experience the time when giants roamed the earth in…
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eal giants—some docile and some that could become quite testy at meal time—walked this planet a few years back—say 200 million or so.
Robotic replicas of six of them will begin a 12-week sojourn at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum when “Return of the Dinosaurs” opens on Saturday, June 30. Instead of the 150 million years that they, their progeny and spinoffs survived, these remarkable look-alikes will only be around downtown Kalamazoo until Sept. 23. Thanks to the magic of computerized animation and the evolving knowledge coming forth from paleontology, contemporary documentaries about these creatures make them appear lifelike. In this free exhibition, they come to life in three dimensions—and you will be right there with them. Against dramatic backdrops, these robots roar, move, and cast an eye your way, assessing whether you are a friend or a possible snack. Included in the attraction is a fossil dig pit that recreates the excitement of archaeological hunts, a design-a-dino area, a baby robot whose movements can be controlled with a joystick, and other interactives that involve visitors in learning about species that far out-existed Homo sapiens. Six robotic dinosaurs at various scales, along with a baby and nest, will “roam” the Havermill Special Exhibition Gallery on the third floor. Here are the actual dinosaurs upon which the robots are modeled: • Velociraptor, the 3-foot tall, 6-foot long speed merchants Moving, roaring robotic dinosaurs including Triceratops are part of the that scared their share of the audience in showings of free exhibition in the Museum’s third-floor gallery. “Jurassic Park” with its flesh-slashing claws.
Museography