Record-setting dinosaur exhibit coming to Detroit

DetroitNews.com: Record-setting dinosaur exhibit coming to Detroit
http://www.detroitsciencecenter.org/
The mammoth blockbuster exhibit "Dinosaurs Unearthed" will be unveiled in Detroit Saturday. The more than 10,000-square-foot exposition features two dozen animatronic dinosaurs, five full-sized skeletons and nearly 40 fossil replicas and eggs from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods 65 million to 245 million years ago.

Todd Slisher, Science Center COO and vice president of visitor programs and service, says "Dinosaurs Unearthed" has been breaking attendance records around the country. The Science Center is the fourth venue to feature the exhibit, which was last in Kansas City.

While at Union Station in Kansas City, the exhibit tallied more than 149,000 visitors since opening in May.

The museum's average number of visitors annually had been 190,000. And the exhibit was the third most popular in the history of the Cincinnati Museum Center, drawing 170,000 visitors there and 105,000 visitors to the Saint Louis Science Center.

Now the Detroit Science Center, which boasts an annual attendance of 300,000, hopes to attract throngs to its show

. To date, the venue has held two exhibitions exceeding 100,000 visitors, says Science Center spokeswoman Kelly Fulford.

In 2003, "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit" drew 192,000 visitors and generated $2 million in ticket sales over seven months. And the 2007 exhibit, "Our Body: The Universe Within" attracted 268,000 visitors, generating $5 million in ticket sales over 12 months.

Daoping Bao, exhibit president, CEO and creator of the animatronics dinosaurs, credits the success of "Dinosaurs Unearthed" with presenting the former giants in a fresh and innovative way. "Today there is the Internet, Game Boy, you have to entertain," Bao says. "You need action and excitement."

The animatronic creations were made to replicate nearly every feature of the dinosaurs. Each of the 24 animatronic dinosaurs has up to eight movements, is hand-carved and is covered with skin-like materials. They also roar, roll their eyes and clinch their menacing jaws in manners that will amuse children and adults alike.

But Bao quickly adds that while the exhibit is entertaining, it doesn't stray from educating audiences.

The show also explores the "softer" side of the dinosaurs, highlighting the relatively recent discovery of feathered dinosaurs and their connection to birds. Even the most ferocious of the dinosaurs, like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, was covered with a downy, featherlike coat that helped them maintain their body temperature prior to reaching adulthood. Feathered fossils were discovered in 1996, and are the strongest evidence to date that modern day birds are actually descendants of theropods.

"Usually what happens for most people visiting a museum for example is they see dinosaur fossils or skeletons, a name, and a year. But they don't really understand," Bao says. "Everything we do is very detailed and based on science, complete with experts checking out terms and the language we use."

Paleontologist Glenn Storrs agrees.

"The exhibit highlights this new understanding in an attractive and exciting way that all ages can appreciate," says Storrs, assistant vice president of natural history and science and the Withrow Farny curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Cincinnati Museum Center. "For me, the representations of newly discovered Chinese fossils are the most notable part of the presentation."

The Detroit Science Center will give visitors an extra helping of dinosaur fun with "Dinosaurs Alive!" in the Chrysler IMAX Dome Theatre and "Dinosaur Planet" in the Dassault Systèmes Planetarium.