Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 25, 1991 TAG: 9102230241
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LYNN COYLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The first thing you see when you enter the exhibit area is a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex head. When you walk around the corner, you come face-to-face with a roaring Apatosaurus who stretches his long neck toward you.
All the dinosaurs are just scale models, but it may be hard to convince your kids of that. They look, sound and feel very real.
For some kids, that's exciting; for others it's frightening.
"They have to be fake or they'll be out of them ropes," said a small blond-haired boy wandering through the exhibit on a recent Saturday, as if trying to convince himself.
Some kids tried to imitate the dinosaurs' noises, expressions and movements. Others talked back to them.
Luis Paul Cova, 8, stood fearlessly eye-to-eye with Triceratops, whose name means "three-horned face." His 4-year-old brother, Erick, stood face-to-face, too, though a few paces behind.
The Cova family, from Raleigh, N.C., was visiting relatives at Smith Mountain Lake. They wanted to be sure to catch the dinosaur exhibit because of Luis' fascination with the prehistoric creatures. According to his father, Luis Francisco Cova, "He's read more than 20 books. He knows the names and the weights. He never gets bored."
Myles Hylton of Radford said two years ago - when he and his daughter Jessica visited the dinosaurs - "She was absolutely horrified and we couldn't even go in the room. This year it only took 30 minutes."
"I thought they were real," Jessica said, explaining her fear. "I thought Tyrannosaurus Rex was gonna hurt me."
After spending some time at the exhibit, did she still thinks he might hurt her? "Nah," she said.
What made the difference, according to Jessica's grandmother, Ruby Hylton of Pearisburg, was the display entitled "What Makes Them Move?"
The hands-on exhibit is a model of a reptile that moves like the other robotic dinosaurs. But it is a cutaway, showing the mechanical innards, with levers that can be moved to control the reptile's movements.
Kids were often lined up waiting for a turn to move the robot - the hands-on approach seemed to calm many of their fears.
"This is fun," said 6-year-old Riley Galloway of Roanoke. "We haven't gone to the downstairs yet. We're going to every floor."
His grandparents, Bob and Cindy Dibble of Greenville, Tenn., had their hands full. Riley was the oldest of the four grandchildren they had brought to see the dinosaurs.
Cindy Dibble showed the Pachycephalosaurus to 19-month-old Shannon while her husband tried to keep up with Shannon's twin sister, Kaitlin. Cindy Dibble said, "I wish I could pronounce that for you, Shannon; I'd tell you what it was."
"Bone head," offered Riley as he strutted past. "Bone head," echoed his 3-year-old brother, Cody, trailing along behind.
Most kids enjoyed making dino prints on scraps of paper using the ink pads and stamps provided at a couple of stops along the exhibit's path. The special dinosaur gift shop was popular too.
There are more dinosaurs to see than there were two years ago when the exhibit by Dinamation came to Roanoke. And because they're spread out over two floors, traffic is flowing more smoothly. The quality of the exhibit is better, too, according to Executive Director Chris Pendleton who said, `We've seen a lot of improvements in texture and movement."
Although the dinosaur exhibit draws more visitors than anything the museum has done, attendance has not met expectations. And in these days of budget slashing, every paid admission is sorely needed income.
Pendleton says the timing of the exhibit's opening, which coincided with the outbreak of war, has hurt attendance. Still, there are field trips booked every weekday and 1,680 people visited on the busiest day yet, Feb. 9.
The exhibit runs through March 31. Until then, the museum has expanded hours on Friday and Saturday, closing at 8 p.m. instead of 5. For information about special programs, call the Science Museum Programs Office at 342-5710.
by CNB