The South Carolina Aquarium is about to do something a little unusual for a place that mostly traffics in living things: it's bringing back the dead.
Starting June 6, Jurassic Seas opens in the aquarium's new John A. Hill Family Discovery Gallery — a 1,200-square-foot exhibition space repurposed from the building's old classrooms after the education programs moved over to the Boeing Learning Lab at the Charleston Maritime Center last year.
What's inside. More than a dozen life-size skeletal replicas and fossils from marine giants. The marquee piece is a megalodon jaw guests can pose in front of. Behind it: a pair of Tylosaurus skeletons floating in the Great Hall, spanning a combined length of more than 80 feet. There's also a VR experience called "Dinosaur Evolution" — feathered raptors, T. rex, the works. That one's a $8 add-on, or $7 for members.
Why it works. "While unique, it's a natural fit for an aquarium, bringing late Cretaceous marine giants to life," Brian Thill, the aquarium's vice president of education, said in the Post & Courier. The pitch: this is what the water around Charleston actually looked like 70 million years ago.
The strategy. This is the first real test of the aquarium's "blank canvas" plan — rotating special exhibitions in the former classroom space to give locals and tourists something fresh to come back for. Thill called the temporary displays "an essential asset for bringing fresh, rotating experiences." Translation: they want more annual passes, more repeat foot traffic, more reasons to stay relevant in a tourism market that's increasingly competitive.
The bottom line. Jurassic Seas is included in general admission. The VR is extra. If you've got kids who've already burned through every regular exhibit twice, this is the summer they finally get excited about going back.
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