TL;DR – We dabble in some dinosaurs and music as we take a trip down to Brisbane

Disclosure – I paid for my entry and everything you see purchased in this article.

Dinosaurs and Music –

As we slowly get back to a newish normal, I have been trying to get out of the house a little bit more, not that I did it a lot before. But it is time to get out and explore some more, and where best to start is always with a map.

My first stop was the Dinosaurs of Patagonia exhibit at the Queensland Museum from the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio [MEF]. I have tried to visit several times. However, the world kept conspiring against it until today. It was reasonably priced, a good-timed exhibit, given that the museum’s regular Dinosaur exhibit is being renovated. However, I was not ready for the spectacle I was about to witness. 

You got this joy when you turned around into the next room and saw a looming carnivore waiting for you, all bones, but still, part of your hindbrain is concerned that they might strike at any moment. However, that might just be from watching too much Jurassic Park as a child.

The grand ending of the exhibit is the titanosaur Patagotitan, which I don’t mind showing here because no photo gives this dinosaur justice. The feeling of awe that you get when you see it is palpable. The design of the exhibition gives you these moments of grandeur that you feel. I liked how they incorporated elements of Australia’s fossil record to show the links between Gondwanaland. However, it was disappointing that there was no mention of the Mapuche people, whose indigenous lands these fossils were found in. There is a big statement of recognition about the practices of the Queensland Museum in the past regarding Indigenous Peoples, but that needs to expand beyond just the immediate Australian context.

After the Museum, I had some time, so I wandered down Fish Lane and around the city as the Sun set and night dawned, which was about the time for me to get a bit hungry. Thankfully, the moment I started to think that, I stumbled across a ramen shop behind some construction, which was delicious. However, I did regret wearing all white as it was a potential disaster waiting to happen.

From there, I strolled until I hit the Brisbane River and enjoyed the river on the brisk autumn evening as someone played their heart out of the Evil Morty theme from Rick and Morty. You could also hear the musicians tune up in the background.

That music was the second part of my night, as I was here for Cinematic by Queensland Symphony Orchestra & Voices of Birralee in the QPAC Concert Hall conducted by Nicholas Buc. It was music from across the cinematic landscape, from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars, with the Dual of the Fates blasting through the theatre with the power it deserves. My favourite part of the program was its look at love themes of Cinema with the very underrated but delightful Love Actually score at centre stage.  

One of the many factors that made it wonderful was just how into it all the musicians got, including dressing in costume. There were Hobbits, Jedi, Beasts, and Bells. Though I was not sure it was wise to sit Edward Scissorhands and The House from Up next to each other, that was an incident waiting to happen. And respect to the cellist who kept that helmet on all night, ‘This is the way’. Every moment of the concert was an absolute delight. All good things have to come to an end, and so must this day out. However, it was a fun time from start to finish.   

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you visited The Queensland Museum?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images are by the author.