What would life look like if dinosaurs were brought back? Step into Jurassic World: The Exhibition which brings you up close and personal with our 200 million-year-old Triassic friends.
There’s no doubt that the advent of the Jurassic Park movies over the last 30 years has created a keen interest in dinosaurs the world-over.
I took my four dinosaur-obsessed children – aged 8, 11, 13 and 15 – to Olympic Park one evening for the experience. And it was an absolute hit.
It recreates the movie, starting with us boarding the ‘ferry’ across to Isla Nublar, complete with windows showing the ‘water’ outside. Upon disembarking, you are faced with those gates, the iconic eight-foot Jurassic Park iron doorways which keep the dinosaurs in – at least for now. As you enter, a 12-foot brachiosaurus greets you, with its long neck swaying around as it moves gently, hopefully just looking for food – thankfully the carnivores are not in this paddock! It was so life-like it absolutely took my breath away.
Jurassic World: The Exhibition is on a world tour, with the dino troupe already selling out in London, Chicago and Paris. Clever animatronics by Animax Designs means the dinosaurs have all the appearance and movement of the real reptiles, complete with roars and body movement.
Scientists and park rangers roam the exhibit, explaining all things dinosaur, and you can even pat a few of the babies that have just hatched from their eggs – including Bumpy, a tiny anchiosaurus who features in the popular Netflix series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.
I managed to lose the kids a few times during the night, as they were so excited I could not hold them back. At least the dinosaurs remained safely in their enclosures.
Sofia, 8, gets terrified by a T Rex.
The Creation Lab is great fun, with eggs in their temperature-controlled hatcheries. As you walk through the various ‘paddocks,’ a new environment is revealed. Even my eldest, a normally expression-less teenager, could not contain his excitement at the giant Tyrannosaurus Rex and Carnotaur who were having a bit of a roar-off. Yes it was absolutely terrifying!
There is a gyrospere you can sit in (no it does not move!) and you can get up close and personal with velociraptors Delta, Echo and Charlie who stare you down strapped into their training muzzles. Don’t despair about Blue, as she makes an appearance in her own separate yard, making a charge for the ‘electric’ fence. This is a must-see for all dinosaur lovers!
Jurassic World: The Exhibition
SuperLuna Pavilion until 3 Dec
ticketmaster.com.au