If you asked a kid if they’d rather go to the zoo, or if they’d rather look at old bones and fossils in a museum, how many of them would choose the latter? Not a lot, right? That’s not to imply they’re wrong. It’s more fun seeing a giraffe or an elephant than some dusty old footprint or a bone. But soon, youngsters in Japan might choose to do just that. Thanks to a new Pokémon touring exhibit that will combine those fictional animals with real paleontology.
Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.
This summer the Pokémon Fossil Museum (Pokémon Kaseki Hakubutsukan) touring exhibit will try to make the study of fossils more accessible to children. The traveling museum (which we first heard about at Kotaku) says it will let guests “compare ‘Kaseki Pokémon; with ‘fossils and paleontology’ found in our world, discover similarities and differences, and have fun learning about paleontology.” Visitors will examine “fossils” in the Pokémon world thanks to the exhibits of “Dr. Kaseki.” Also, “Excavation Pikachu” will be there to assist.
The touring exhibit opens on July 3 at the Mikasa City Museum. It will be there until September 20. The fossil museum then moves to the Shimane Prefectural Sampei Nature MuseumSahimeru for the fall. In spring 2022 it will come to Tokyo’s National Science Museum. And in the summer it will call Toyohashi Museum of Natural History it’s home. More locations will be announced in the future, with an end date of sometime in summer 2023.
Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.
This might seem like a weird mixture to some. But it’s a natural fit of both fact and fiction. Fossil Pokémon date back to the start of the franchise. Ancient Pokémon that can be restored with technology via fossils have been a part of multiple games in the series. Telling a kid they can see a “real” Pokémon skeleton seems like a great way to get them interested in the larger study of paleontology.
Then, hopefully, they’ll want to go to both the zoo and the museum.
