Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction
Media Invite:
The march school holidays is coming, and if you are looking for an educational activity for your kids, look no further. The ArtScience Museum has a Dinosaur exhibition, that will not just excite your kids, but it will also enrich every Parent as well.
“Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction” takes visitors back in time more than 600 million years covering the era before dinosaurs walked the earth all the way until their extinction. Through interactive exhibits, visitors will gain a deeper understanding of how these species evolved and adapted to changing environmental conditions.
Occupying over 3,700 sq metres of floor space, the exhibition features more than 400 fossils and models, as well as over 50 original artworks. This is the first exhibition which combines 4 exhibitions from the renowned , American Museum of Natural History, San Juan National Science Museum, SCI! Expo at Monash University and Artist Peter Trusler.
Curated by paleontologist, Dr. Patricia Vickers-Rich, “Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction” offers a refreshing and in-depth journey into the pre-existence, existence, rise and extinction of dinosaurs. Through a timeline thread, visitors will be transported more than 600 million years back in time to learn the unique story of what came before and after the dinosaurs, and gain a deeper understanding on how these species evolved and adapted to changing
environmental conditions
Personally, I am not too much of a “Dinosaur Fanatic”. In fact, the only dinosaur I know “off the cuff” is the infamous “T-Rex”. Many thanks to Hollywood, this creature always brings me to the blockbuster “Jurassic Park” and it was good to see the bones of this monster there. My boy on the other hand, was rattling some names that I was not even sure of, and it was definitely “worth my while” to bring him to the museum.
To add to the experience, I would definitely opt for the guided tour. The guides know their stuff, and they gave interesting information, that you might not have picked up on your own. For example, I found out that the T-Rex runs slower than a middle-aged women walking at a leisurely pace , so you can easily out-run a T-Rex if you wanted to. Seems like Hollywood has given us a wrong impression to deliberately push up their ratings! 
A Great thing about the ArtScience Museum, is that they have curated interactive programs for the kids. Kids can take part in the “Life of a Palaeontologist” where the kids can handle tools, specimens, clean fossils, identifying bones and making a plaster. The programs are definitely very well attended and the best time to visit the Museum would be on a weekday.
Other programmes are:
- ‘Stop Motion Dinosaur Wipe-out!’ – Film and dinosaur enthusiasts can create their own stop motion animation based on one of the main theories of mass dinosaur extinction: asteroid impact, climate change or volcanic eruptions.
- ‘Dinosaur Tale”- Presented by local puppet theatre company, Paper Monkey Theatre, visitors will be taken on a journey of how animal life adapted over 600 million years, presented through magical puppetry.
- ‘Sketch-a-fossil’– A drawing workshop conducted by Isabelle Desjeux, a scientist turned artist, who brings fossils to life by having visitors draw them in detail and placing the art piece in a pre-historic landscape.
- ‘Sculpture Fun’ – Visitors can try their hands at carving their own sculpted fossil, be it a shell or bone, out of soap to bring home.
As Part of the March School Holiday Program, you can get to have a sleep-over at the Museum too!
Entitled “A Sleepover with Dinos”, the program will be conducted on March 16 and March 21 (recommended for kids below 6 to 12yo). Priced at $120 per child (Free for accompanying adult), Parents get to bond with their child as they engage in the interactive activities at the Museum.
For Dinosnores! A Sleepover with Dinos, we recommend that interested visitors call the hotline +65 6688 8826 or visit any Marina Bay Sands box office to make a booking.
Lastly, my family has no regrets about visiting the exhibition, and the experience was really enriching. The Museum does have cheaper prices for Singaporeans, so do ask for the Non-tourist prices when you pay them a visit.
To Find out more, head over to the ArtScience Museum. For ticketing details to the Museum, you may head over to Sistic at: http://www.sistic.com/events/asm2011