McNish Reserve

Mimi the Muttaburrasaurus is a giant dinosaur that graces McNish Reserve in Yarraville. She was made by local artists and really is an impressive work of art. She is modelled on a species that lived in Australia 100 million years ago.

This dinosaur was created by the Medibank Community Grant program and kudos to them, what a great idea.

According to the PR release: "A range of play activities are integrated into the character, such as a slide in the tail, climbing grips and net that allows kids to actually climb up into the belly of the dinosaur. Once inside they can look out through the rib cage and hips. There are even drums and a voice tube from inside the neck out through the mouth allowing kids to imagine being the dinosaur. The result is a unique, inspiring playground rich, in both physical and creative play elements."

Sounds great, but I must add that the three eleven-year-olds I took lost interest after five minutes. The three- and five-year-olds lasted much longer and loved exploring through the belly of the beast.

The reserve is let down somewhat by the lack of anything else to do. Once you've explored the dinosaur, there's the green grass and not much else.

I've no doubt Mimi will be a huge hit regardless; she's a dinosaur after all. But it would be nice to see some shade and a few other play pieces to make the trip worthwhile for the whole family. And some fencing wouldn't go astray given the nearby creek.