Museums--the Sequel: Dinosaurs for Dollars

Steven Spielberg’s cinematic dinosaurs have helped pitch cereal, toys and T-shirts. So why not museums?

On display at San Diego’s Natural History Museum is an exhibit featuring film clips and props from the 1993 movie “Jurassic Park.” The American Museum of Natural History in New York is promoting an exhibit based on this summer’s blockbuster sequel, “The Lost World.” It, too, contains props from the film.

Museum officials in San Diego say the “Jurassic Park” exhibit is a huge commercial success. Besides breaking attendance records, the exhibit has attracted unprecedented corporate support. It is drawing 2,000 people a day--about three times its usual summer attendance--and has pulled $750,000 from corporations. A chunk of that has come from Burger King and General Mills, firms with “Lost World” marketing tie-ins.

Museums dream about numbers like that--especially the San Diego Museum of Natural History, which had a big deficit four years ago.

“Being able to use the [‘Jurassic Park’] logo opened doors to companies closed to us before,” said Rich Bernard, chief financial officer of the San Diego museum.

It also thrusts the institution into a debate about commercialism. As museums look for ways to compete for consumer entertainment dollars with amusement parks and other attractions, they are turning on the glitz.

The “Jurassic Park” exhibit debuted in New York along with its namesake movie in 1993 and has traveled around the country since then. The opening of the “Lost World” exhibit was timed to the release of the sequel.

Leading the way was the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, which in 1992 developed a traveling “Star Trek” exhibit under a licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures. Nancy Stueber, spokeswoman for the Oregon museum, said Paramount saw the exhibit as a way to promote its “Star Trek” franchise, as well as licensed “Star Trek” merchandise sold in museum gift shops. Stueber said Paramount receives no money directly from the exhibit, which features props from “Star Trek” movies and videotaped messages from actors.

“How much do you take from commercial entertainment entities?” said Gail Griffin, chairwoman of the American Assn. of Museum’s marketing committee. “It is an issue.” But Griffin said she does not think the dinosaur or “Star Trek” displays cross a line.

Museums say that the displays based on the Spielberg films are educational and that the props and film clips that make up one-third of the “Jurassic Park” exhibit are used to separate Hollywood fantasy from fact.

“It is not crass commercialism,” Bernard said.

Movie props make up 10% of the “Lost World” exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. The museum does not use the “Lost World” logo in its advertising--though red and black (the colors of the logo) are dominant throughout the exhibition area. Film star Jeff Goldblum greets visitors with a videotaped welcome. Both museums sell “Lost World” action figures and other licensed merchandise in their gift shops.

The exhibits, which travel around the country, were developed in cooperation with Universal Pictures and Spielberg’s production company, Amblin Entertainment. A Universal representative said the studio didn’t get involved to promote its movies. Although Universal and Amblin share in the proceeds from the exhibits, they donate the money to dinosaur research.

Denise Gellene can be e-mailed at denise.gellene@latimes.com or faxed at (213) 237-7837.