You’re walking around a museum after dark, encountering all kinds of weird and wonderful animals, suddenly you swear the Brachiosaurus just winked at you – is your mind playing tricks on you? Or is it the four cocktails you’ve just polished off taking effect? Either way, this is Jurassic Lounge and in here, anything is possible.
Spread out across four floors of the Australian Museum, Jurassic Lounge has a little something for everyone. Pigging backing off Vivid, fluro and bright lights abound as you partake is a little ping pong and some miniature golf. If you’re willing to wait in line, the UV Make-up Artists will give you a futuristic look and if you’re after something a bit more romantic drop by the Future Dating Bureau desk.
There’s wearable dinosaur exoskeletons which participants can run around the venue in (supervised of course) and a brightly lit and playfully colourful “wormhole” which leads to a small dance floor and a DJ.
Although I didn’t participate myself, there was a best costume competition which ensured the crowd was a veritable feast for the eyes in all their futuristic get-ups and sci-fi glory.
However, by far the most popular activity of the evening was the silent disco, held in the main room. With three channels to choose from, each with their own signature colour, you can groove and bust a move until your hearts content – able to identify others in the crowd who are also jiving to your jam. There is something incredibly freeing about a silent disco and the tunes they spun were old school 80s and 90s and they were epic. I unashamedly spent more than two hours dancing the night away and would do it all again in a heartbeat.
Hot tip – arrive early. Doors open at 7pm – do the rounds and work out what you’re interested in participating in and jump on it. When I left about 30 minutes before the event ended there must have been about 100 people waiting for headphones for the silent disco.
Whether you choose to get dressed up and have your face painted or simply walk around, drink in hand and enjoy the museum after hours, Jurassic Lounge is a guilty pleasure – without the guilt.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
For more information about Jurassic Lounge visit https://australianmuseum.net.au/landing/jurassic-lounge/
This event took place on 16th June 2018.
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