Imagine a lush forest. As you walk through, suddenly peeking out from among the greenery, you spot a dinosaur. Only it's not 66 million years ago, it's 2025.
That’s what you can do at the Nicholas Conservatory in Rockford during Dinosaurs of the Forgotten Forest now through Oct. 19. The Conservatory is located at 1354 N. 2nd St. in Rockford.
The exhibit features dinosaurs, plants and small mammals from the Cretaceous period of Earth, that lasted from 145 to 66 million years ago.
“We chose the Cretaceous period because it was an interesting period in Earth’s history,” said Lyndi Toohill, Assistant Conservatory Manager. “The dinosaurs were still here, but small mammals also appeared, along with flowering plants.”
With a new movie out this summer in the Jurassic Park universe, there is renewed interest in dinosaurs that once roamed the Earth.
Visitors can wind their way around paths and see nine settings with dinosaurs and mammals.
That's what attracted Nicole Govan, and her nephew Jonathan, age 6, on a recent summer day.
“I liked the raptors and Koi fish,” said Jonathan.
The exhibit is from Applied Imagination, based in Alexandria, Kentucky.
“We looked at other exhibits," Toohill said, "but the others were too 'plasticky.'”
Besides the dinosaurs like T-Rex, Velociraptor and Triceratops, there are plants from the Cretaceous period like ferns, palms and mosses.
After the exhibit leaves Rockford, Toohill said, it travels to Washington D.C. in November.