As the summer heats up, the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond has an indoor option to help keep your kids – and kids-at-heart – busy. ‘Ultimate Dinosaurs’ puts some dinos you may have never heard of at your fingertips.
The only person who’s probably more excited about the exhibit than your kids is Timshel Purdum. When I spoke with Purdum, the Deputy Director of Education at the museum, she was decked out from head to toe in dino glamor and you could hear her love of dinos as she discussed the new exhibit.
“Yea know, a lot of people love dinosaurs as kids; some of us never grow out of it. And partly because we love the big, giant ‘things are gonna eat you!’ That kind of thing," Purdum told Radio IQ. "But I love them cause they’re such unique animals. And they’re still here: the smallest dinosaur that ever lived is a hummingbird. Which is cool, right?”
Purdum’s excitement is likely deserved as the new exhibit gives you a look at some of the lesser known dinos – instead of T-Rex, you get Giganotosaurus. There’s plenty of finned and winged dinos as well – even one that looks like a fluffy, albeit angry, little dog.
“These are animals most people aren’t used to seeing. And they evolved really uniquely. We think kangaroos in Australia because they were isolated as they evolved," Purdum said. " [The] same thing happened with these dinosaurs, and they have a lot of weird sticky-outy-bits.”
The exhibit includes plenty of interactive elements for the kids to play with, as well as air conditioning to beat the heat.
It was enough to keep seven-year-old Lochlan Wylan busy for a bit.
“Dude, I feel like I’m watching Jurassic Park,” Wylan whispered to me as he walked past the towering dino bones.
Ultimate Dinosaurs runs now through September. Find out more by visiting the Science Museum of Virginia's website.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
