Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Mayborn Exhibit: Be the Dinosaur

The Mayborn has a special exhibit over the summer called "Life in the Cretaceous:  Be the Dinosaur".  I was really excited about it because it seemed like something that would appeal to my older kids, and because the exhibits at the Mayborn are always really cool.  And while the kids did enjoy this exhibit, I have to say I was sort of underwhelmed.



It had a couple large animated dinos and an animated dino-baby:  one T-rex, shown above, which was outside the exhibit in the lobby (where you can see it without special admission), and a mom and baby Triceratops inside.


They had a VERY SMALL collection of dino bones.  This large Triceratops head (nearly as tall as an 11 year old boy) was the coolest, though probably a replica since it was out where kids could touch it.  The rest were all small fossils in a few glass cases.


But mostly it was these...a whole bunch of video game screens with basically the same game (you could be a Triceratops or a T-rex).  And while the game was alright, I for one take my kids out to get them OFF of video games, so I wasn't really thrilled.  It was educational, but could be scary for younger kids.  My 6 year old was fine with it.  (Definitely gave him a more realistic perception of dinosaurs:  His dinosaur toys started eating each other in stead of talking to each other after this trip.)



There wasn't much pretend play stuff, save for a jeep you could ride in and these Dino-tails.   If you have younger kids (too young for video games where dinosaurs eat each other), then I would save your money and not pay the extra amount to see this special exhibit (there's plenty of other stuff they'll love in the museum).  If you have older kids, they might enjoy it (mine did...though not so much as some past exhibits).  Or, you can just catch the free museum day coming up August 8.  The Dino Day special events on July 29 and August 5th would also be a good time to visit, since you can get into the museum AND this special exhibit for only $5, plus there will be other fun stuff going on.






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