Children can experience the day-to-day world of dinosaurs through cutting-edge computer simulation in the special exhibition Be the Dinosaur/i>, on view from June 11 through September 11 at the Springfield Science Museum. Dinosaur Dig Lab, a companion exhibit, invites kids to become paleontologists and excavate “fossils.”
Be the Dinosaur recreates life as it existed 65 million years ago. Visitors follow icons to discover facts about dinosaur behavior and then use this knowledge to take control of their digital dinosaur in audio-visual simulator pods. The artificially intelligent dinosaurs roam across realistic terrain. They have simulated muscle and digestive systems. Virtual winds carry digital odors. Plants grow and have accurate nutritional values.
The easy-to-use controls allow visitors to manipulate the virtual dinosaur’s limbs, head, neck, jaw and even nostrils. Different settings provide access for young visitors and an “expert” setting to satisfy the most tech-savvy users.
Other interactive components include dinosaur observation windows, a touch-screen “designasaurus” station, and a virtual Dinosaur Jeep Safari for younger children. All exhibit components are scientifically accurate and based on a well-studied fossil formation in Western North America.
There is a $5 special exhibition fee which includes Be the Dinosaur and the Dinosaur Dig Lab.