SCIENCE GETS LIFE-SIZED AND LIFE-LIKE WITH SEASON BLOCKBUSTER

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Meredith Westheimer or Kelly Husak

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SCIENCE GETS LIFE-SIZED AND LIFE-LIKE WITH SEASON BLOCKBUSTER

More than a dozen animatronic dinosaurs will be on display at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium during “Dinosaurs Around the World” exhibit this fall

(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.) – Those trembling ripples in your glass of water on November 1 presumably won’t be chalked up to an earthquake or sonic boom, according to experts at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium. They maintain it’s likely they’re coming from a pack of dinosaurs – stomping into the West Palm Beach venue from November 1, 2015 through April 16, 2016.  They will literally be “moving” into the venue, as the cutting edge exhibit looks like something out of a Spielberg film, featuring more than a dozen life-sized animatronic dinosaurs. The life-like replicas will roar, swing their tails and scratch their claws to the delight of tourists and locals all season.  Some are so large that they have to be displayed outside the museum

“Dinosaurs Around the World” invites guests to travel back to an age when dinosaurs ruled the planet – no time machine required.  In addition to the pack that will be on display like a prehistoric zoo, the exhibit also features a multi-layered narrative, fossils, authentic casts, cutting-edge research and immersive design elements.  The resulting story is a clearly painted picture about the prehistoric planet and its early inhabitants.

“This is the biggest, most realistic dinosaur exhibit around,” says Lew Crampton, CEO of the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium. “Our reptilian friends are back – and we are glad to have them as our guests!”

And Crampton knows his dinosaurs. Under his leadership and hands-on digging, staff at the Burpee Museum in Illinois unearthed and re-assembled “Jane” the third most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found.

“’Dinosaurs Around the World’ is a blockbuster exhibit,” continued Crampton. “Currently it is breaking all attendance records at its initial venue, the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. We are incredibly excited as these dinosaurs are as true to life as science can make them.”

According to Crampton, “Dinosaurs Around the World” isn’t just world-class entertainment. Guests embark on a dinosaur adventure to learn about an Earth very different from today. Lush landscapes covered Africa, greenery was the norm in Antarctica and dinosaurs were the biggest and baddest beasts around.

“Dinosaurs dominated our world for more than 150 million years, inspiring the imaginations of young and old alike,” he continued. “The immense size of many dinosaurs, their otherworldly appearance and their place in earth’s prehistory all contribute to their mystique. While dinosaurs may appear to us as monsters out of science fiction stories, their fossilized bones prove that they really lived. Our desire to see these animals up close -- to see them move and to hear them roar -- is not only a powerful attraction, but a totally unique, hands-on educational experience.”

As Science Center guests grab their prehistoric passport to Pangea, the exhibit will help them discover how plate tectonics, land bridges and volcanic activity allowed dinosaurs to disperse to all corners of the globe, giving each of the seven continents its own unique selection of these giant reptiles.

During their 172-million-year reign, dinosaurs adapted into a variety of forms due to the conditions of the areas in which they lived. The exhibition includes examples such as the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex of North America – like the one Crampton helped find -- the swift Velociraptor of the Gobi Desert, the massive herbivore Amargasaurus from the tropical jungles of South America and many others.

The exhibition poses questions to the visitor about the reign of the dinosaurs and helps them to discover how dinosaurs lived on each continent, how they interacted with each other, how geography impacted their behavior and diets and what the continents were really like at the time.

Created in collaboration with award-winning Paleontologist Gregory M. Erickson, “Dinosaurs Around the World” provides an immersive educational experience exploring a broad range of topics from the Mesozoic Era. Dr. Erickson is currently the curator for the Florida State University Museum and faculty at Florida State University. He holds research appointments with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, The Field Museum in Chicago and University of Alaska's Museum of the North in Fairbanks.

“Whether kids of all ages are still talking about Jurassic World or your toddler is trying to pronounce ‘Spinosaurus,’ this exhibit really delivers,” says Crampton. “Hands down, it’s the most realistic, awe-inspiring dinosaur exhibition currently on display in museums around the world.”

The South Florida Science Center and Aquarium features more than 50 hands-on educational exhibits, an 8,000 gallon fresh and salt water aquarium- featuring both local and exotic marine life, a digital planetarium, conservation research station, Florida exhibit hall, Pre-K focused “Discovery Center” and an interactive Everglades exhibit.  All exhibits will be on display during “Dinosaurs Around the World's” special showing.

Admission to “Dinosaurs Around the World” and the Science Center’s permanent exhibits will be $16.95 for adults, $12.95 for children aged 3 to 12, $14.95 for seniors aged 60 and older, and children under 3 are free.  Planetarium shows and miniature golf are not included in general admission pricing.

The South Florida Science Center and Aquarium is located at 4801 Dreher Trail North, West Palm Beach and is open Monday – Friday from 9am-5pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am-6pm.  For more information, call 561-832-1988 or visit www.sfsciencecenter.org.  Like the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @SFScienceCenter.

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