It’s a ‘dino-mite’ summer in Grapevine

Have some “dino-mite” fun this summer at the interactive “Be The Dinosaur” exhibit at Grapevine’s Grand Gallery June 3-Sept. 18.

This one-of-a-kind, Life in the Cretaceous interactive exhibit encourages children and guests to be the dinosaur as you see, do and learn through exploring fossils and interactive displays.

The Grapevine Grand Gallery is located at 636 S. Main St.

Developed and produced by Eureka Exhibits, “Be The Dinosaur” is the world’s first interactive museum exhibit featuring an accurately recreated virtual Cretaceous ecosystem that plays like a video game. All exhibit content was developed in consultation with a team of expert advisors from the fields of paleontology, museums and media.

Visitors face real challenges with their dinosaurs designed to engage and address questions about their daily lives in an organic and open world format. How do I find food? Should I go it alone or join a herd? How do I defend myself against a marauding T. Rex? Can dinosaurs swim?

The exhibit features full scale T. Rex and Triceratops skulls, flesh restoration T. Rex head and Pteranodon and other hands-on fossil replicas. Guests can explore the Dino Safari jeep, Paleontology Field Station, a massive stylized Volcano Gateway and an assortment of informative signage and theatrical elements.

A companion site is at The Settlement to City Museums at Ted R. Ware Plaza, located next door to the Grapevine Grand Gallery, at 208 W. Hudgins St. The Settlement to City Museums will feature a variety of dinosaur-themed activities including a mock dinosaur dig, create your own Grapevine dinosaur scenes using paint, stamps, stencils and paper and the ticketed Grapevine dinosaur T-Shirt printing workshops utilizing the vintage 1881 printing press.

“Be The Dinosaur” debuted as a prototype in 2008 at the Imaginarium Hands On Science Center in Fort Myers, Fla., and was officially launched several months later at the Louisville Science Center.

Tickets are $4 per person for ages 24 months and up. Children under 24 months are free. “Be the Dinosaur” will be open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday–Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com or The Grand Gallery at 636 S. Main St.

For more information about Grapevine, please visit www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com or call 817-410-3185.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 2:52 PM with the headline "It’s a ‘dino-mite’ summer in Grapevine."