Review: Mythic Creatures at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science

A Unicorn at Mythic Creatures at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

I had the opportunity to see the new Mythic Creatures exhibit at Denver Museum of Nature & Science last week at a preview night. As a child my grandmother gave me a book on fairy tales that captured my imagination. And as I grew up my interest in fantasy books and movies only grew. So I had high hopes for this exhibit!

A modern take of a Pegasus as if it was a Carousel Horse.

The exhibit is laid out into 3 sections: Water creatures, Land creatures, and Air creatures (with a focus on Dragons). In the middle there is a rest break area for children to draw their own mythical creature. At the end you can take a green screen photo of yourself with a Unicorn or Dragon (mine sadly was never emailed or texted, so something went wrong.)

Release the KRAKEN!

Unfortunately it didn’t hit the mark for me, so I wanted to share this review of the exhibit. After seeing DMNS’s Whales exhibit that was in the same space, Mythic seemed small in comparison. I applaud that they brought in a wide variety of creatures from many cultures but I felt like there were some issues on how they went about setting everything up.

Modern Quetzalcoatl head in the Mayan style.

Firstly, there would be one (usually small) case for each type of creature. There was a lot of small plaques to read. This caused bottlenecks because you had to get in close to read them, and the many children that were there had to have it read to them by their parents. I was expecting the displays to be more like how the stories and myths were told in the Silk Road exhibit. In that one, they had huge TV screens that had an outer casing to make them look like an open book. Then it would tell various nicely done stories. Instead, Mythic had a few written statements or very condensed stories into just a few slim sentences. Each of these creatures have wide and rich backgrounds and stories, and I was left wanting more. The other issue was lighting and the matte of the plaques. I often had times simply reading even when I was right in front of the plaque. I ended up having to use my hand to shield the light away to be able to read.

Stories of Cyclopes and Giants could have come from Elephant and Mammoth bones.

Another issue was that many of the items in these cases were on the smaller end, and many were modern replicas. Nothing like leaning in close to an object, and then checking the date to see “c. 2009”. After traveling Europe I’ve seen many fascinating mythical creature objects, and their selection of modern or small objects was disappointing. I didn’t want to see a modern take, I wanted to see objects that reflected the artistry of when people believed these creatures were real. There were also odd choices. I’m not sure how a dragon and unicorn weather vane helped tell the story.

A modern take on a Mermaid that could have graced the figurehead of a ship.

I will say some of the big statement pieces were gorgeous, from the Mermaid, to the Unicorn, to the brilliant Pegasus. I also did enjoy the selection of ancient coins that depicted some of the animals. I will say the museum did a good job on the part of explaining what real animals were the source of inspiration (or confusion) for the start of the mythical creature. Especially enjoyed seeing one of the few huge fossil egg of a Aepyornis “the elephant bird” from Madagascar. So while it was not the fanciful exhibit I was expecting, it was a decent way to spend an hour at the museum.

Ancient Pegasus Coin

If you go:

The exhibit runs from March 20th to September 7th at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver 80205. The exhibit is included in the museum ticket price or member admission.