Jurassic World by Brickman at OMSI

Hey look! A baryonyx!

This is the newest of the dinosaurs created by Brickman, but also a relatively young dinosaur, its first fossil being discovered in 1983.

It opens up the Jurassic World exhibition at OMSI, running through September 1st. 

I had thought maybe it was just some prehistoric synergy, but in fact the exhibit is largely influenced by the movie, with various sets and activities relating to the new film. 

For example, the movie currently playing in the Empirical Theater is T-Rex, which deals with three kids discovering a teenage Tyrannosaurus rex fossil and is narrated by Sam Neill. There's not a direct connection, but it's a good fit. Synergy.

Then, looking at the many, many Lego kits on display, I might be a bit more cynical, that it's all just merchandising.

 It's a mix.

 The creations themselves are incredible. There also weren't that many of them.

A lot of the space was taken up with different stations where kids could make their own attempts at building an amusement park or footprints or hybrid monsters.

 I did think it was really clever that for the baby dinosaur enclosure the building material was Duplo.

This means that your children can have a great time with you just letting them play, with lots of different bricks available, interesting themes, and even tips from Brickman.

They are probably also going to request more kits. Check out the displays by the theater!

This made my biggest challenge trying to get pictures without kids in them. I find I don't have any I can use of the first room. Here is a juvenile sinoceratops instead.

 In that photo, you also get a preview of one of the more unique spatial solutions.

Even a juvenile brachiosaurus is quite large. So you have a head here, and then realize that those aren't trees, they are legs.

Then the tail is all the way at the end of the room.

There are things that are cool and interesting about the exhibit, but if you are not going to stay and play with Legos, it is over very quickly.  

 That's okay; I'm just glad we went on the cheap day.

Those ones mean more if you have seen the movie!

(For the record, I have only seen Jurassic Park (1993) and The Lost World (1997), and I'm okay with that.

COVID: There were so many germ vectors, I mean people, running around. I stayed masked, but I have also had something in my throat all week. Higher population may be one of the downsides of the cheap day.

Accessibility: This is pretty good, including a full and sturdy ramp for the photo opportunity in the Jeep(also made of Legos and with flashing lights!) being pursued by the T-Rex 

However, the path of the exhibition does include a pretty long flight of stairs. You can exit the room and take an escalator or elevator, then get back in, but it does disrupt the flow.  

 https://omsi.edu/exhibits/jurassic-world-by-brickman/