Dinosphere is growing at The Children's Museum
Big things have happened at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. REALLY BIG. The museum's popular Dinosphere has expanded with even more fascinating exhibits about ancient creatures who roamed the Earth. Here's a brief description from the museum of what's new:
In the new Dinosphere®: Now You’re in Their World, children and families come face-to-face — and in some cases, face-to-knee — with magnificent dinosaurs and marine reptiles that once dominated the world. The museum has brought in amazing new dinosaurs, including Giants of the Jurassic™ and Monsters of the Mesozoic Seas™, which will join longtime favorites in Creatures of the Cretaceous™ to create this extraordinary new exhibit.
In Giants of the Jurassic™, visitors will have to crane their necks way back to see the top of the first giant sauropod, which is posed as though it is rearing up on its hindquarters. It is followed by another sauropod that seems to be grazing behind it. An equally compelling find from the dig site that visitors will learn about is the discovery of hundreds of theropod teeth. There also are trackways that tell you more about the animals’ movement and behavior.
Monsters of the Mesozoic™ is an ocean-themed section that makes families feel like they are swimming beneath the waves alongside a sea creature reminiscent of the Loch Ness Monster. The Elasmosaurus, with its with sharp, pointy, fang-like teeth and 23-foot-long neck, is posed to look like it is plunging into the water alongside visitors. A 20-foot-long Baptanodon had freakishly large eye sockets the size of dinner plates.
The Sundance Sea, where Baptanodon once lived, wasn’t deep enough to get very dark, so its enormous eyes were likely most useful for hunting prey at night. The Plioplatecarpus (a type of mosasaur) was one of the top predators in the ocean. They ate just about anything they could catch, including other mosasaurs. They used their double-hinged jaws and flexible skulls to open their mouths wide.
Creatures of the Cretaceous features dinosaurs that visitors to The Children’s Museum have come to know and love, including a couple of T. rex, a Gorgosaurus, and a mummified duckbill dinosaur. The former Cinedome sets the perfect stage with a brilliantly colored sky that transitions from dawn to dusk to midnight (with meteor showers,) immersing families in the sights and sounds of the Cretaceous. Dracorex hogwartsia will remain on Level 2 by the main elevators.
The museum is located at 3000 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis 46298. For more information, visit www.childrensmuseum.org
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Note: It is now optional for guests to wear face masks indoors at The Children's Museum. Museum staff, volunteers, interns, contractors and vendors will be required to continue to wear face masks indoors.
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