Back from the bedrock

The Weizmann Institute introduces dinosaurs to the 21st Century through realistic, interactive exhibition.

By ALLIE SHAFRAN
trex 521 (photo credit: Courtesy)
trex 521
(photo credit: Courtesy)
You are strolling through grassy terrain, green blades and tall trees surround you. To your left you hear a roar, your head swiftly turns, your eyes run up and down all 12 meters of the long, scaly creature the piercing noise originated from. Its tail wagging from side to side, you come face to face with Tyrannosaurus Rex.
No, this is not a synopsis of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film Jurassic Park. Rather, it is a preview of the realistic and interactive exhibition premiering at the Davidson Institute of Science Education at the Weizmann Institute of Science on July 17, titled Dinosaurs: The Giants of the Past, The Science of the Future.
The exhibition, built and modeled by staff at the Weizmann institute, aims to transform the modern notion that dinosaurs are a scientific topic as archaic as the reptiles themselves. According to Na’ama Chart-Yaari, the curator of the much anticipated exhibit, the exhibition aims to “illustrate how the advancement of science and scientific technology helped advance almost two centuries of research into the group of animals that ruled the continents for over 150 million years.”
Through the use of lifelike visual models built from the blueprints of the most upto- date scientific research, the exhibition revives dinosaurs from their meteor-induced graves, and reinvents our modern notions of them in the process. The science-based exhibition surpasses Spielberg’s Jurassic fantasy and creates a Mesozoic reality.
Through the use of radioactive isotopes and MRI and CT techniques, scientists have discovered new information on dinosaur anatomy that neither Spielberg nor any museum in Israel has premiered before. Radioactive isotopes exposed a new array of dinosaur skin colors while MRI and CT techniques found that dinosaurs were much larger than the scientific community has perceived them to be.
Alon Shahar, the head of education content at the Weizmann Institute, states that dinosaur replicas in modern museums are much too small, for they place the spinal bones of the reptiles closer together than is scientifically accurate.
A scientific breakthrough that will also premiere at the Weizmann exhibition and is perhaps even more mystifying than the notion of exceedingly large dinosaurs, is the discovery of dinosaur feathers. The exhibit breaks the modern perception of dinosaurs cloaked in rough, reptilian scales, by introducing the reality that certain species of dinosaurs were in fact feathered.
Known as the Velociraptor, the “feathered reptile” is one of the main fearinducing stars in Jurassic Park. However, in the Weizmann exhibit the reptile once thought to be hairless will make his feathered debut.
THIS IS is not only the most scientifically accurate dinosaur exhibition to come to Israel, but the most lifelike as well. Composed of a metal backbones coated in polymer, the dinosaur models are dispersed through out the 2.5- acre Clore Science Gardens of the Science Park at the Davidson Institute of Science Education. The models are placed throughout the grassy terrain, situated as they would appear in their natural habitat.
Rather than simply being stationary, the dinosaurs are able to “breathe” as their chests move up and down. They move their tails, graze on grass, and emit realistic sounds, transforming the gardens from a 21st-century landscape into a time machine.
Designed for adult and child alike, the exhibition is made up of 14 dinosaur replicas.
From the largest animal ever recorded to the tiniest dinosaur with the longest name, the array of models will satisfy even the most curious of paleontology buffs.
Playfully named dinosaurs, such as “the most bizarre looking” and “the unique carnivore with horns” are sure to engage children of all ages. And of course, the exhibit features a lifelike replica of Tyrannosaurus Rex, the predator whose appeal knows no age limit.
THE EXHIBITION also contains several interactive workshops that engage the active learner. From a mock “paleontological excavation” bone digging site, to building models of flying dinosaurs, to identifying dinosaur tracks, these stations present new found information in an applied format that will intrigue everyone.
From the paleontological expert who wishes to witness his studies transformed into visual reality to the five-year-old boy who is glued to his T-Rex action figure, Dinosaurs: The Giants of the Past, The Science of the Future creates a scientifically accurate and interactive Mesozoic reality that offers something for everyone.
Breaking both our textbook and Hollywood notions of dinosaurs, the Weizmann exhibition creates a reality even more awe inducing than the Hollywood depictions themselves. Move over Jurassic Park, here comes the Clore Gardens.
 The exhibit runs from July 17 to December. Hours: Saturday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are NIS 75 for adults, NIS 65 for children, NIS 280 for a family. Telephone for information only: (08) 934-4528


Related Tags
trip