Pokemon Museum Using Fossils to Teach Paleontology
The Pokemon Fossil Museum will be a traveling exhibit exclusive to Japan that intends to both educate and entertain attendees.
The Mikasa City Museum in Hokkaido, Japan will be the first stop for a brand new traveling exhibit that aims to teach Paleontology to visitors with Pokemon. The Pokemon Fossil Museum will be host to a variety of special activities and Pokemon-related paleontological exercises, including never-before-seen reveals of the inspirations behind some of the most well-known Pokemon in the series. It will be a Pokemon event aimed at children, but that hasn't stopped international fans from wondering what new information might be revealed.
The exhibit will be led by a new character Dr. Kaseki, a Pokemon Paleontologist, with the aid of none other than Pikachu. The two will explain paleontological concepts with both real fossils and Pokemon fossils that were greatly inspired by real-life dinosaurs and other ancient creatures. The touring Pokemon Fossil Museum is scheduled to begin on July 4, 2021, and end next year once the Pokemon Fossil Museum has stopped at each of four different cities – first Hokkaido, then Shimane, Tokyo, and lastly Aichi in Summer 2022.
The main attraction of the Pokemon Fossil Museum will be the "real" Pokemon skeletons on display next to real fossils – the comparison is intended to foster scientific awareness through Pokemon. There will also be illustrated comparisons between Pokemon and Dinosaurs, as well as a full-scale imaginary skeleton of what appears to be a Tyrantrum, whose appearance was based almost directly off of that of the T-Rex.
Additionally, the Pokemon Fossil Museum will also unveil official skeletal diagrams of several well-known Pokemon. In a promotional teaser, the Pokemon Fossil Museum showed an image of a Tyrantrum skeletal system compared to a T-Rex's one. There are a lot of differences between the two where the Pokemon team gave Tyrantrum its own flair, and it will be interesting to see what other Pokemon are put on display in this exhibit.
According to the Mikasa City Museum event announcement, the Pokemon Fossil Museum will have 30 total paleontological materials (original, real-life fossils), 8 new full models of Pokemon fossils and skeletal systems, and a large number of original, licensed artwork of both Pokemon and Dinosaurs drawn in the Pokemon style.
The Pokemon franchise is celebrating its 25th birthday in 2021, and while it doesn't appear to be an anniversary-related event, it nonetheless coincides with the series' milestone. It's a fantastic chance for Pokemon fans to learn about their favorite hobby while also learning about real-life science and how it inspired one of the most recognized franchises in the world, but it'll be tough to see the exhibit in-person if you don't live in Japan.
Source: Pokemon Fossil Museum / https://gamerant.com/