‘Jurassic’ weekend event set at Jefferson City library

Dinosaurs need the help of area “Jurassic Park” fans to walk the Earth again, and there are prizes to be had for success at a “Jurassic Park”-themed Saturday at the Missouri River Regional Library.

Raz A. Wickham, of Jefferson City — writer, director and producer with Jefferson City’s R.A.W. Productions LLC — described “Jurassic Park: The Lysine Contingency” as an interactive panel with role-playing elements that will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of the 1993 Steven Spielberg blockbuster film that touched off a franchise.

Wickham said in a news release that he hopes the event showcases the educational aspects of the science behind the films, regarding topics such as dinosaurs, human ethics and behavioral science.

The event at the MRRL art gallery from 1-3 p.m. Saturday is being marketed as family-friendly and “fun for dinosaur lovers of all ages,” but Wichham said some science may be above some children’s level of comprehension.

For example, fans of the original “Jurassic Park” film may remember Samuel L. Jackson’s character Ray Arnold’s explanation of the lysine contingency in the event’s title: “The lysine contingency is intended to prevent the spread of the animals in case they ever get off the (theme park) island. Doctor (Henry) Wu inserted a gene that creates a single faulty enzyme in protein metabolism. The animals can’t manufacture the amino acid lysine. Unless they are completely supplied with lysine by us, they slip into a coma and die.”

The by-then wild genetically engineered dinosaurs find a workaround to the lysine contingency in the first sequel — “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” — by eating plants rich in the amino acid, and herbivores sustain the carnivores.

Wickham said the team-based role-playing elements of Saturday’s event are set after the events of the most recent “Fallen Kingdom” film. Participants will have to try to help life find a way — to keep the dinosaurs on an island alive by rebuilding the island’s lysine content after it was damaged by a volcanic eruption on a neighboring island.

Wickham warned the event is not free of plot spoilers for each of the five films.

People who dig it, though, and are the most successful in earning points for keeping the dinosaurs in question as more than bones can look forward to plenty of prizes — including T-shirts, coasters, backpacks, leatherbound editions of the original Michael Crichton-authored books upon which the films are based, and copies of the franchise’s films themselves, Wickham said.

He hopes to make Saturday’s event an annual one, maybe even one that can branch out nationwide.