Imagine a museum with the bells and whistles of a futuristic society, built back in the Cretaceous period. That's what DK Interactive'sDinosaur Hunterfeels like. Granite slabs roll back to reveal maps, a mightyMegalosaurhides in a crevasse, and foreboding ambient sound echoes through the vaulted halls. If you manage to excavate a dinosaur and bring it back to life, roars and heavy footfalls add to the tension. This virtual-reality CD-ROM could be retitled "Jurassic Park meets the Smithsonian."

Dinosaur fans will delight in the 50 different species in this virtual museum. Yes, you can findVelociraptorand T-rex here, but you can also find obscurities like the thick-skulledPachycephalosaurusand the horse-sized vegetarianPsittacosaurus. Each dinosaur display comes with an extremely handy audio pronunciation key, well-rendered illustrations, and handfuls of facts. Explorers move through the museum by clicking the cursor after it transforms into a directional arrow; folks who like to see the big picture can install a "you are here" map so they won't get lost.

Dedicated dinophiles should visit the Excavation Site and rebuild dinosaurs with missing bones. Be forewarned: paleontology isn't for the impatient. This virtual dig is nearly as slow moving and challenging as the real thing. But do stick with it, there's a payoff for the persistent. When you reassemble a dinosaur in this virtual world, it grows flesh, comes to life, and wanders the museum. In our house, we have yet to find out what happens when we addTyrannosaurusto theTriceratopswe already have roaming the halls. (Ages 8 and older) --Anne Erickson