Ovintiv presents the Museum Board with a cheque, to be used to develop a new escape room exhibit

By Liam Verster

Dinosaur Museum Investment

Ovintiv donation to help bring escape room to Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum

Feb 11, 2020 | 1:28 PM

The Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum is going to have an escape room exhibit opening in September, to help bring in more visitors and offer a fun, interactive way to learn.

Executive Director of the museum, Linden Roberts, says they’ve been looking at different and unique ways to produce exhibits, and still convey content. She says escape rooms are very popular, and they reached out to Dr. Scott Nicholson, a Professor of Game Design at Wilfred Laurier University, who has been an advocate for the use of escape rooms in museums.

Ovintiv, formerly known as Encana, has invested $40,000 in the museum, to help create the new attraction, and hire Nicholson to help develop the escape room exhibit.

Roberts says Nicholson is one of the best escape room developers in North America, and is willing to create an exhibit that really fits the museum, and the region.

“In the process, it allows us to really take a step forward and design exhibits that are unique to this museum, unique to the area, fun for visitors, fun for people to come back to, and a reason for people to come here all year round. Because, truly, the museum visit is always nicer in the summer, now we can make this museum visit worthwhile year round.”

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Roberts says the contribution from Ovintiv is seed money to help get the project on track, and hopes the escape room becomes profitable in the future.

“You don’t necessarily have to go to it when you go to the museum, but it will have an up charge, and it will be high enough quality that the gamers want to do it. It will be priced competitively. But over the course of a year, it will return the investment, and help the museum to get a sustaining income.”

Ovintiv has been a big contributor and supported of the museum in the past. Back when it first opened, the company gave a considerable amount of money to help build the museum. They’ve also held events at the museum, made donations, and been one of the key sponsors.

Tyson Pylypiw, Manager Community and Indigenous Relations, and Road and Lease Construction for Ovintiv, says the company and museum both value education and community life, which is why the company has been so invested in the museum since it’s inception five years ago.

“The core values of the museum align with our core values when it comes to community life and education. So, it was something we felt was extremely valuable to both them, and to us as being a member of this community.”

He adds that Ovintiv is proud to be a sponsor of the museum, and looks forward to working with them on this project, and on future initiatives.

The escape room is still in development, and won’t be opening until September, but the story line has already been created.

The room is themed around a dinosaur excavation, based on a dig site in the Peace Region. Participants will find the site left by a paleontologist, whose notes will guide the players to finding and saving fossils and bones and completing the dig before the water levels of a nearby river rise and flood the site.

Assistant Curator and paleontologist for the museum, Derek Larson, says along with being entertaining, the escape room will also be very educational.

“We’re very concerned about the educational aspect of the escape room, you know escape rooms are very popular right now, but we wanted to put more information, and sort of inject that into the game of the escape room.”

“So the dinosaur fossils that we’ll be working with are going to be copies of actual dinosaur fossils. The information that people get about the animals will be actual information and not fictionalized. Some of the fossils that they’ll be finding are going to be fossils that we’ve literally found in the ground in this area. So, we really want to try to teach as much about dinosaurs and the fossil history of the Grande Prairie area as much as we can in the escape room.”

Roberts adds that they plan on expanding and offering more scenarios in the future, but they will always be information driven and not fictionalized at all.

Roberts says along with this project, the museum is also preparing family events and activities for the future, including a dinosaur festival. Supported by a grant by MIT, the museum will bring in scientists and paleontologists between June 19-21 to teach the public about dinosaurs and fossils, as well as lead a midnight walk to the bone bed at Pipestone Creek to mark the summer solstice.