By Christie Bender
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) just announced a new exhibit, “Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids,” opening this November. “Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids,” organized by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, traces the natural and cultural roots of some of the world’s most enduring mythological creatures from Asia, Europe, the Americas, and beyond.
Opening on Saturday, November 11, visitors will explore the various mythical creatures of the world. “Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids” features models and replicas of preserved specimens as well as cast fossils of prehistoric animals to investigate how they could have, through misidentification, speculation, fear, or imagination, inspired the development of some legendary creatures.
“Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids” offers many interactive stations throughout the exhibition. Visitors can build their own dragon on an engaging touch-screen and watch it come alive before their eyes in a virtual environment.
The exhibition will include imaginative models, paintings, and textiles, along with other cultural objects from around the world. The exhibit will bring to light surprising similarities and differences in the ways people around the world have been inspired by nature to envision and depict these strange and wonderful creatures. “Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids” is great for all ages.
Visitors will touch casts of a narwhal tusk to discover how they lent credence to the centuries-old belief in the unicorn. Hands-on stations also include the lower jaw of Gigantopithecus (extinct group of apes) and a life-size reproduction of the talon of a Haast’s eagle.
Admission to “Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids” will be $12 for adults, $7 for children, $9 for Kent County resident adults, $4 for Kent County resident children, and $2 for all Museum members! Tickets will include general admission to the Museum. This exhibit will be located on the Museum’s third floor and run from Nov. 11 to May 20.
“Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids” is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org), in collaboration with the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney; Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau-Quebec; Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta; and The Field Museum, Chicago.
