Press Room

PRESS RELEASE
July 6, 2009

PRESS CONTACTS: Chad Mertz, (513) 373-6592, cmertz@cincymuseum.org; or Ben Cober, (513) 373-3242, bcober@cincymuseum.org

Dinosaurs escape from Cincinnati Museum Center!
Dino Detectives call for help from area citizens

CINCINNATI - On the night of Sunday, July 5, 2009, nine baby Velociraptors hatched and escaped from Cincinnati Museum Center's current exhibit, Dinosaurs Unearthed.

While these hatchlings are not dangerous to the public, caution should be used when approaching areas where the Velociraptors have been spotted, as they are nervous and defenseless in the unfamiliar urban environment of Greater Cincinnati.

Museum Center has assembled a three-person Dino Detective Team to track and locate the escaped hatchlings and return them to Museum Center before Sept. 7, when the Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibit ends and the baby's parents will leave Cincinnati for good.

The Dino Detective Team has posted a video to request the help of area citizens to track down and return all nine Velociraptors to their parents. Each week, the Dino Detectives will post one picture, one video and one written clue on Museum Center's Facebook page giving evidence on the whereabouts of the Velociraptor they've been tracking that week. Become a fan and follow all three clues each week to discover the exact hiding spot of the sneaky dinosaur.

Prizes for the safe return of a baby Velociraptor will be awarded. If someone finds an escaped hatchling, please send a message to Museum Center on Facebook or Twitter (@cincymuseum), return the dinosaur to Union Terminal and you'll receive two tickets to Dinosaurs Unearthed the exhibit, two tickets to the current Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater film Dinosaurs Alive! and be entered in a drawing to win an explorer basic family membership to Cincinnati Museum Center.

To learn more about the escape of the baby Velociraptors, watch the Dino Detective Team video. Follow the clues and begin the search for the missing dinosaurs on Museum Center's Facebook page and for a complete listing of rules and regulations, visit Museum Center's Web site.

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Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal is a nationally recognized institution dedicated to sparking community dialogue, insight and inspiration. As one of the top cultural attractions in the Midwest, Cincinnati Museum Center has served as an educational, research and entertainment resource to millions of visitors from around the world.
Organizations within Museum Center include the Cincinnati History Museum, Duke Energy Children's Museum, the Museum of Natural History & Science, the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater, and the Cincinnati Historical Society Library. These organizations combine to serve more than one million visitors annually, reaching out to nearly 400,000 young people through hands-on exhibits and programs.
Originally built in 1933 as a train station, Union Terminal stands as one of the last remaining grand-scale Art Deco style railroad terminals. The building is a National Historic Landmark and was renovated and reopened as Cincinnati Museum Center in 1990.For information, call 1-800-733-2077 or visit www.cincymuseum.org.
Cincinnati Museum Center gratefully acknowledges operating and capital support from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, the City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County and the State of Ohio.