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Philip
J. Currie Dinosaur Museum Opens
September
3 - Augmented Reality to Flesh Out Prehistoric World
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Grande
Prairie, AB – September 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / The
Philip
J. Currie Dinosaur Museum will celebrate opening its doors to the public
for the first time on September 3, 2015 with a free open house from 4:00PM
to 10PM. The Museum will remain open from this date onward, with many additional
displays being added throughout the month of September. The grand opening
is set for September 26th, 2015 culminating in the Amber Ball Grand Celebration
in the evening. (Tickets:
www.DinoMuseum.ca)
In
addition to five newly named dinosaurs from Alberta on display that have
never before been seen as reconstructions, the museum focuses on the diversity
of life in the nearby Wapiti Formation ecosystem. Using the recent discoveries
and current understanding of the botany, geology, climate and geography
of the Grande Prairie region during the Cretaceous era, visitors are guided
through the process of reconstructing the ancient environment of the dinosaurs
and shown the decades of research work that goes into understanding the
make-up of extinct ecosystems.
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The
museum exhibits are designed to immerse visitors in an interactive virtual
dinosaur-driven environment with enhanced augmented features using computer
aided screens that pan over suspended articulated dinosaur skeletons:
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A dinosaur
skeleton can be “fleshed out” with a click of an icon on a tablet device
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Another
click may add an entire ecosystem around the dinosaur from the Jurassic,
Triassic, Cretaceous and Devonian periods.
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Multiple
platforms mounted on the mezzanine level overlook the main gallery and
the skeletal installations mounted on to the floor as well as the ceiling.
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Visitors
can pan the tablet over to the articulated skeletal forms of various species
of dinosaurs and click on hotspots to activate them.
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Technology
overlays custom created computer generated special effects and animation.
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The rocking
arm of the tablets also allows for relational motion and co-linking of
layered content seamlessly.
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Down in
the galleries, giant jumbo screens offer a fractal imagery of a chase scene
involving herds of pachyrhinosaurus, hadrosaurs and the carnivorous gorgosaur.
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The virtual
interactive exhibit experience extends on to the helicopter rides (the
only museum in Canada to offer this experience) over the world’s densest
bone-bed with layered content on the history and discoveries.
The museum
is within a few kilometers of one of the densest dinosaur bone beds in
the world, from which finds will continue to enrich our understanding of
these prehistoric creatures for many years to come. Visitors can learn
more through tours to the bone beds by museum Dinobus or by helicopter
flights over the area.
The
museum educational programs will capture the interest of all ages and includes
use of a 3D printer, immersive technologies, hands-on children’s programs,
traveling exhibits, National Geographic films, interpreted walks through
the museum, lecture series, podcasts and other developing programs. Visitors
can view research done in the Palaeo-Lab from the overhead viewing gallery
or through a large porthole from the floor above, children can let off
steam at the Dino Play Park, families can have lunch at the Dine-O-Saur
Restaurant and purchase gifts at the Kalaeidosaur Gift Shop as a lasting
reminder.
Philip
J. Currie Dinosaur Museum is an international institute for experiential
learning dedicated to the palaeontological heritage of Alberta through
research, collection, preservation, exhibition, public programming, publications
and innovative outreach. For more information and hi-res images/media kits,
visit www.DinoMuseum.ca.
Media
Contact:
Nora
Weber
TerraCom
778-823-0040 |
