Nitul Gajjar
No matter what age a person is, they are always interested in dinosaurs. However, there are few places where you get a chance to learn about dinosaurs. However, there is such a place in our Gujarat. There is a little rocky area in Padar of Raioli village near Balasinore in Mahisagar district. From where experts found some dinosaur fossils during the 1980s. Today, a Dinosaur Fossil Park and Museum has been constructed there by the Government of Gujarat. This place is basically divided into two parts namely Fossil Park and Museum. On the way from Balasinore to Raioli, the Fossil Park comes first and the Museum is about 100 meters opposite. In this Dinosaur Fossil Park, as the name suggests, fossils of dinosaurs have been preserved. Excavations in the 1980s revealed the remains of a carnivorous dinosaur with thick tusks and horns. At that time, the king of Balasinore helped a lot in researching this place, so experts named this dinosaur 'Rajasaurus'. The remains of which as well as a large life size replica have been preserved in the museum. Fossil Park has preserved some dinosaur fossils, but the lack of maintenance makes the park quite dull. Different limbs of many different dinosaurs are found fossilized here. Many of them are very large. If displayed properly, this place is definitely interesting enough to attract more visitors. However, this fossil park is completely overgrown. There are boards in the stone giving information about what the fossil will look like, but they are not helpful at all. Even other facilities like roads, sitting areas, toilets etc. in Fossil Park are not maintained equally. The shape and color of the stone found in this place is unique. Also their age is millions of years. But no one is interested in maintaining it. The dinosaur museum nearby however attracts many people. Spread over an area of 25,000 square feet, the museum has been renovated a few years back. Out of which some other area of the museum has been opened a few months back. The museum is divided into a total of 10 galleries. Each gallery displays different information about dinosaurs in an interesting way. Here are dinosaurs found in India millions of years ago, their evolution, their extinction and fossils found at Balasinore. An entire section of the museum is devoted to fossils. In which all the information from the process of obtaining the fossil to its creation has been displayed in an interesting manner. This museum has digitally displayed a lot of information for children to enjoy and understand easily. However, in some parts of this museum, the information written below the photos is only available in English. Due to which it is not possible for every visitor who comes here to understand this detail. It is also not that English is used everywhere in the entire museum, many sections have information written in Gujarati along with English. So many people may find museums boring, but this dinosaur museum proves to be more interesting than other museums. Here the information is presented in such a way as to pique your curiosity right from the start. It also has the center hall located at the end of the museum. In this place dinosaur skeletons are placed in the middle of a large room like the 'Natural History Museum' of Britain. Apart from this, there are more than 500 dinosaur fossils throughout the museum. Apart from that, you will enjoy watching a 3D movie about 'Rajasaurus', digital screen, press of button information section about specific species, environment quiz screen for kids, dinosaur skeleton puzzle, fossilized dinosaur eggs and bones etc. The dinosaur museum now also has the facility of viewing the world of dinosaurs through virtual reality. This virtual reality facility, however, does not offer the opportunity to hear dinosaur voices, making the experience feel a little incomplete. But everyone should experience this once. Apart from this, the last 5D movie about dinosaurs is shown here. In which the privilege of sitting in a rocking chair according to the picture playing on the screen, as if in fact we have reached the world of dinosaurs, is not to be missed.}
Know before you go….Balasinore Dinosaur Museum ticket is 70 rupees. Virtual reality and 5D film are not included. For that, you have to buy a ticket by spending 100 rupees separately. Admission to Fossil Park is free. Á The Dinosaur Museum is closed every Monday. The museum opens at 9 in the morning and is not allowed to enter after 5 in the evening. Á Dinosaur Park and Museum are located at a distance of 90 km from Ahmedabad and 120 km from Vadodara. Á The park is located near Raioli village. The biggest town nearby is Balasinore. It is also located at a distance of few kilometers. Apart from that, there is no special facility available around here. Á It is advisable to bring food if you want to visit this place. There is a small restaurant next to the dinosaur museum, but the food options are limited and often the food is not available after running out of food. Á As this dinosaur park is located in the interior, the road to reach here is also a little bad. Also there is more than one way out of this place. Be careful not to get stuck in it.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
