Come Explore the Dinosaur World at the Sirindhorn Museum
Dinosaur is an amazing terrestrial creature with an immense body size and physical appearance that is reminiscent of the science-fiction fantasy movies. They dominated the earth for as long as 160 million years and was developed and diverged into many different species spreading throughout the earth until the mysterious extinction event that occured 65 million years ago. Even then, they are still able to captivate our attention that no other primitive lives can.
Let’s go visit the dinosaurs together. Close your eyes and imagine back in time of the Jurassic age around hundreds of million years ago in Thailand's Isan (North-eastern) Platau, where numerous dinosaurs were still roaming the area. Then open your eyes. You are now at the Sirindhorn Museum in Phu Kum Khao, Kalasin province. The simplistic brown building can be seen from far away. When look closely, the structure is like a little valley situated in harmony with the surrounding landscape, with large statues of various dinosaur species standing lively among bushes and trees.
Once entering the front of the exhibition hall, the stunning scene of a terrifying enormous carnivorous Siamotyrannus isanensis, one of the many species once lived in Thailand, is taking a leap on the back two legs and opened a wild mouth filled with sharp teeth staring fiercely at you.
On the ground where the predator is standing, there are other dinosaur footprints with three lobe fingertips leading toward the entrance of the permanent exhibition, signalling an invitation for us to walk back to the Jurassic Age when dinosaurs dominated the land.
The exhibition was divided into different zones. When we walk along the path of each exhibition zone, it is like we are entering the prehistoric era in each time zone.
Since the birth of the universe and the earth 4.6 billion years ago, the first life appeared on earth at around 3.4 billion years ago. The evolution of primitive lives on earth was developed in Paleozoic Period and became the dominant beings in Mesozoic Era. Then they became mysteriously extinct in late Cretaceous Era. And later on in Cenozoic Era, mammals were greatly diversified and developed through the human evolution.
Even though the focus of the exhibitions are on the dinosaurs, the details of evolutionary history of life from the beginning timeline on planet Earth until the present time has captured the visitors’ attention by the state-of-the art technology that brought the Dinosaurs back to life with the help of many interactive presentations.
As you set your feet in Zone One, you will be surrounded in a complete silence of darkness, and all of a sudden, the large screen in front of you flickers into life. Thus starts the presentation on the beginning of the universe (The Big Bang Event). The streaks of bright light ignites from the middle of the screen and spread out into all directions. It is indeed an overwhelmingly amazing sight.
And once you progressed into the Paleozoic Era Zone, you will see the live video of oceanic fauna in the Cambrian Era swimming lively in the pre-historic ocean. You will observe their amazing genetic development from fish to amphibian and to a gigantic reptile and eventually to the almost surreal-looking creatures in the Permian Era such as Sauroxtonus or Dimetrodon.
Next up is the Mesozoic Period Zone where you will find the stunning dinosaur fossil of Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae standing on its massive legs and with its elongated neck. Behind the skeleton model, there will be a large video screen showing the ancient Jurassic scene when these dinosaurs ruled the earth went on their hunts. The floor trembles with the stampede of their footsteps. And when the predators leap out of the nearby bush to attack their prey, the terrifying sound of flesh being ripped off can be clearly heard.
Once you walk closer to the zone showing dinosaur life style, there is a "Ghost Box" with a projector inside displaying the dinosaur behaviors. There are also dinosaur computer games available for curious kids to play with. Among the games that are made available are the dinosaur foot print game, skeleton matching game and jig-saw game.
Another special area that opens to visitor is the open-laboratory that is located within the exhibition area as part of Zone 6 “Restore-the-Life of Dinosaurs”. The glass wall along the lab allows visitors and students to observe the scientists closely with all the authentic fossils from all parts of the dinosaurs on the lab table.
You will spend half a day to explore all zones in this museum and take with you great deal of knowledge about all dinosaur species, their lives and their enormous traces in Thailand soil in the prehistoric period on earth.
Come Explore the Dinosaur World at the Sirindhorn Museum
