The Voice of Malheur County
ONTARIO– Dinosaurs will soon be extinct at Four Rivers Cultural Center. Interactive Dinosaur Educational Toys
The Dinosaurs in Motion exhibit, which opened in May, features 14 metal dinosaur sculptures.
The sculptures, part of a $250,000 STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics – presentation, is the first of its kind for the cultural center and has drawn over 10,000 visitors since it opened, according to Lynelle Christiani, the cultural center executive director.
To give the exhibit a proper sendoff, the cultural center will host a family fun day on Saturday, Sept. 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $5 for two tickets and must be purchased at the door to get the deal. The tickets, which must be bought in pairs and include all ages, are down from $20 per ticket for adults.
In addition to the exhibit, the cultural center on those days will have a bounce house for kids, rock painting, a snow cone and cotton candy vendor and a local food truck selling hamburgers, nachos and tacos.
The exhibit was more than a year in the making. Christiani said a former outreach coordinator pitched the idea of bringing the dinosaurs to the cultural center.
The life-sized dinosaurs, eight with necks and jaws that move through wire pulleys, levers or remote control, required nearly 100 volunteers to oversee.
Since opening the exhibit, the cultural center has been open seven days a week to accommodate interest.
“Our mission was to get as many bodies in here as we could,” Christiani said. “It’s been very rewarding.”
Christiani said the cultural center could not have had the exhibit without the volunteers.
She said the aim was to allow people to view an interactive exhibit at a reasonable price.
Christiani said it would be a challenge for many Malheur County families to trek to Portland and go to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for the day.
During the week, she said the cultural center had given schools a special rate.
Regular admission is $20 for adults and $18 for seniors, military members and veterans. Student tickets are $15 and youth – 3 to 17 – are $10. Regular tickets are available at Four Rivers Cultural Center or online at DinosInMotion.com.
Until the family fun days, the cultural center remains open seven days a week.
The cultural center will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The center will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Regular tickets ahead of fun days are available at Four Rivers Cultural Center or online at DinosInMotion.com.
CORRECTION: This article has been updated from its original version to reflect that the family fun day will be held just one day, Saturday, Sept. 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. An earlier version listed the event on Friday, Sept. 8 and Saturday, Sept. 9. The Enterprise regrets the error.
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Steven Mitchell is a general assignment reporter with the Malheur Enterprise. He has been a journalist in eastern Oregon since 2020 and covers education, local business, housing, natural resources and sports. For questions and news tips, call 971-263-3444 or email [email protected].
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