CHENNAI: In this sweltering summer, wandering on city streets is definitely not a good idea. And with summer vacations, the only options families have are movie theatres, water theme parks and shopping malls. Understanding this summer urge, The Marina Mall, OMR adorns itself with Dinoland, an immersive experience for kids and adults to revel in dinosaur-themed decorations. “It is not just a decoration but an experience in itself. It is the first of its kind in the city,” shares Mohammad Wasif, marketing head at Marina Mall.
An immersive experience
Marina Mall organises a theme-based experience twice a year with a focus on giving attention to nature and the environment. “We curate themes for summer and winter. Last year, we did a butterfly-based theme. Also during winter, we came up with the ocean theme, paying tribute to the Avatar movie. This year, Jurassic Park has been the inspiration. The life-size dinosaurs in the mall are not static creatures. They move, open their mouths and scream, creating an immersive experience,” shares Mohammad.
The mall doesn’t restrict Dinoland to only the decorations, instead, they conduct workshops based on the theme. Mohammad says, “The whole idea is not only about seeing the dinosaurs or taking selfies with them. More than the set-up which includes 10 dinosaurs, we want kids and adults to know more about dinosaurs and what history tells us. We have information walls and we conduct workshops on the weekends where we get trained professionals to teach kids to make dinosaur puppets, eggs, wands and things like that.”
What’s more?
For organising and curation, the marketing team at the mall sought the help of vendors. Mohammad says, “The decor part of it, that is, creating a model dinosaur, was pretty much easy. What took time was to create a dinosaur with a motion detector. If you go close to the dinosaur and then it immediately opens its mouth. We are also conducting a dino walk in the month of June for the last 10 days where a dinosaur will be walking around the mall.”
Dinoland which was set up on April 21 has been getting great responses from the public according to the marketing team. For this year’s winter, a snow-themed set-up is in the cards. Also, Airborne will be setting up their new inflatable theme park of 7500 sq ft in the mall, which according to the team is one of a kind in the country. Mohammad says, “We are focussing to create child-like experiences also for adults. Once we grow old, we won’t have many opportunities. That shouldn’t be the case. Age shouldn’t be a restriction.”
Chennaiites can experience Dinoland at The Marina Mall till June 11.