How was the exhibit created?

The exhibit is the product of over 5 years of work by renowned interactive designers, world-class paleontologists and exhibit designers. It is the first of its kind in many ways. In fact, the simulation itself is the most complex and wide ranging simulation of an extinct environment ever created!

Won’t everyone just choose to be a T. rex?

No…. the standard settings for the simulation have visitors entering the simulated world “blind” as to where in the Cretaceous they might end up, what type of creature they might be and the goals it might have. Thus when a visitor sits down at the pod controls the scenario is chosen, somewhat at random, by the simulation software. Then, according to the dictates of the scenario, the animal types, motivating behaviors (hunger, nurturing young, etc.), animal populations and percentages are automatically chosen and each visitor is assigned to an appropriate dinosaur or ancient reptile. This prevents everyone from choosing to be a T. rex every time.

Making entry into the simulation “blind” also invests the traditional exhibit elements with value in the eyes of the visitor, because if you don’t know what animal you will be and what situation you might face, you’re more likely to pay attention to all kinds of subject matter that could assist you.

At the close of each individual simulation experience, a summary screen analyzes the visitor’s performance and offers suggestions on where to look within the larger exhibit to improve and extend the next experience in the digital Cretaceous.

Exhibit elements always inform visitors as to what actual evidence the reconstructions are based upon, the scientific interpretation of the facts that governed the simulation scenario, and what other interpretations there might be. Of course, a different interpretation of those same facts might be presented in a subsequent simulation experience.

Won’t visitors just go right to the simulator pods?

Visitors may, but if so their time on the simulator pods will be short. The exhibit is designed such that time spent in the more traditional sections of the exhibit is necessary in order to make the most of your simulation experience. More time spent absorbing the lessons presented on the Amber Pillars, in the Rock-formation kiosks and other areas will result in substantially longer simulation experiences. Visitors who gloss over the traditional elements will quickly realize where in the exhibit they will need to spend time in order to maximize their subsequent experiences. This will create a natural flow between the simulation and the other exhibit elements and provide an organic traffic regulator within the exhibition.

What if visitors choose to try behavior that was not appropriate for a particular dinosaur species?

The simulation is designed to be very accurate. Just as in life, species inappropriate behavior is discouraged by the ecosystem. A visitor attempting inappropriate behavior would find that it wasn’t much fun, and their trips inside the virtual Cretaceous would be very short ones. The fun of the exhibit is tied directly to learning and demonstrating knowledge of the subject matter while interacting with the simulation.

Is it possible for dinosaurs that did not coexist in real life to meet in the simulation?

No. Only those animals and plants that are believed to have lived at the same time in the same place will be present in simulation scenarios.

What are the scenarios based on?

The simulation is based directly off of fossil evidence from the Hell Creek formation in the American Northwest.

For example – say a fossil T. rex skull has been discovered – with the tooth of another T. rex lodged within it and the skull shows signs of healing. From this single piece of fossil evidence we have created a number of different interaction possibilities. The first is to face off against another T. rex in a struggle for dominance in a pack of communal animals, being careful not to truly damage yourself or your opponent and thus weaken the hunting pack. Another could be that two or more scavenging tyrannosaurs meet over a carcass and battle for the right to feed. A third would have two solitary hunters engaged in a territorial dispute.

As you can see, from this one piece of fossil evidence we can derive scenarios that represent the hypothesis that tyrannosaurs may have been social animals possibly even living in packs, or the converse - that they may have been solitary animals.

You will see these interactions occur in the simulation. It is designed with unprecedented flexibility and the artificially intelligent animals will, quite literally, act as animals in a zoo or nature preserve. The design allows for nearly infinite exploration by following one of the latest trends in interactive design - creating a virtual “sandbox” where users can explore and pace their experience according to their own interests.

Will this exhibit tax our maintenance or exhibits staff?

No. Be the Dinosaur™ is designed to be a completely turnkey experience. Aside from powering down the simulator pods at the end of the day, all of the exhibit elements will function automatically. Updates, as in the case of new scientific discoveries added to the simulation, are performed automatically and without the need for museum staff involvement. In the unlikely event of failure, back-up computer cores for the Simulator Pods and interactive stations will be provided and can be swapped with the defective unit in approximately 10-15 minutes.

Are there more creatures in addition to Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops?

Yes - but limiting the focus to T. rex and Triceratops was made for both scientific and educational reasons.

Scientfically, ceratopsians like Triceratops horridus and T. prorsus made up over 60% of all the animals in the ecosystem. Tyrannosaurus rex made up about 4%-16%. Hadrosaurs like Edmontosaurus, the other major species in the Be the Dinosaur™ simulation, made up approx. 20% of the population (White, Fastovsky and Sheehan (1998), Russell and Manabe (2002),

Other dinosaurs are known from sparse fossil evidence (only isolated teeth). The Be the Dinosaur™ simulation therefore includes over 90% of the dinosaurs present in this ancient ecosystem.

Educationally, the exhibit is focused on the two dinosaurs to allow visitors to experience each animal multiple times and have the opportunity to try different behaviors and compare and contrast these behaviors in their minds. During remedial evaluation we discovered that less was indeed more. Too many dinosaurs and the message becomes lost - the opportunity to compare and contrast, for example, tyrannosaurs as scavengers or hunters becomes obscured.

In addition to dinosaurs, the Be the Dinosaur™ simulation contains the ancient flying reptiles known as pterosaurs, insects, mammals scurrying through trees and brush, fish, amphibians such as turtles, and more.

Can I get the simulation to play at home?

No. Be the Dinosaur™ is designed for the museum environment - to give museums a new weapon to compete with the myriad of entertainment options available to modern families and children. The simulation runs on custom computers designed to maximize performance of the simulation. The greatest interactive dinosaur experience ever made is not in Hollywood or at some grand resort, its not on Xbox360, Wii or Playstation3 - it’s at your museum.

Is the simulation a “simulator ride” such as those that are sometimes set up in museums and malls?

No, not at all. The simulation is a fully interactive experience where events will occur differently for each visitor. Be the Dinosaur™ allows visitors to step into a fully interactive world, to formulate their own hypotheses about dinosaur behavior and test them out. A ride is passive, whereas Be the Dinosaur™ is an inquiry-based exploration of the twilight age of the dinosaurs, meticulously recreated according to the dictates of some of the world’s most esteemed paleontologists.

Can visitors experience a scenario privately with their group or family?

Yes, it is possible to link up to 128 simulator pods at a single location or via broadband network, all interacting within the same scenario. Host institutions will have access to simulation settings that enable them to modify the experience in any of a number of ways. For example the host may choose to disable predatory behaviors for younger groups of visitors, or increase the duration of the simulation experience for an after hours event.

Will there be lines at the simulator pods?

At times of peak traffic, there might be short lines – but the exhibit is designed to foster a cyclical visitor movement between the simulators and the traditional exhibit areas that will mitigate the formation of long lines even during peak attendance. As proof of the effectiveness of these measures, lines and other crowd control issues have not been experienced by any of our prior hosts.

Will there be future updates or exhibits similar to this one ?

Yes, Be the Dinosaur™ will receive periodic updates to the software and underlying technology. The first of these Expansion Updates occurred during the summer of 2008 and added an additional dinosaur(s), egg and nest tending behaviors, and numerous other graphical and artificial intelligence enhancements.

Eureka Exhibits is presently working on exhibits to follow Be the Dinosaur™. We plan to premier materials from Be the Astronaut™ at the annual ASTC conference in 2009.