The Movie that Made Velociraptors Famous
Released in 1993, Stephen Spielberg's CGI-dinosaur thriller made me shriek and curl up in my seat like a little girl. Before real paleontologists reminded us that actual velociraptors were the size of chickens, Jurassic Park had a total monopoly on scary-things-that-could-eat-you for twenty years.
We'll be watching it at the Delaware Museum of Natural History, among the dinosaur skeletons display there, with the museum open just for us. Good god, can you imagine? All we need is an electric SUV, a pair of night-vision goggles, and an astonished expression, just like Laura Dern:
The Delaware Museum of Natural History
The Delaware Museum of Natural History was founded by John E. DuPont in 1957, opening to the public 15 years later in 1972. It focused mainly mollusks and birds (DuPont himself discovered over two dozen species.)
An expansion in 2005 added space for additional exhibit halls, including the Dinosaur Gallery and the African Hall. It's a wonderful little jewel of a museum, just down 52 from West Chester!
The museum will be open starting at 8PM just for us — come and check out the dinosaurs, the shells, and the coral reef!
- What To Bring: Bring a chair or a blanket; we'll be on the grass behind the museum's back patio. Needless to say, it won't be air-cconditioned, so (un)dress accordingly!
- Food and Drink: There's a vending machine at the museum, but that's it -- bring your own snacks.
- Wheelchair access: yes.
- Dogs: Welcome on a leash, outside the musem where the movie will be. (Not inside the museum, for fairly obvious reasons involving giant comedy dinosaur bones)
- Bathrooms: yes.
- Adult beverages: For yourselves, in a cooler. Bottle of wine? Sure! A six-pack for your date? Absolutely. Kegs? Definitely not.
The Dinosaur Gallery in the Delaware Museum of Natural History
Map and Directions
- The Delaware Museum of Natural History is at:
4840 Kennett Pike
Wilmington, DE 19807-1827
(302) 658-9111
delmnh.org
- Google Maps directions
- The museum opens up at 8PM for us. You can either walk through to the back patio, or just walk around the building to the back
Please let me know what I left off this page by emailing your questions to ! See you then!
I can forgive Spielberg all of AI for this one moment in Jurassic Park.
