“Life-size” Pokémon skeletons going on display to help kids learn about fossils

Pikachu does Jurassic Park cosplay for traveling Pokémon Fossil Museum exhibit.

Pikachu has had a lot of jobs over the years. Chef. Ship’s captain. Professional wrestler. Come this summer, though, the Pokémon mascot will be entering a new field: paleontology.

Despite the name, the Pokémon Fossil Museum isn’t a building itself, but instead a traveling exhibition that combines a love for the visual design and worldbuilding of the Pokémon anime/video game franchise with learning about real-world science.

And yes, Pikachu does appear to be cosplaying as Jurassic Park’s Dr. Alan Grant for the occasion, both in illustrations and in Poké-person at a ceremony announcing the project.

本日行われた記者発表会では、発掘ピカチュウもお手伝いにきてくれました

本展示は、人気ゲーム『ポケットモンスター』シリーズに登場するカセキ・カセキポケモンと、私たちの世界で見つかる化石・古生物をテーマにしています
発掘ピカチュウと一緒に「かせき」をじっくり観察してみよう pic.twitter.com/FMFW40wgQx

— かはく【国立科学博物館公式】 (@museum_kahaku) April 20, 2021

It’s a doubly appropriate wardrobe choice, since the Pokémon Fossil Museum uses Fossil Pokémon, extinct Pocket Monster species that can be brought back to life, as its jumping off point to teach guests about the process of fossilization and how paleontologists use fossils to learn about animal life from long-gone eras of history.

▼ Fossil Pokémon on the left, real-world extinct species that inspired their designs on the right.

Side-by-side comparisons show how knowledge paleontologists have uncovered about dinosaurs through fossil analysis lets us develop educated theories on what Pokémon species skeletal structures would look like.

▼ Tyrantrum (left) and a Tyrannosaurus rex (right)

▼ Aurorus and Amargasaurus

The exhibit will also have on display “life-sized” skeletons of Tyrantrum and Bastiodon, which, going by their in-game descriptions, should respectively be about 2.5 and 1.3 meters (8.2 and 4.3 feet) tall!

The event kicks off July 4 at Hokkaido’s Mikasa City Museum, where it runs until September 20. Next on the schedule are the Sambei Shizenkan natural history museum in Shimane Prefecture’s Oda City for fall 2021, Tokyo’s National Museum of Nature and Science for spring 2022, and Aichi Prefecture’s Toyohashi Museum of Natural History for summer 2022.

Sources: PR Times, Pokémon Fossil Museum official website
Top image: Pokémon Fossil Museum
Insert images: PR Times, Pokémon Fossil Museum
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