Today, we took the kids at my school to the "Days of the Dinosaurs" exhibition in Sandton. Some could not go because the damn thing is just too expensive. But it turned out they didn't miss much.
In short, I was bored out of my skull. Considering that the whole tour lasted no more than perhaps 30 minutes, at R140 per person, one would expect to be at least slightly blown away. Especially considering we are dealing here with dinosaurs. Who doesn't love dinosaurs?
The exhibit was staged in a dark, cavernous hole underground, with dramatic but dim lighting. It was packed to the rafters with school tours. As soon as I got close to the first dinosaur model, I could see why they did it the way they did it: in the harsh light of day, the blatantly plastic nature of the models would have been too apparent. Many of the models were inaccurate, and at some exhibits, there were guides who were clearly not very knowledgeable about the subject matter. One young lady told us, without batting an eyelid, that the Pteranodon was not a dinosaur but a bird! (Hint: she was half right).
In short, cheap, animatronic plastic crap masquerading as science education for the young. Perhaps the thing was aimed at preschoolers?
On the positive side, at least some of the models were life size, and the life size T. rex did make an impression. The exhibit may well appeal to some people, but from my point of view, it was decidedly not worth the price. In the new school term, I will no doubt have to do a dinosaur slide show to try to repair some of the damage these professional science popularisers have inflicted... :-)
