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Artscience Museum : Dinosaurs Dawn to Extinction


Dinosaurs had been roaming Singapore since 25 Jan at Artscience Museum at Marina Bay Sands.
However it was only recently when we had the chance to turn back time to visit these magnificent prehistoric beasts.

This would be our second visit to Artscience Museum . Our last exhibit, The Art of Brick had been a blast, so we were delighted to be back at the Museum.

The boys were in awe when I told them we will be seeing a Dinosaur exhibit. Little Lou actually thought the Dinosaurs are still alive!

Seriously, the above statement is not a joke.

Thankfully, their fears were put aside when told that the giant beast now exist only in the movies. The tour started with a walk through the corridor lined with larger than life wall murals depicting the Jurassic age.

The Dinosaurs : Dawn to Extinction is an exhibition attempts to bring the visitors through 600 million years of Dinosaur existence on earth. It will trace the roots of Dinosaurs till the time where they become extinct. Housed in one exhibition comprising of 400 fossils and models , this will be an educational tour for both adults and child to gain an insight to the legacy of Dinosaurs.

Be greeted by a herd of Herrerasurs as you enter the exhibit. Here you can get close to one of the oldest and fiercest known dinosaurs. The herd comes alive on the wall with an animated scene adding life to the exhibit, adding a little realism in the exhibit.
 Enter a blue room that kicks off the exhibit. This room is set to resemble the ocean. Life originated from here before the dinosaurs rule the earth. The visitors are invited to touch and interact with the exhibits.
There are numerous exhibits the younger one can interact with. This makes a great opportunity for children to learn as they explore the galleries.

Triassic Age

The exhibits that are out of bounds are the main Dinosaur bones. The bones displayed are a mixture of real fossils and models. Trust us, it would be hard to tell them apart. We do think those that are enclosed within the glass enclosure are the real deal.
In some cases, bones and models of the same species stand side by side. These innovative displays gave us a perspective of how a flesh out dinosaurs may look like. These visual arrangements are great for the kids as they have a picture beyond identifying Dinosaurs as Mr Bones.

Billed as Southeast Asia largest dinosaurs exhibit, we like how this exhibition is organised. The timeframe of the dinosaurs existences can be easily differentiated by the separation each timeline in different chambers. For a Dinosaur novice like me, it helped in explaining to the little ones the evolution of Dinosaurs through the passage of time.

Not only do the little ones learn a new thing or two, old dogs like me can pick a new trick too.
Do you know that there are two different periods in time before Dinosaurs rule the earth? During the Triassic period, otherwise known as pre-Jurassic, Therapsida are the kingpins of the earth. The Therapsida are the ancestors of mammals.
Jurassic Age
Following a drastic event on earth, speculated to be an asteroid impact, gradual climate change or massive volcanic eruption, most Therapsida became extinct. Only mammal-like creatures survive. It was also during this time that the massive dinosaurs took over the throne as the dominant creature of earth.

As you can tell, this is turning out to be an entertaining and educational trip for us.

The Great Battle
One of the main Woo-hoo exhibit would probably be The Final Battle scene between a Lessemasaurus sauropiods( four legged herbivours dinosaur) and a crocodile-like Fasolasuchus tenax.

It was an impressive sight in the gallery, filling the room it was set up. An equally impressive task would be saying ' Lessemasaurus sauropiods Fights Fasolasuchus tenax ' 5 times without a break.

Did you succeed?

Instead of the usual shock and awe in a Dinosaur exhibit where you would see many dinosaurs species in one room, we felt that this exhibit had a more personal touch with smaller quantity of species per room. This gave the exhibit a very intimate setting, making each encounter a close affair.

It was not an easy task for chief curator Dr Patricia Vicjer-Rich who had to draw from 4 different sources ; the American Museum of Natural History in New York, San Juan National Science Musesum in Argentian, Australia's Monash university SCI!Expo and paintings from Australia artist, Peter Trusler.

Even with the variety of sources, the exhibit managed to tell a convincing tale of Dinosaur evolution.
No decent Dinosaur exhibition would leave out the most famous of all dinosaurs,the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

As we near the end of the exhibition, we chanced upon a depiction of Liaoning Forest in China. This exhibit marks the near end of the Dinosaurs rule on earth.
We did spend a while to savour the moment as the boys attempt to identify each creature by matching them with picture.
The exhibit concluded with a video towards the end of the exhibition showing how mass destruction leads to the extinction of the massive creatures. There are survivals though and through the passage of evolution, it has led us to where we are today.

Artscience Museum : Dinosaurs Dawn to Extinction App For a more immerse and interactive experience , you can download the app Artscience Museum: Dinosaurs Dawn to Extinction app on IOS or Googleplay . We do advise to keep it away from younger children as they might just not look up from their devices and miss a great exhibition put together.

Activities for Kids

For children, there are numerous interactive stations that are around the galleries that encourage the little ones to get up close and personal with the dinosaurs. There are 'touch and feel' stations, puzzle making and even a station that transform their voices to dinosaur voice.

The boys had spent over 2 hours at the exhibit and was quite involved with the exhibit during this time.
During weekends, you can look forward to more activities lie up as follows

Shadow Puppets Alive!
Daily, 10am – 6.30pm*
Admission charges apply.
Free for Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction exhibition
Let your imagination run wild and make a Bullockornis or a Megalania shadow puppet to take home.
*Activity runs when other programmes are not being conducted in the workshop space.

Stop Motion: Dinosaur Wipe-out!
Sundays, 1, 15 & 29 June 2014
3pm – 4pm
For children aged 6 years and up
Choose your favourite extinction theory and create your own stop motion animation showing the end of the world for the dinosaurs.
Maximum 30 participants per session. Please register at the Creatosaurus Space in the Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction exhibition, 15 minutes before the start of session.

If you want a souvenir, the museum shop is located at the exit. We spotted this dino chess set that is both educational for the older kid and fun for the younger one for your consideration.
And if you are not picking up any souvenirs, do not fret. Just head to the main souvenir store located near the lifts to make your own Free 3D dinosaurs to take back home.

There is a treat for Daddies too this coming Father's Day weekend.
Father's Day promo as follows:
50% off standard Adult tickets to Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction for all Fathers with every child ticket purchased on 14 & 15 June!*
*Terms & Conditions:
* Limited to 4 discounted tickets per transaction.
* Discount applies to Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction and All-Access tickets only.
* Offer only available at ArtScience Museum box office.
Details of the promo here
TWD were invited for review

Dinosaurs Dawn to Extinction
25 Jan to 28 July
10am to 7pm
Adults : $25 Children (2-12) $15
6 Bayfront Ave, 018974

