Ohio: Visit Mesozoic Era this summer at COSI dinosaur exhibit

Columbus Local News: Visit Mesozoic Era this summer at COSI dinosaur exhibit
Take a trip back in time to the Mesozoic Era this summer at the new COSI exhibit, "DINOSAURS: Explore. Escape. Survive."

This exhibit features giant, lifelike animatronic dinosaurs, a 3,000-square-foot maze, and interactive gaming pods to explore life in the prehistoric age.

"Dinosaurs are ageless -- there's something here for everyone," said Jaclyn Reynolds, public relations and social media manager for COSI.

Scientifically accurate animatronic dinosaurs can been seen towering over visitors throughout the exhibit. They move and make sounds and are placed in the environments where they would have been found while they inhabited the earth.


The journey through the maze is navigated by visitors answering questions at interactive stations, with "yes" or "no" deciding the path. Along the way explorers will find they can make their own dinosaur footprints, uncover fossils and learn to fly like a dinosaur. Once the maze is completed, visitors become official junior paleontologists.

"Every kid knows about dinosaurs, but here they can get a close personal view," said Breanne Heitkamp, a part-time associate faculty leader.

The gaming pods offer the chance for visitors to become different dinosaurs while interacting with up to 15 other users. Players learn what to eat and drink as a dinosaur while exploring an ecosystem from millions of years ago, all while trying not to get eaten by a T. Rex.

COSI also features Waking the T. Rex 3D: The Story of SUE in its new digital giant screen theatre.

"Seeing that lightbulb moment go off and seeing how excited they get is wonderful," Heitkamp said about working with the children in the exhibit.

"DINOSAURS: Explore. Escape. Survive." will be open until Sept. 5 at COSI, 333 W. Broad St. in downtown Columbus.