Jit's Blog

Visitors to Digha now have an added attraction — DINOSAURS. The Digha Science Centre and National Science Camp, a satellite unit of the Birla Industrial & Technological Museum (BITM), has set up a dinosaur-themed park in New Digha to transport visitors millions of years back in time, when these pre-historic beasts ruled the earth.

Now they almost rule the waves. Along the road parallel to the seashore, a giant T-Rex with huge pointed claws and teeth marks the entrance to the sprawling Science Centre spread over four acres. The 1620sq m Jurassic Park offers a light and sound show on dinosaurs from Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

There are 10 animated dinosaurs to wow visitors at the park, from the bird-like Archaeopteryx, the armoured Stegosaurus and egg-stealing Oviraptors to T-Rex, the strongest, fiercest and most well-known.

“It came up in 2003 but there were no sound or light effects. The models were not well mechanised either. Since tourist movement in Digha is quite high, an audio-visual show would be well received by the nearly 2 lakh visitors who come to the Science Centre every year. It’s meant to be a fun and informative show that people of all ages can enjoy,” said Abdullah Mondal, the curator of BITM, Calcutta, who conceptualised the show.

“The narration is in Bengali, based on the trend of visiting tourists.

One only pray that visitors from Calcutta will not end up throwing stones at the extinct animals, as they do at the zoo.

Location: Digha Science Centre & National Science Camp at Foreshore Road, New Digha

Timings: 5.30pm and 6.10pm daily

Ticket price: Rs 5/- per person

Capacity: 50 visitors at a time

Animated Dinosaurs: Scelidosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Archaeopteryx, Stegosaurus, Oviraptor, Pachycephalosaurus, Corythosaurus, Pteranodon, Ankylosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex.