In the basement level 2 of the Royal Ontario Museum I stood silent and my thundering heart was not due to the flashing display lights and resonating jungle sounds, but because the whisper of a childhood dream come true was looming over me. I was staring at real dinosaur bones. These bones were once an entire existence that lasted far longer than humans have been on the earth, and yet we have nothing left of their time here except their bones.
I have always loved dinosaurs. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this before but I probably watched Land Before Time (the original) a hundred times and held my very own Great Migration across our entire Okinawan apartment maybe a hundred times more. (Yes, on all fours. And I was no stranger to The Rite of Spring from Disney’s Fantasia either.) The entire time I was at the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit I just kept thinking about how little we knew back then. The T-Rex was the biggest dinosaur known to man, and towering above me now was the Futalognkosaurus, at more than twice the size. (By the way, the Argentinosaurus is now the biggest known land dinosaur- in case you were wondering.)
The Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit was a real treat, and the ultimate birthday surprise. (I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop myself.) While the exhibit may be debuting in Toronto, it is moving internationally after- so if it comes to a city near you don’t miss it. These beauties have never been seen before by the public, and they are incredible!
11 Comments
Birthday At The Aquarium | Thomas & Sara
17 Jan 2014 at 5:23 pm[…] watch everything in silence. Last year Tom took me to the ROM, where we explored their limited time extreme dinosaur exhibit, their original dinosaur exhibit, the heart stopping bird room, and other amazing animals. It was […]
Vickie
16 Jan 2013 at 6:56 amawesome photos!
I loved The Land before Time – we even saw it in the cinema when it first came out 🙂
Sara
16 Jan 2013 at 9:20 amOh wow! I’m not sure I saw it in the cinema, and if I did I don’t remember. (I would have been about two.) The first movie I remember seeing in the theatre was The Little Mermaid and (embarrassingly) one of the Die Hard films. I was way too young for Die Hard, but my dad snuck me in.
Vickie
18 Jan 2013 at 6:52 amI would have been about five I think (that dates me doesn’t it, lol) – I don’t really remember that much about it, just that we went (& I had a Ducky toy) 🙂
Roanna
15 Jan 2013 at 2:51 amhappy birthday! haven’t been to an exhibit like this in a long time. you know, when I was a kid, I h
ad a book about dinosaurs and when at the end it said they all died off and were extinct, I would cry!… every time!
Jade Sheldon
14 Jan 2013 at 9:25 pmI was OBSESSED with Land Before Time too! I hope it’s coming to Portland…
Gaby
14 Jan 2013 at 5:28 pmWow that looks really awesome, what a great birthday surprise 🙂 !
christina
14 Jan 2013 at 1:08 pmThat looks fantastic! If you ever come to Montana, you have to visit Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. I took my boys a few months ago, and it was amazing! We even got to hold real dinosaur bones! I think I enjoyed it at least as much as they did.
Kelly
14 Jan 2013 at 10:24 amEek! I think my almost 5-year-old girl would LOVE this. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for it in my area. Thanks for the heads up!
Marine
14 Jan 2013 at 8:59 amThese pictures are awesome! What a fantastic way to spend a birthday!!
I am also very much a fan of all-things-dinosaurs. When I traveled to London a few years ago the only thing I HAD to do was visit their natural history museum because at the time it had the biggest dinosaur exhibit in the world. I was blown away, although from these photos this one looks equally as impressive.
I’ve had this book: http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Prehistorica-Dinosaurs-Definitive-Pop-Up/dp/0763622281 on my wishlist for years now and I finally(!) got it as a gift for Christmas this year. You should look into it – you would definitely enjoy it.
Miki
14 Jan 2013 at 7:03 amDinosaurs are the coolest! This looks like an amazing birthday 🙂