SALT LAKE CITY — The Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City is inviting dinosaur enthusiasts to its first-ever “DinoFest” Saturday and Sunday.
Guests of all ages are invited to dig into hands-on activities, hear from experts about dinosaur discoveries, see fossils and specimens not usually on display and get a rare look inside the Museum’s Paleo Prep Lab.
“It’s always fun to share our work and discoveries with dinosaur lovers and other interested parties,” Randall Irmis, the museum’s curator of paleontology, said, “especially the exciting things happening here at home in Utah.”
Museum guests will meet and hear from Irmis as well as other paleontologists working in Utah and around the nation. More than a dozen scientists will attend DinoFest to speak with guests and present short talks about research and discoveries across the state.
Special presentations will take place at noon each day by one of two keynote speakers, Lindsay Zanno, curator and head of paleontology at North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and Luis Chiappe, curator and vice president of research and collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Additional DinoFest highlights include:
- Dino-themed face painting.
- Past Worlds Gallery interpreters sharing information about dinosaurs unique to Utah.
- Demonstrations of Research Quest, an online game that uses museum fossils to teach students to think and act like real scientists.
DinoFest is free to the public with the purchase of regular museum admission Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, including the full list and schedule of confirmed speakers, visit the DinoFest website.
About the Natural History Museum of Utah
Established in 1963, the Natural History Museum of Utah’s collections contain over 1.5 million objects and offer innovative exhibitions and educational programs to thousands of visitors each year, including traveling and permanent exhibits, special events and other programs.
With more than 250,000 visitors a year, the museum also offers a variety of outreach programs to communities and schools throughout Utah, reaching every school district in the state annually. The museum has an active scientific research program with more than 30 scientists and 10 field expeditions each year.
Event details
- What: “DinoFest 2017.”
- When: Saturday, Jan. 28, and Sunday, Jan. 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Where: The Natural History Museum of Utah at the Rio Tinto Center, 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City.
- Cost: Free with purchase of regular museum admission.
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