Most kids seem to go through a dinosaur phase, and when it hits, a place like Jurassica will make them very happy. It is also currently the only place to see dinosaurs in KL. If you visited Discoveria at Avenie K before it closed down, you’ll recognise the same dinosaurs but you will find a few new activities at this new location at The Gardens Mall.
Activities at Jurassica
At the entrance you will be turned into “earth cadets” and kitted with an electronic wristband, vest and torch. A short and rather entertaining video explains the concept and talks about importance of conservation – we don’t want to end up like the dinosaurs, being the key message.
The main exhibition hall is like a mini dinosaur park, dark and filled with what we assume is a prehistoric soundscape are the moving and roaring dinosaurs, and a few fun activities: a climbing wall, running race against a dinosaur and a zipline.
Information on dinosaurs and other prehistoric flora and fauna is available with a few fun facts.
In addition doing activities, cadets collect points by beeping the wristband next to specimens hidden around the dark dino hall. In the end the points are calculated and you get a prize depending on the amount of points. Some of the points didn’t work, or didn’t register and we found ourselves missing points. Apparently this is a know problem, so make a metal note of the points you’ve collected and the staff at the prize counter can add the missing points manually.
There is a small section of living reptiles, with interesting facts about their kinship with prehistoric creatures. We had fun trying to spot the masterfully camouflaged frogs! They have talks on reptiles at different times of the day: we got to get up close and personal with one of the resident lizards.
There is also a small fossil excavation sand pit and a play gym to let off any steam, complete with slides and ball shooting.
They also have one of those cool rooms where you can colour a dinosaur, scan it, and see if appear on the wall. The only other place we have seen this in KL is the Kiddomo Universe at Starling Mall.
We are thinking kids roughly between 3 and 7 would enjoy Jurassica the most. My 9-year-old was still more than happy to spend an hour and a half there, but thought the activities a bit kiddyish.
We loved the dinosaurs, and the kids appreciated the climbing and zip lining. Compared to the visiting exhibitions with dinosaurs in KL, Jurassica has much more to do for the kids. We were disappointed that the conservationist message was not visible in any of the activities and the prizes were small plastic toys, not quite in line with the message on their introductory video of “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”. It does get a bit pricey with the accompanying adults having to buy a ticket, too.
The current rates:
Weekend RM58 with myKad, RM68 without (residents were given myKad price)
Weekday RM48/RM58
They also do birthday packages for a dinosaur party.
For more information check Jurassica on Facebook.
