The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Anger at cancellation of ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ Perth dinosaur event
‘Operational’ reasons blamed by museum
Parents have expressed disappointment at the cancellation of a “once-in-alifetime” dinosaur event which has been called off for “operational” reasons.
Many angry residents said their children had been looking forward to the Britain’s Dinosaurs – Meet the Locals exhibition, which had taken five years to plan and promised to feature more than 20 species of dinosaurs and 100 original fossils at Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
The event, which was due to run for three months at the museum, will be replaced by two alternative exhibitions, titled Bones and Playing with Dinosaurs.
A spokesperson for Culture Perth and Kinross, which runs Perth Museum and Art Gallery, said: “We have not been able to bring Britain’s Dinosaurs to the public due to operational reasons.
“Whilst not common, this can sometimes happen with exhibitions. We hope everyone will enjoy the two new exhibitions and our dinosaur-related events.”
However, scores of angry parents have said they are disappointed with the cancellation of an event, which had been billed as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity, featuring one of the largest collections of dinosaur materials ever to tour the UK.
Rachel Maitland, of Bridge of Allan, said the replacement dinosaur exhibitions sounded great but were “not at all” what she and her family were initially hoping to attend.
“Our kids love dinosaurs and were really looking forward to learning about ones that lived here – that was the attraction of the event for them,” she said.
“I’m very disappointed that the original exhibition is not going ahead.”
Sian Dawson added: “It’s such a shame as we were really looking forward to the original exhibition. The two replacement exhibitions sound okay but definitely not as good or as informative.”
Mother-of-two Carol Hughes, of Perth, said: “I think it’s ridiculous that the first place we found out about this cancellation was on social media. Our kids were really excited about the Britain’s Dinosaurs exhibition – it sounded like it would be tremendous.”
The Playing with Dinosaurs and Bones exhibitions are part of a spring programme at Perth Museum that will run from March 17 until June 24.
Our kids were really excited about the Britain’s Dinosaurs exhibition – it sounded like it would be tremendous. CAROL HUGHES