But the global fascination goes far beyond the screen. The number of visitors to the Dinosaur Museum of Esperaza, in southern France, rose 50 percent to 60,000 people, after the release of “Jurassic Park” in 1993. And the gift shop can barely keep its shelves stocked with dino toys. “French kids nowadays are as familiar with a Tyrannosaurus rex as they are with a cow,” says paleontologist Lionel Cavin. Everyone is an amateur excavator; Didier Dutheil, a paleontologist at France’s National History Museum, says more and more people are bringing in “dinosaur eggs” dug up in their gardens. “So far, none of the eggs has been genuine,” he admits. The Japanese company Kokoro has been terrifying audiences from Paris to Prague with its exhibit of “animatronic,” or robotic, dinosaurs that grunt, move and squeal. In Berlin, First Tuesday, a monthly shmoozefest for young techies, recently took place beneath the towering T. rex skeleton in the national dinosaur museum. Britons can eat “Walking with Dinosaurs” chocolates; more than 1 million companion books have been printed, and 300,000 videos sold. Just wait until Disney’s movie comes out.
