4 minute read
Brownsville Public Library's Dino Zone Thrills Local Families
By Michele Chan Santos
For the Fall 2022 Texas Library Journal
When the Brownsville Public Library Main Branch unveiled their “Dino Zone,” a walk-through, museum-quality exhibit which resembles a cave from Jurassic Park, complete with sparkling purple geode, fossilized dinosaur bones, cave-like walls and a lizard caught in amber, the children in the community couldn’t contain their excitement.
Their oohs and aahs, the rush to explore, and their joy was everything Bianca Gutierrez, creative services specialist at Brownsville Public Library and the main artist behind the exhibit, had hoped for.
“When I found out about this project, I was like a little kid jumping up and down, super excited, about the idea of what it could be when it was finished,” Gutierrez said. “I got excited thinking about their reactions, and it was literally everything that I had actually imagined. The first group of people that went in, my eyes were teary. Seeing the way they took everything in, the fossils, the information, down to the little feet stamps on the floor – they were thrilled.”
The project was unveiled July 21, more than two years after library staff began construction in March 2020. The display was funded through the library’s existing budget and staff built it in addition to their regular library duties. Gutierrez, who studied art in college, was in charge of construction.
The cave walls were sculpted from Styrofoam, which was then covered with clay, textured, and painted, and coated with a hard epoxy so they feel like rock. The purple geode was built using crushed glass marbles, with each piece placed by hand. There’s a frozen waterfall made from resin, and a small alcove sized for kids. When the library was closed at the beginning of the pandemic in spring 2020, the staff were able to work on it unobserved by patrons. After the library reopened, they blocked off the area with large plastic walls, to ensure the surprise when it was opened.
Children love visiting the Dino Zone.
All photos courtesy of Brownsville Public Library and the City of Brownsville.
Staff and supporters on the exhibit's opening day.
This "geode' was created with crushed marbles, placed by hand.
An artificial waterfall delights visitors.
The Dino Zone includes educational panels about different types of dinosaurs, listing facts about each one. Each panel has a QR code that links to an information sheet about that type of dinosaur, with book tags so visitors know what books to check out to learn more.
“We wanted to bring something into the department that was timeless. Every age group has a fascination with dinosaurs,” said Brenda Trevino, head library branch manager. Several schools have visited and more are planning to do field trips to Dino Zone this fall.
“It’s about the patrons and our staff, everybody helped, I empowered the staff to do it. Bianca took this project and ran with it and it’s awesome,” Juan Guerra, Library Services Director said. “It’s the talk of the town right now.” The City of Brownsville featured a video walkthrough of the Dino Zone on their official Facebook page, that has more than 7,900 views. It was also featured on the local news.
Michele Chan Santos is the marketing specialist at the Texas Library Association.
All photos courtesy of Brownsville Public Library and the City of Brownsville.
