‘Dinosaur Families’ Is Scheduled For A Regional Visit

WATERBURY — For anyone who thought Jurassic Park was pure fiction, get ready to believe. Tthe nationally acclaimed exhibit “Dinosaur Families – The Story of Egg Mountain” will be at Brass Mill Center in Waterbury from June 22 through August 26. The exhibit, featuring real fossilized dinosaur eggs and moving robotic dinosaurs, is a first-hand look into the land before time.

The exhibit is being presented by AT&T and the Waterbury Region Convention & Visitors Bureau. Pproceeds will benefit the Mattatuck Museum, an award-winning regional art and history museum located in Waterbury.

The exhibit is the result of the 1978 discovery of one of the most remarkable research sites in paleontology: a dinosaur nesting colony, complete with fossilized eggs, embryos, hatchlings and adult dinosaurs on what is how known as Egg Mountain, in Montana. The finds, by then-grad students Jack Horner and Bob Makela, have provided major insights into dinosaur behavior and biology.

Children and adults alike will be fascinated by the exhibit, which incorporates real fossil specimens as well as reconstructions and moving robotic models to bring the Egg Mountain dinosaurs vividly to life. Visitors to the exhibit will experience what it was like when dinosaurs ruled the earth 80 million years ago as the come fact to face with lifelike robotic creatures.

The exhibit includes real fossilized dinosaur eggs — the first ever discovered in North America — from the Egg Mountain dig, dinosaur bones and an adult and juvenile Chasmosaurus. Re-creating a real dinosaur excavation site, the exhibit also includes hands-on activities that will thrill all age groups.

The exhibit was developed and produced by the Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University, Bozeman, and by Kokoro Company of Tarzana, California and Tokyo, Japan. Event sponsors include News Channel 8, Plantations Interior Plantings and Maintenance, Shaker Lincoln Mercury, Space Age Copy, and The Waterbury Republican American.

In addition to the exhibit itself, the museum’s education department is preparing special companion programs including storytelling on Thursdays and art classes on Tuesdays in July for children, and a “Dinostore” gift cart at the exhibit featuring dinosaur related merchandise for sale.

The exhibit will be open daily during the mall’s normal store hours — Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 9:30 pm; and Sunday, 11 am to 6 pm. The exhibit will be open July 4 from 10 am to 6 pm. Admission is $4 for adults (13 and up), $3 for children ages 3-12, and free for ages 2 and under.

Space is limited for the special art activities. For further information and to pre-register for art classes, call Brass Mill Customer Service Center at 203-755-5003. The Brass Mill Center is located in Waterbury directly off I-84 at Exit 23.