The scale of the spectacle is obvious from the beginning. Every time visitors turn their heads or round a corner, they will be greeted by a life-size replica of something that once could have swallowed a human whole.
A giant squid stretching almost from floor to ceiling, the huge skull of an armoured fish, a sabre-toothed beast and an ancient crocodile are all ready to meet visitors with jaws opened wide.
But the star of the show is Scotty the the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. He is located up the stairs so that he is hidden away from viewers until the last possible moment.
Measuring 13 metres in length and 4 metres tall, Scotty has a whole black space all to himself. He faces the stairs, skull arranged in a hungry roar. And it works.
When our Waikato Herald reporter visited the exhibition on Saturday, she only needed to stand in Scotty’s exhibit for a few minutes to see that the skeleton’s placement was a success.
Children rushing up the steps slowed down to gape or gasped out loud. There were lots of “wows” and the word “big” was repeated countless times.
Some kids, in bright green dinosaur costumes no less, stood at the top of the steps and roared back.
The space around Scotty’s exhibit allows parents to walk around the T-rex with their kids and prams, point at the predator’s stomach and wonder aloud how many children could fit inside.
But Six Extinctions is not just about the sand pit kids can dig into to find their own fossils or the real, moving dinosaur that will growl at visitors on cue and maybe stick its head out for a pat.
Six Extinctions is a journey into prehistoric life 485 million years ago.
The exhibition is also a warning.
It is chilling to remember that dinosaurs once roamed the earth because the sixth extinction that gives this exhibit its name is happening right now.
One of the last walls of the exhibit features a looped screening of a David Attenborough documentary that brings the lesson home.
Climate change is an extinction crisis and it is the first in history to be caused by a single species: us.
For this reason, while kids might be tempted to rush ahead and visit Scotty, skipping past four extinctions to reach the more familiar Jurassic period, it might pay for adults and school groups to take their time.
Well-designed and intentionally displayed, Six Extinctions is not just about the “wow” factor. It’s also a very important educational experience.
Scotty the the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton was the star of the show.
Six Extinctions is produced by Australia’s Gondwana Studios.
The exhibition is at Waikato Museum until July 21. Entry fees are as follows:
Adult $15
Child (3 to 15 years) $10
Infant (0 to 2 years) Free
Concession $13.50
Family Pass (2 Adults, up to 4 Children) $48
Tickets can be purchased on the Waikato Museum website.
Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based multimedia reporter covering breaking news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.
