Jurassic Park Turns 30!

This June celebrates the 30th anniversary of the release of Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, Jurassic Park!

Based on Michael Crichton's 1990 science fiction novel, Jurassic Park centers on billionaire John Hammond, who, in secret, has cloned dinosaurs for a prehistoric theme park on a secluded island. When a select few people, including his grandkids, arrive to experience this momentous occasion, things go horribly awry.

The idea for Jurassic Park came from Crichton’s interest in scientific conceptualization, especially genetic engineering. Originally devised as a screenplay about a pterosaur being cloned from fossil DNA, Crichton later revisited the idea and began working on the novel in 1989.

Steven Spielberg, who’d learned about the novel during this time, was instantly captivated by the story idea. “I’m a dinosaur nut; I’d love to read that…” Spielberg had said directly to Crichton when they met. The rest is history!

As a film, Jurassic Park was highly innovative in terms of technology and special effects, leading to lasting changes in the movie industry—out with the stop animation and in with computer animation. When released in theaters, audiences went wild for Jurassic Park, and it has become one of the most popular franchises in cinema history. Over 30 year later, the fan base is still thriving and continues to grow to this day.

Jurassic Park Movie Franchise:

• (1993) Jurassic Park
• (1997) Jurassic Park: The Lost World  
• (2001) Jurassic Park III 
• (2015) Jurassic World
• (2018) Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 
• (2022) Jurassic World Dominion 

 Don’t forget to check out the MCPL catalog for all things Jurassic Park!  

 “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could; they didn’t stop to think if they should.” – Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jurassic Park)

Lisa P.
Information and Reader Services