London Edition: Jurassic Research

London Edition Volume II: Jurassic Research

So, the main reason we took the long trip to London was for people. To meet all sorts of people: international counselors, Camp America Staff, Camp Directors from around the country. But that of course raises the question: "Aren't dinosaurs people too?"

(You don't actually have to answer that. A team of paleontologists are working around the clock to figure that very thing out.)

Yes, in our manic London schedule Jim and I managed to find a little time to pop into the London Museum of Natural History for the purpose of preparing for  Jurassic Week . We're super excited about this new theme (if you haven't signed up, sign up now! You have signed up, sign up again! Come to the same week twice! Make a clone! Bend the space-time continuum! Or just attend once. Whichever), and figured one of the best museums in the world would be a good chance to find some inspiration for the week. 

All right, impressive exterior, Museum. I'll give you that.

Gargoyles! Just a general observation about my life: I don't see enough gargoyles.

And an impressive interior!

You're all right by me, Museum.

Jim's found a souvenir he wants.

Yup. It'd go great above one of the fireplaces in the Dining Hall.

Velcro's great-grand-father?

Enough things that aren't dinosaurs. On to the dinosaurs!

Now we're talking!

The museum is very strict. They force you to do your best impressions of any and all dinosaurs displayed.

This was not my idea. Just following museum policy.

Allosaurus!

Pachycephalosaurus!

Parasaurolophus! (Dinosaur names are the best use of letters.  No contest.)

Aww. They're finally friends.

Now we need to pause. Because around the corner of the hallway was literally, the coolest thing I've ever seen. This is not hyperbole. I have never seen anything cooler in my life.

They have a life-size, scientifically realistic, fully functional, animatronic, knock your socks off, Tyrannosaurus Rex! If the pictures look blurry, forgive me. That's only because it's moving around and ROARING AT US. (Seriously, if you're not doing anything right now, here's my suggestion. Get on an airplane. Go to London. Go straight to the museum. Look at this thing. Get right back on the plane. Come straight home. Totally worth the trip. Holy cow, this was a cool dinosaur.)

Whaaaaaaat.

It's scary when it looks right at you.

Suffice to say, I want one. 

Fundraising campaign, anyone?

I promise I'd take real good care of it! We could keep it somewhere out of the way! Like the boathouse. Or Cabin #1.

So Jim caught me in this moment of pure child-like wonder staring at the T-Rex. The only other people with this look on their face were 4 years old. And then he had to drag me out of the room, or else instead of typing this I'd still be there right now.

And a non-Jurassic museum bonus:

A cross section of a giant sequoia. Like us, it's American and had to journey across the ocean to get here.

This is a thousand years of history marked on where it occurred in the life of this tree. The founding of Camp in '51 would be all the way down at the edge of the bark there.

Anyway, the trip gave us a lot of great ideas to help get all these Dinos to Camp. Be sure to check out Jurassic Week this summer to see the result of all we learned.


Next London Blogpost: Less bones! More real people!