Meet dinosaurs in Portland … and experience the cataclysm that wiped them out

‘Dinosaurs at Dusk’ screen shot (Image courtesy Loch Ness Productions)

Next month — which is coming right up — University of Southern Maine’s Southworth Planetarium will be showing “Dinosaurs at Dusk,” promoted as a colorful, vibrant, time-traveling program that consumes the entire dome-shaped ceiling of the facility.

Here’s how it’s described in a USM announcement released Friday:

Propel yourself back through the epochs to explore an Earth teeming with Pteradons, Triceratrops and, of course, the ferocious T-Rex! A father and daughter fly through the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous to soar with the Quetzacoatlus, escape from raptors and ride behind the Argentinosaurus. Our two protagonists rappel off ice cliffs, hang glide over canyons, and hike through the exotic vistas — vistas the audience will experience in 360-degree, full-dome clarity. They also find the “Philosopher’s Stone,” the 10-mile wide asteroid that crashed on Earth 65 million years ago to end the dinosaur epoch in a fiery, global catastrophe. And, yes, they experience that cataclysmic event.

The 45-minute show is described by the university as family friendly — including that whole mass extinction piece, I guess — with first shows on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Make reservations by calling 780-4249 or emailing egleason@usm.maine.edu.

Additional show times can be found online here.

According to the planetarium website, ticket prices to shows at the facility range from $5 for children/seniors at a matinee to $6.50 for adults in the evening.

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.