Prepare to be transported back in time when some incredible dinosaurs arrive at the Museum of the Goldfields on Saturday 30 October 2021.

Dinosaur Explore: Lost Creatures of the Cretaceous brings to life some extraordinary dinosaurs of Earth’s Cretaceous period in a spine-tingling, custom-made exhibition featuring 14 life-size models, 13 of which are animatronic.

Museum of the Goldfields Regional Manager Cara Haymes said the dinosaurs will inhabit specially created Cretaceous era environments.

“All visitors are in for a treat! The exhibition not only highlights some of the most diverse range of dinosaurs to have walked the earth but also recreates the Cretaceous period, from some 145-66 million years ago,” Ms Haymes said.

“The exhibition features dinosaurs from Australia, North America, North Africa, and Asia and combines learning with fun through life-size models, dedicated kids’ activities, and augmented reality.”

Western Australian Museum palaeontologist Dr Mikael Siversson said the Museum developed the exhibition to scientific specifications.

“Recent finds and re-evaluation of previous dinosaur research changes the way we look at and understand dinosaurs,” Dr Siversson said.

“When developing the exhibition, we used the current scientific data available at the time and collaborated with a paleo artist who illustrated the dinosaurs, and those illustrations were used as blueprints to build the models.”

The models of Australian dinosaurs include a 7.5-metre long and 2.3-metre high Muttaburrasaurus and a 5-metre long and 1.6-metre high Australovenator.

Visitors to Dinosaur Explore will also witness a virtual reality scene of a Velociraptor in battle mode. Positioned next to an animatronic Protoceratops model, the battle is based on fossilised evidence from Mongolia of mortal combat between the two species.

Dinosaur Explore: Lost Creatures of the Cretaceous is a ticketed exhibition and will be at the Museum of the Goldfields from 30 October 2021 to 27 February 2022. For bookings and more information visit museum.wa.gov.au/dinosaur-explore

 

Media contact:
Flora Perrella
flora.perrella@museum.wa.gov.au