big structures are casts of tyrannosaur specimens. There are over 10 life-sized dinosaur skeletons – keep an eye out for the dino skeleton shadow that moves….
There is lots of interesting dinosaur information for budding paleontologists to absorb but for younger kids the hands-on experiences will be the most attractive.
Lady AB had great fun manipulating the digital dinosaurs on screen while I read aloud the simple factoids. She also enjoyed ‘hatching’ the dino eggs and didn’t want to leave.
The highlight is the large-scale projections of dinosaurs running through the streets of Spotswood! We were mesmerised.
As you leave there is an augmented reality video which allows visitors to interact and play with members of the tyrannosaur family. My kids were so freaked out by the idea of dinosaurs in the gallery that they stood stock still with their mouths agape!
To complement the exhibition, Scienceworks will host a series of public programs for families, including dinosaur themed winter school holiday activities, Family Science Nights with after-hours exhibition viewing and Meet the Expert talks. If you enter the Junior Dino Expert Competition your little dino expert can win an amazing dino prize pack and a behind the scenes tour of the palaeontology department with a Museum Victoria palaeontologist.
Plus if you go to Federation Square tomorrow 12-4pm you’ll see Scotty the T-rex come to life!
HOT tips:
- be prepared for a dark, rather scary environment which may not be suitable for all kids;
- lots of space to wheel a pram;
- very young kids may not be able to reach the hands-on multimedia; and
- the museum cafe has dino-themed lunch boxes for kids for $8.50!
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