Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Dinosaurs have invaded Atlantic Station!

Extreme Dinosaurs is awesome! 

For some odd reason, I thought this exhibition was going to be totally cheezy, but it turns out to be quite fascinating. The specimen are HUGE and many of them are animatronic! You can even "operate" some of them! 

Atlantic Station impresses again with another amazing exhibition!


Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta

I've shared in other posts that before I wanted to be an astronaut I wanted to be an archaeologist...Louis Leakey was a childhood hero. So, an exhibition about dinosaurs...I'm so there! Especially when it's one that is this much fun.



Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta

There are 17 animatronic "extremely" large dinosaurs in the exhibition. The smaller ones are toward the front and they get progressively bigger as you progress through the corridors of naturalistic landscaping.

Did you know that T-Rex remains have been found in the Western United States and Alberta?  


Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta

One of the more fun, and interesting, aspects of Extreme Dinosaurs is that it features "Advantages of Bizarre Characteristics" on many of its specimen...often those characteristics had to do with "staying alive or attracting a mate."


Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta

Extreme Dinosaurs entertains from the moment you walk in until you leave...it's non-stop fun, learning, interactivity, awe and more fun.

Speaking of walking in...it took me a few minutes to find the exhibition, and I thought I knew Atlantic Station rather well! It's on Level 2 near Escalator 5. You can't miss the escalator signs, so that'll help you find it.


Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta

The exhibition also features skeletons and quite a few fossils...some replica and some real, as well as some dinosaur eggs!


Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta

There are the crowd favorites—T-Rex, Velociraptor and Hadrosaur—and there are so many more...many of which I'd never heard! They also feature some feathered dinosaurs, which were just discovered in the last couple of decades, according to the exhibition.

What's your favorite dinosaur?


Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta

One of the brilliant aspects of the Extreme Dinosaurs exhibition is the use of color and lighting to display the specimen. Of course kids like typically like the brighter colors they've used, and the bigger kids—like me—appreciate the dramatic lighting. The sound they've used is pretty awesome, too.


Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta

Here's a bonus you might not learn before visiting Extreme Dinosaurs...they have TWO specimen of Tyrannosaurus-rex! 

Did you know that T-Rex grew to a mere 13 feet tall? I thought they were the size of buildings when I was a kid...then again, 13 feet would seem like a building to a wee little kid. A kid asked me at a Hawks game once if I was Larry Bird! I'm nowhere near 6' 9" tall, but to that little kid I was.


Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta

Extreme Dinosaurs put me in a nostalgic mood, returning memories of dig sites near where I lived in Wyoming and later in Greece. Unfortunately, I didn't develop the patience required of an accomplished archaeologist. I'm patient...just not "that" patient, so I have great admiration for those who do.


Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta
Extreme Dinosaurs, Atlantic Station, Atlanta

Of all the dinosaurs, my favorite has always been the Triceratops, and there's a BIG one in Extreme Dinosaurs! I don't know why I liked this dino so much...perhaps because his head was wider than I was tall, but not so big that I couldn't wrap my head around. Who knows!

Here's a quick video preview of Extreme Dinosaurs...




Right next door to Extreme Dinosaurs is BODIES: The Exhibition, which I saw in Washington, DC, and highly recommend. It may be extreme for some, but I was quite impressed with the number of parents who used the exhibition as a teaching opportunity for their youngsters.


Check out Extreme Dinosaurs at Atlantic Station...and visit Atlantic Station's website before you go, so you know of all the other fun activities going on there!

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