From Covid closure to dinosaur delight, Otago Museum’s year has just taken a big turn for the better, thanks to the arrival of four huge animatronic dinosaurs.
Museum staff are working to install the travelling show, "Dinosaur rEvolution", which was created by Gondwana Studios in Australia, and Dunedin is its only South Island venue.
The opening was initially planned for October 3, but is likely to happen well before that, depending on progress in setting up the complex exhibition, which includes 14 dinosaur skeleton casts, eight other casts and about 20 large dinosaur-related art works.
Earlier Covid-19 lockdown restrictions meant the museum was closed for about two months, until mid-May. Border controls mean museum staff must install the show without the the help of travelling specialists from Australia.
Museum exhibition and creative services officer Shanaya Allan was "stoked" the exhibition had arrived from Waikato, after pandemic-linked shipping uncertainties.
Museum acting marketing manager Kate Oktay said the show, due to run until February 8, was already attracting strong interest.
It was "great" to see the dinosaurs up close, she said.
"The scale of the skeletons and the animatronics is amazing — they are huge," she said.
