ONTARIO – A dinosaur here.
A dinosaur there.
At Four Rivers Cultural Center, there are dinosaurs everywhere.
At least until September.
The Dinosaurs in Motion exhibit opened Saturday, May 6, and features 14 metal dinosaur sculptures. The sculptures are part of a $250,000 STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics – presentation.
“We are very excited,” said Kami Henricks-Hart, marketing and engagement coordinator for the cultural center.
“We expect about 70,000 people to go through the exhibit,” she said.
Eight of the 14 dinosaurs roar, chirp or grunt.
Each dinosaur is life-sized. On the interactive dinosaurs, necks and jaws move through wire pulleys, levers or remote control.
The art portion of the exhibit involves sketching and drawing while the science element focuses on kinetics, biomechanics and robotics.
Visitors to the exhibit will also be able to gauge their own creativity with hands-on activities at innovation stations. people can craft art and science projects of their own.
“It’s about getting as many people through the exhibit as we can,” said Lynelle Christiani, the cultural center executive director.
The idea to locally exhibit Dinosaur in Motion goes back more than a year ago when it was proposed by an outreach coordinator.
Christiani said she also wanted to provide local residents the opportunity to see a first-class interactive exhibit at a reasonable price.
“I took my kids to OMSI (the Oregon Museum of Science in Industry) when they were five or six and it was a $500 day for me. How many in our community can afford that? Not many. So, the objective is to give those who will never have the opportunity to drive to Portland or Boise a chance to see this exhibit,” said Christiani.
Christiani said the exhibit is “remarkable.”
“We started knowing that we didn’t have enough staff to do it so we reached out to the community for volunteers,” said Christiani.
Christiani said she has already trained 40 volunteers to help with the exhibit and expects to train another 20.
“It’s been a year in the process,” said Christiani.
The exhibit will be open until Sept. 10 and the cultural center will be open seven days a week to accommodate interest.
Monday through Friday the cultural center will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Saturdays the center will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Tickets are available at Four Rivers Cultural Center or online at DinosInMotion.com
Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, military members and veterans. Student tickets are $15 and youth – 3 to 17 – are $10. Children under 2 are free.
News tip? Contact reporter Pat Caldwell at [email protected]
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