By Charly SHELTON

Not everyone is into dinosaurs like I am. From the age of 2, I’ve wanted to be a paleontologist. It was cute for a 2-year-old to be obsessed with dinosaurs; not so cute when you’re in your late 20s and leaving dinosaur toys all over the dining room table – ¬ it irks your wife. But I’ve never been deterred. I spent my college career trying to get as close to a paleontology degree as I could despite that not being a choice for undergrad. When “Jurassic World” was released, I openly sobbed in the theater to see my boy T. rex – the real dinosaur king – come in to defeat the “alternative science” monster. I’m tearing up as I write this, just thinking about it.

This love of dinosaurs was always there thanks to museum visits and my parents reading me dozens of dinosaur books as a kid. But when “Jurassic Park” came out in 1993, the childhood love solidified into a passion that has kept me going for 25 years. Now, in celebration of its silver anniversary, Universal Studios Hollywood hosted an event for fans of the original film to come together and revel in their nerdy passion. And, for me, it felt like going home.

After a screening of the film, the party took place after dark in the lower lot of the Park. In addition to music and decorations, Jurassic Park – The Ride was open all night, there was a trivia contest, specialty foods, a little expo area to see the new dinosaur toys coming out for the new film, a VR experience. Some velociraptors even broke out and tried to attack guests and asset containment officers. In addition, guests were dressed up to participate in a costume contest.

Oddly enough, I was one of the few people not dressed for the costume contest, which is weird because most of the participants were dressed in homage to the paleontologists of the film, like I usually am: denim shirts, bandanas, wide brimmed hats and hiking boots worn. Thinking I would be overdoing it, I left my Stetson and sun shirt on the table at home. It was nice to look around and see that my fashion sense was in-vogue, if only for an evening.

The best part of the evening was the panel discussion of those who worked on the original film. The guests differed on each of the three nights, and included assistant director John T. Kretchmer, CFC supervisor Dennis Muren, cinematographer Dean Cundey, producer Frank Marshall, cast members Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, Legacy VLC John Rosengrant, VFX creature designer Phil Tippett and paleontological advisor Jack Horner, all moderated by “Jurassic World” co-writer/director Colin Trevorrow. Hearing their stories about being on set with Steven Spielberg and the rest of the cast and crew gave a new insight into the film that many fans had never known.

The event was super fun and I only wish they could do this every summer. It was a really unique event and with Jurassic Park – The Ride slated to close Sept. 3 to make way for a Jurassic World ride, it was a nice way to celebrate the original film in one place before the release of the new “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” on June 22.

To see the full panel discussion from Saturday night featuring Trevorrow, Dern, Marshall, Tippett and Horner, scan the QR code or visit this story on CVWeekly.com.

  Charly Shelton