EXPLORE | JURASSIC WORLD - the exhibition

One of our favourite hang out places for the whole family must be the Melbourne Museum. We have taken the kids there since they were babies, and there are so much amazing things to explore that you normally can't squeeze it into just one visit. There are always interesting exhibitions on show that mixes education as well as a big dose of fun - and this exhibition is no different. Jurassic World - the exhibition is one action packed adventure. Based on one of the biggest blockbusters in cinema history, the Exhibition immerses audiences of all ages in scenes inspired by the beloved film. Now, the park that was only a promise comes to life… right before your eyes.

Travel to Isla Nublar as a VIP guest and explore Jurassic World. Come face-to-face with a Pachyrhinosaurus; visit The Hammond Creation Lab; stare in wonder at a towering Brachiosaurus; get a rare up-close look at the most vicious dinosaur of them all, Tyrannosaurus rex; and learn all about top-secret projects currently in development.

Inspired by the Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic Park franchise, the exhibition at Melbourne Museum will show a glimpse of what life was like on Earth millions of years ago.

Imagine Exhibitions chief executive Tom Zaller said the exhibition was like a "fairy ride" to the Jurassic period. "You know that moment in the first [Jurassic Park] film when the jeep drove over the hill and the dinosaur is there," he said. "Everybody's seen the dinosaur bones at the museum, the cheap animated dinosaur things, but if you're going to Jurassic World, I'm going to blow your mind." 



Mr Zaller has created a number of major exhibitions from the ground up, including Angry Birds Universe, Titanic The Exhibition, The Human Bodies Exhibition, and Dinosaurs in Motion.
He said it was a challenge to keep the educational value in the exhibition, as well as keeping people interested. "Here the theatre that we've brought together is a fine line between theme park and museum ... I really think we've hit the balance," he said.

"We've struck the chord that is going to satisfy the young mind and the imagination.
"Also, having watched the eight-year-old children and just looking at the microscopes and seeing the bone slices of real dinosaurs — we have a bone you can touch, a 65 million-year-old sauropod femur that's 150 centimetres, you couldn't pick it up."

Created in close collaboration with renowned paleontologist Jack Horner, the Exhibition is infused with interactive educational elements—drawn from the real-world science of dinosaur DNA that allowed Jurassic World to come to life. Visitors of all ages can now learn all about these incredible prehistoric creatures.

This is a great opportunity to take your dinosaur loving kids for a close up experience but bare in mind that younger children might get a bit scared by the moving dinosaurs (but nothing a reassuring hand or a hug can't fix). For us it was a wonderful chance to do something the entire family enjoyed. We are all Jurrasic Park fans in this family and it was cool to get a chance to relive some of the most memorable scenes from the new movie Jurassic World in this exhibition.

To book tickets visit Melbourne Museum's ticket stand here.
For those that can't get enough of the dinosaur experience they are also running a 3D show in their IMAX theatre: Walking with Dinosaurs - Prehistoric Planet. 

If you are interested in finding out more about how all these dinosaurs for the exhibition was made, make a visit to Creature Technology and take a peek behind the scenes and read up on how these amazing creatures were made.

BEHIND THE SCENES - making Jurassic World, the exhibition.

LET'S PLAY | GLOBE by MONSTRUM

A subject close to my heart, is architecture and I especially love all the new great playgrounds with a focus on architecture that is being created all around the world at the moment. In my new catagory LET'S PLAY you will find some of them that I have found and covered on the blog.

Today I want to show you The Globe designed by Danish design studio Monstrum.

“The Globe” is a great playground with the library as the center. The playground is divided into five main play areas, each representing a specific compass direction. Each play area is a story about the specific area. There areas offers different play opportunities, so that users get different play experiences depending on where you choose to play.

The playground contains small fragments and stories about nature, animals, landscapes, geology, culture and much more. The aim is to inspire, arouse children’s and adults’ knowledge desire while creating space and opportunity for play and exercise.

In the design of play areas, the emphasis is on the integration of play opportunities for children with different disabilities. At the same time we have focused on the availability on the playground with level access and a sitting area in the playground equipment.

The five areas are connected with a world tour around the house, which is marked in the floor and with stories and fun fact

Globe is designed by MONSTRUM - a studio that design and produce unique playgrounds with a focus on artistic and architectural quality. They create thematic playgrounds that fascinates and inspires both adults and children. To check out more of their great creative playground please visit their website.

The globe is located at Århus new main library and citizen service center in Denmark. 

Moments | City Visit Part II

After the visit at the National Gallery we went down to the South Yarra river for a play on the Art Playground of Birrarung Mar. The kids explored the slides, climbing pyramids and all the other fun play equipment they have there. Its such a nice playground not too far from the banks of the South Yarra river. After an hour of play we finally got the kids of the playground in the form of a ice-cream promise. We walked up the steps to Federation Square and relaxed in the sun chairs there, while the kids munched on ice-cream and the adults had a coffee break.

The Federation Square is famous for its architectural uniqueness. Materials like stone, glass, metal is mixed in one big geometrical tribute, and it stands out in the middle of older more classic buildings like the yellow Flinders Station. We love to visit the ACMI building which is the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. They always have great little movie gems showing, or some interesting exhibition to explore. They also have a little store with some great finds, like art books or rare movies.

After we had a break in the sun everybody started to get a bit dozy so we decided to take the kids to Hosier Lane. A street filled with some amazing street art and great cafes. This was truly the best way to experience art for the kids. Nobody telling you "don't touch" or sigh when you wanted to do a big jump. It was such a great way to finish our day in the city and we definitely have to come back soon with the kids and do some more exploring!

Let there be COLOUR!

Check out this Kindergarten in Paris, France! Ecolle Maternell Pajol is a four-classroom Kindergarten who have really embraced the joy of colour for kids. Parisian architecture office Palatre & Leclère has restored and reimagined the 1940s building , yet they have left the basic feel of the structure unchanged. "We believe in repurposing and saving older buildings, but letting them tell their previous stories, even in their new guises." For more info and photos head on over here!

Inspiration | MONSTRUM

There is nothing like an AWESOME playground that makes you feel like a kid again! Danish MONSTRUM creates playgrounds with focus on design, motor challenges and safety.

MONSTRUM believes that playground design should be a reflection of the world surrounding us. We see the world as a place full of color. We meet boys that like pink and girls that likes trees, so why only play on a monkey frame and a sandbox, when you can play in a moon crater or a submarine or a giant spider or an enormous snail or a Trojans horse or a rocket or an ant or a princess castle. The fantasy is infinite. The visual effect can indulge from a far, a tall slide, a massive tower or a wave to play on can draw kids in from the street.

As artists and designers and through our experience with building theatrical set-design at numerous theaters in Copenhagen, we have the knowledge to combine elements where not only physical activities and play evolve, but also with a visual story that creates a space where fantasy thrives.

The Monstrum website completely made me forget I am down with the flu! I want to go PLAY...NOW!




HÖGANÄS COASTER - location, Sweden.



BLÅVALEN i GÖTEBORG - location, Sweden.



TÅRNENE i FÆLLEDPARKEN - location, Denmark



BRUMLEBYEN - location, Denmark

INSPIRATION | Christiania and the Houses it built

Recently I flipped through an architecture book that brought me right back to when I was living in Copenhagen, and worked close to the freetown of Christiania. This area has been so controversial and talked about, and by now I am sure it is merely a memory and normalized by the government. I used to love going to the different cafes there, and visit their incredible bike shops, and not to mention the fantastic little home made homes that was all over the area. We sat and had barbeques by the lake while watching these magnificent and original homes.

There were so much discussion if such a community should be allowed with no laws regarding selling marihuana. But the community was so much more than that... The idea of being free of governmental rules, and free to live in what you build seemed almost magical in today's age and that is what I am going to miss the most. I was trying to find the name of a book that is dedicated to the amazing homes of Christiania that I once was holding in my hands but no such luck. It was like a guide to hobbit homes!! If I ever see that book again I am definitely buying it. There just aren't enough of those places around anymore...

Vertical Playground

How amazing is this vertical playground?? I love when architects gets involved in creating inspirational places for kids. This one is based in Belleville Park in Paris, France, and is created by BASE.

Growing Imagination

Baupiloten is a group of architecture students who during their studies at Faculty VI, Institute for Architecture at Berlin Technical University (Technische Universität Berlin) develop their own projects from concept to implementation under professional guidance. Architect Susanne Hoffmann founded Baupiloten (Bau=build, Piloten=pilot) in 2003 and has headed it since 2004.

The Taka-Tuka-Land kindergarten was originally erected as a temporary solution, but with the fantastic Baupiloten approach to the refurbishment, it has become a permanent place for children.

The Taka-Tuka-Land is part of the Pippi Longstocking lore created by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi in Taka-Tuka Country is a movie based on one of her novels. The children at the kindergarten and their teachers created collages, models, drawings and ideas based on Taka-Tuka Land with bridges, huts, merry-go-rounds made of blossoms and thrones made of seashells. The Baupiloten students then spent several days with the children observing their daily routines, their schedules and their ways of communication.

From this extensive groundwork, the design story for the space was developed. The building itself is Pippi’s old oak tree that contains a lemonade factory. The lemonade breaks through the bark of the tree and flows outside creating padded play areas. The story of the building is a trip through the seven stages of the lemon tree, each facilitating a different activity: The lemonade tree, Glittering lemonade in the sun, Lemonade drops, The lemonade island, Waiting for the parents, Lemonade gallery.