A new type of dinosaur is set in invade Mid-America Science Museum later this month when "Expedition Dinosaur: Rise of the Mammals" arrives in the Hall of Wonder.
The exhibit will open to members on May 27 and open to the public on May 28, running through Aug. 20. The exhibit is included with admission to the museum.
The traveling exhibit will feature 10 animatronic dinosaurs and mammals, have an interactive dinosaur drawing and animation station, a full-size Jeep and a full-sized T-Rex skull replica.
Dylan Kuchel, director of buildings, grounds and facilities, said that the exhibit is over 7,000 square feet and features a new look at dinosaurs.
"Basically we're exiting the Jurassic Period and entering the Cretaceous Period, so think kind of days before the asteroid hit, how that's switching from the dinosaurs to the rise of the mammals," Kuchel said.
"It's a look at the dinosaurs that has really ever been seen before," he said.
The exhibit was created by Stage 9 Exhibits. Kuchel said that the museum reached out the Stage 9 about getting the exhibit. "They have multiple different dinosaur exhibits. We were lucky to get this one," he said.
"We just liked the fact that these dinosaurs, they're portraying them in a new light that folks haven't really been able to see before. Folks have seen dinosaurs with the feathers and such, but it really shows the next step from your typical T-Rex, you know, Brachiosaurus-type dinosaurs, into mammal-like creatures," Kuchel said.
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Kuchel also said that the exhibit will be fun for all ages.
"If you're a young toddler or an old person or a young, anyone is going to enjoy it, as long as you're into dinosaurs, it's going to be a blast," he said.
"It's going to be really cool," Kuchel said.
The exhibit has spent the last six months in Hawaii, and this will mark its debut in the continental U.S. The creatures are in addition to the ones already found at the museum along the Oaklawn Foundation DinoTrek trail, which according to the museum is the state's only permanent outdoor dinosaur exhibit.
"We do like our dinosaurs, yes. We have that DinoTrek with 21 dinosaurs, and we're excited to integrate that permanent exhibit we have into our temporary 'Rise of the Mammals' exhibit," he said.
Dinosaurs, Kuchel said, are a "great way to get kids interested in science. It's a fun topic for children, as well as just anyone. If you're into dinosaurs, you're going to like it a lot."
Casey Wylie, director of education, also said she is looking forward the exhibit.
"I am excited about this because it is different from the dinosaurs that we have on display here permanently because it is a later period of time and it's really getting across the idea that dinosaurs evolved and changed as well and how did we get from dinosaurs to the birds and chickens that we have today ... what was that transition like? I'm really excited that we're going to be talking about some nontraditional dinosaurs," she said.
"There going to be a few that you know and love, like the T-Rex, but it really is kind of the story of what happened as that time period was changing," she said.
Most of the exhibit will be in the Hall of Wonder, but Kuchel said "it overflows out of the new hall."
"So as you come into the museum, you'll see bits and pieces of it leading up to the new Hall of Wonder."
This will be the fourth exhibit held in the new Hall of Wonder, and the second based around dinosaurs following the dinosaur artwork of Longhua Xu and his grandson, Han. Kuchel said that the addition of the Hall of Wonder has been a good thing for the museum.
"It's been a huge benefit. It has opened us so many opportunities for us as far as what we can bring in. We've never been able to bring in an exhibition this size before," he said.