Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Dinosaur sound simulation)
Dinosaurs ruled the earth for over 165 million years and then mysteriously went extinct 65 million years ago. Until July 28th, 2011 when they were resurrected at Science World in their new animatronic Extreme Dinosaurs exhibit. To quote Rhiannon Coppin "A bunch of old media dinosaurs took on new-media mammals for ultimate science gallery supremacy at Science World".
Naturally, we were team Awesome-a-sauras-Van! Despite being the smallest team in numbers, we were the first group to break 100 decibels. To make that sound relevant; humans average 70 decibels when they talk and dinosaurs averaged 140 decibels. So if you're ever in need of a good dinosaur roar, you know who to call. There was a plastic trumpet (aka dino horn) building contest to determine the winner, OpenFile reigned supreme.
Useless fact: two out of three Awesome-a-sauras team members play the trumpet
Walking into Science World, better known as the giant golf ball at False Creek, you can't help but have flashbacks of those elementary school field trips. One of my favourites was the giant piano you could walk on, made me feel like Tom Hanks in "Big", you all remember the scene.
But this visit was a complete deja vu for me. Who remembers when Science World first opened? Back in 1988? Okay, that was a long time ago and some of our readers probably weren't even born, but I was there.
At nine years old dinosaurs were completely fascinating and I got to go to the preview, thanks mom for the hook-up! The original exhibit was called Dinosaurs! A journey through time with White Spot. And yes we all had pirate paks for lunch!
The beauty of being a child, you actually felt like you were walking through a jungle with real live dinosaurs, actual size and to top it off we all received dinosaur toys…I wonder if I still have mine somewhere...hmmm.
The media challenge with its dinosaur questionnaire and certificate of completion added to the experience reminiscent of childhood. While we were roaming the gallery, a curious little boy managed to sneak his way into the dinosaur exhibit. He looked mesmerized, it was priceless!
For all of you with children and for the grown-up whose a kid at heart and still loves dinosaurs, check out the Extreme Dinosaurs exhibit, July 30, 2011 to April 1, 2012 at Science World. This is the fifth time since its inception that Science World has had a dinosaur exhibit, but this is the first one that is fully animatronic. It's created by a local company out of Richmond, Dinosaurs Unearthed.
Yes I drew the sign, but don't judge me...I only had two minutes.
Left to Right: V.I.A. team members Susan Young, Sarah Szloboda, Meena Sandhu holding their certificates of completion. Photos in this post by Rhiannon Coppin
Not so useless fact: Did you know there were furry and feathered dinosaurs as well? Confuciusornis, Microraptor, Sinosauropteryx, Alzasaurus, and Gigantoraptor.
