If you watched Jurassic World and wished that the park could be real (though without the death and carnage) and you too could roam the park with living dinosaurs, then you're in luck. If you're in Melbourne, Australia before October 9, 2016, you should definitely take time to visit Melbourne Museum's Jurassic World Exhibition. I visited and was very pleasantly surprised.
Having been to exhibits at the Melbourne Museum before, I knew to expect high-quality exhibits with lots of fascinating information and that I would absolutely be coming out with a greater knowledge base regarding what I had just seen.
Yes, there are information points throughout the Jurassic World exhibition and, should you take the time to read them, you are sure to learn a lot about different types of dinosaurs.
But there is a pretty huge distraction from the information boards. And that distraction would be the BIG MOVING DINOSAURS.
You enter the exhibition through a room with port holes out to sea, as if you are actually arriving on the island. A woman, whose name I forget, is your on-screen tour guide from the control room and tells you what to expect from each room you will enter.
You will not only visit the lab with all sorts of equipment, fossilized insects and some baby dinosaurs in an incubator, but you will wander through to the Gyrosphere park with an animatronic stegosaurus towering overhead.
Yes, there are information points throughout the Jurassic World exhibition and, should you take the time to read them, you are sure to learn a lot about different types of dinosaurs.
But there is a pretty huge distraction from the information boards. And that distraction would be the BIG MOVING DINOSAURS.
You enter the exhibition through a room with port holes out to sea, as if you are actually arriving on the island. A woman, whose name I forget, is your on-screen tour guide from the control room and tells you what to expect from each room you will enter.
You will not only visit the lab with all sorts of equipment, fossilized insects and some baby dinosaurs in an incubator, but you will wander through to the Gyrosphere park with an animatronic stegosaurus towering overhead.
I don't know about your visit, but when I was there the control room had some concerns about a containment breach of the T-Rex pen. The stegoosaurus was pretty concerned about it too, the way it swished its barbed tail over my head so much. If the T-Rex gets out when you visit as well and you have young children in your group, there is a small safety room (clear plastic booth) to hide behind, all safe and secure, to put young minds at ease.
The Jurassic World exhibition was fantastic and totally different to what I expected. I'd never experienced anything like it in a museum.
The Jurassic World exhibition was fantastic and totally different to what I expected. I'd never experienced anything like it in a museum.
Taking Young Children
I have heard a couple of times about young children finding it too frightening, the T-Rex does have a scary roar, after all, so you may want to reconsider bringing them with you.
Bonus Imax Movie!
As a special bonus after the Jurassic World exhibition, pop down the escalator to IMAX and round out your day of dinosaurs with Prehistoric Planet in 3D, narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch. Present your Jurassic World Exhibition ticket at the box office and roar with success all the way into the theatre at scoring $10 IMAX tickets.
what you need to know
Where Is It
Melbourne Museum
Address: 11 Nicholson St, Carlton VIC 3053
Phone: (03) 8341 7777
Hours: 10am-5pm Mon-Sun
Melbourne Museum
Address: 11 Nicholson St, Carlton VIC 3053
Phone: (03) 8341 7777
Hours: 10am-5pm Mon-Sun
Book Ahead
Unfortunately, you can't just turn up to the exhibition, you need to book a timeslot ahead of time and keep to it. You may be able to simply turn up during the week (when it's not school holidays) as it will definitely be less busy than weekends, and chances are sessions won't be sold out. When I went, the first four sessions of the day (so the first two hours) were booked out before the doors even opened.
How Long Does it Take to Get Through the Exhibition?
Not gonna lie, I was pretty disappointed in how short it was. It took me less than forty-five minutes to wander through from beginning to end. It may take you longer if you stop to read all of the info on the walls and actually educating yourself about dinosaurs. But let's be real. The moving, roaring dinosaurs are way more interesting so you're going to want to zoom from dinosaur to dinosaur. Once you pass through a room though, there is no going back, so make sure you see everything you want to before moving on.
Transport
While you're booking your tickets ahead online, make sure to book your Melbourne Museum onsite parking and get 40% off. Melbourne Museum parking, like all parking in the city, is expensive so 40% off is a great deal.
You could also enter the car park before 9:30am (and be out by 2:30pm) and parking is just $12 for the day. Mind you, I got in at 9:29am and was out by 11am and the machine charge me $22, so. Roll that dice if you choose to. If you do choose the early bird parking, make sure you can keep your group entertained until 10am when the museum opens and first exhibition entries begin.
If you're not travelling by car, the Melbourne Museum website also have a slew of other transport suggestions to help you get there with ease.
Unfortunately, you can't just turn up to the exhibition, you need to book a timeslot ahead of time and keep to it. You may be able to simply turn up during the week (when it's not school holidays) as it will definitely be less busy than weekends, and chances are sessions won't be sold out. When I went, the first four sessions of the day (so the first two hours) were booked out before the doors even opened.
How Long Does it Take to Get Through the Exhibition?
Not gonna lie, I was pretty disappointed in how short it was. It took me less than forty-five minutes to wander through from beginning to end. It may take you longer if you stop to read all of the info on the walls and actually educating yourself about dinosaurs. But let's be real. The moving, roaring dinosaurs are way more interesting so you're going to want to zoom from dinosaur to dinosaur. Once you pass through a room though, there is no going back, so make sure you see everything you want to before moving on.
Transport
While you're booking your tickets ahead online, make sure to book your Melbourne Museum onsite parking and get 40% off. Melbourne Museum parking, like all parking in the city, is expensive so 40% off is a great deal.
You could also enter the car park before 9:30am (and be out by 2:30pm) and parking is just $12 for the day. Mind you, I got in at 9:29am and was out by 11am and the machine charge me $22, so. Roll that dice if you choose to. If you do choose the early bird parking, make sure you can keep your group entertained until 10am when the museum opens and first exhibition entries begin.
If you're not travelling by car, the Melbourne Museum website also have a slew of other transport suggestions to help you get there with ease.
Many thanks to Melbourne Museum for the complimentary exhibition ticket.