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Dinosphere exhibit returns to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

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The teenage T. rex in the Creatures of the Cretaceous exhibit was the first T. rex discovered to have a wishbone, linking it to modern birds. | Photo via INDYtoday team

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Get ready to walk among some dino-rmous creatures because an upgraded Dinosphere will be unearthed at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis on Sat., March 19.

The Dinosphere exhibit first opened at the Children’s Museum back in 2009 + quickly became its most popular permanent exhibit. It’s been closed for over a year and now digs even deeper into new fossils from the Jurassic era + ancient ocean creatures of the Mesozoic Seas.

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The enormous beasts on display have been buried for 150 million years. | Photo via INDYtoday team

🦴 The fossils

  • Meet the giants of the Jurrasic with two new towering Sauropods. The long-necked creatures grew to be more than 65 feet long + lived more than 150 million years ago.
  • Explore the Mesozoic Seas and discover a 34-ft-long Elasmosaurus. You’ll also find a nearly 6-ft-wide Archelon + a 14-ft Mosasaur fossil.
  • Encounter two T. rex titans as they confront a Triceratops in a sound + light show.

🔬 The labs

Visit the Paleo prep labs to speak with scientists + touch a real dinosaur bone. Then in the adjacent Jurassic lab, you can watch as paleontologists continue to work on fossils excavated at the Jurassic Mile dig site.

In the new Dinosphere Art lab, visitors will be able to see the connection between art and science as their dinosaur artwork comes to life on-screen.

Pro tip: Purchase your museum tickets in advance. You’ll save 25% by getting them ahead + you’ll ensure your spot — the museum’s daily admissions are currently limited to less than 50% of the building’s capacity. The museum is expecting a larger-than-life turnout during spring break, so plan ahead.

As of Wed., March 9, face masks are now optional for visitors of the museum. Staff will continue to wear masks indoors.

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