Dinosaurs Discovery exhibit comes to life at Minnetrista

Being up-close and personal is just one of the draws to the new Dinosaurs Discovery exhibit at Minnetrista in Muncie. This exhibit had some big competitors, as it opened just one day before Super Bowl LII on Feb. 3, 2018. The exhibit cost $5 for anyone ages 4- years-old and up.

Minnetrista’s Vice President of Visitor Experiences Rebecca Gilliam says a lot of work went into putting this exhibit together.

“The exhibit took months to plan,” Gilliam said. “We worked with other museums to bring the exhibit here to Muncie. Our staff has worked hard to make sure our visitors could get the best possible experience.”

Visitors can see real fossils and replicas of dinosaurs and even touch them in order learn more about these giants that used to walk the Earth.

The exhibit is open to all ages, as it contains loads of information for guests both young and old.

Mother of two Ashley Coats took her son and daughter to the exhibit’s grand opening. She says that her children enjoyed getting to interact with the exhibit’s displays.

“I couldn’t get them to leave,” Coats said. “They loved the games and especially the club house.”

There are several virtual experiences inside the exhibit. There is a volcano simulator which makes sounds and shows videos of volcanos erupting. In addition, there are touch screens where visitors can interact with the displays and learn more about prehistoric Earth and its creatures that inhabited it.

Technical manager of museum storytelling at Minnetrista, Cassandra Cody, says there are many different games and tools to help get children involved.

“The matching game tends to help children memorize dinosaurs, where as our real life-sized footprints gives them a real idea of how big dinosaurs really were” Cody said.

The exhibit will be open until July 29, 2018 with varying hours. For more information about this exhibit and others visit Minnetrista.net.