Just in time for a tourist season that may not happen, the upgraded Riversleigh Fossil Centre has opened in Mount Isa.
Walking in, you might briefly forget you're in the outback, with interactive displays, audio-visual equipment and lighting and a plethora of activities to amuse young and old.
The centre focuses on education about the Riversleigh World Heritage Site in the Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park.
Tour guide and lab technician Alan Rackham said the centre had shed its "very static" feel.
"It's all very modern ... we have the same material, the same bones, same stories — but it's been laid out very attractively," he said.
"It's very easy to move around and just read the stories that are up on the wall and look at the fossils that are behind glass."
With physical distancing and restrictions on how many people can attend at a time, Mr Rackham said one highlight of the centre was a giant interactive bird display that used motion-sensor technology.
"We've got a big bird here, and when the kids lift their leg or wave their arm, the bird will copy them and it's a big hit with kids," he said.
"We've got a glass screen that when you wave your hand over it, you can uncover fossils."
Mr Rackham said the response from visitors had been "marvellous".
"What we have here is a real asset to Mount Isa, and it's just such a shame that we've opened and ... of course there's so many restrictions and so many people that would have normally been travelling, but they'll be back next year."
Tourism possibilities
When tourists do return, Mr Rackham said he hoped they would visit the centre before deciding to travel the 250 kilometres to the Riversleigh site at Boodjamulla National Park.
The site is currently closed as part of the pandemic biosecurity control area in place in the Burke Shire.
"It's really a connection; personally, I like people to come here first and they get a real good understanding and feel," Mr Rackham said of the Riversleigh site.
"So, often I get people that go to Riversleigh first and they come here and they say, 'Well, there wasn't much to see up there'.
"There is a lot to see up there; go through Adel's [Grove] and go on a guided tour, because you won't get the stories.
"The rocks won't talk — but we talk for them."
