Review: The Lost World of Dragons

The Lost World of Dragons is an interactive exhibit brought to our community thanks to the May Museum (1595 N. Sierra Street – in Rancho San Rafael Park). We’ve been fortunate enough to share some of the May Museum’s past exhibits, such as Toytopia and the Hall of Heroes. I really loved seeing my childhood toys on display at Toytopia, and the kids loved the interactivity of Hall of Heroes, but I think The Lost World of Dragons was special because it straddles the lines of fantasy and history.

History? Dragons aren’t real – how are they a part of history? Well, think about it – dragons showed up at some point in history and became part of this world’s folklore. But, I never took the time to think about how it came to be. Isn’t it interesting that a dragon, in some form, became a part of nearly every culture on Earth? What I’m getting at is this exhibit helped outline the historical context and evolution of dragons, which was my favorite surprise of the day.

Don’t get me wrong – I fully expected the highlight to be the animatronic dragons (and there were many of them). But, there was a bit of an academic high from stitching together the history of dragon folklore across the globe – identifying differences. The kids didn’t take as much interest in the informational/museum parts of the exhibit as I did. They gave plenty of “ooohs” and “aaahs” at the huge animatronic dragons, and enjoyed the interactive elements, such as stop-animation video creation, shadow puppet theater, and the highlight – virtual reality dragon riding (I believe you have to be 7 or older for the VR experience).

Want to know what this exhibit is like? Take a look at this quick video to get a taste, and then go experience it for yourself. You can get through the exhibit in about an hour to an hour and a half. Your admission also gains you access to the full May Museum.

Hours of Operation

Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday: CLOSED
Wednesday: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Thursday: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Friday: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Sunday: Noon – 4:00pm