Continuity mistake: In the scenes where Ellie and Grant are flying to the Biosyn facility via helicopter - all the interior shots show them flying over a solid layer of clouds. However, in all the exterior shots of their flight, there is a not a cloud in sight.
Continuity mistake: Towards the end of the movie, Malcolm, Grant, Ellie, and Maisie are in a Jeep that tumbles down a hill. As it is tumbling, an impact extinguishes the headlights and interior lights. However, as the Jeep comes to rest at the bottom of the hill, the lights are back on. They remain on for all the following scenes. (01:44:53)
Continuity mistake: When the Atrociraptors are released, one of the cages is sideways, but in the next shot it's the right way up.
Continuity mistake: When Masie walks into her room and slams the door, making some items fall off the shelf, the remaining items differ when Claire goes to open the door a few seconds later. (00:27:20)
Continuity mistake: After Claire dives into the lake to avoid the dinosaur from spotting her, when she sticks her head out, her hairstyle changes between shots. (01:21:54)
Continuity mistake: When Ellie is talking to the farm owner, her position in relation to the tractor changes from the closeup to the long shot. She ends up further away. (00:19:10)
Continuity mistake: When Ellie is caressing the baby dinosaur, she has both hands on it's face. When the shot changes one hand is now on the concrete barrier. (00:25:00)
Continuity mistake: During the Jeep's roll-over down the hill, at least the front passenger tire was bent outward/damaged. (It looked like two tires flew off, but all four tires were still on when the Jeep landed on its roof.) The positions of the four tires varied a few times afterwards, from being straight to turned to the left to turned to the right and the tire that was bent outward appeared to be intact (not damaged). (01:44:52 - 01:47:32)
Continuity mistake: Alan had a large brown shoulder bag before he went into the building to listen to Ian's speech, but (like Ellie) did not have his shoulder bag when he got into the lecture hall or after exiting the building. (00:37:20 - 00:40:13)
Continuity mistake: Before Ellie went into the building to hear Ian's presentation, she was wearing a royal blue sleeveless coat over a brown long-sleeved blouse and had a large brown shoulder bag/purse. When Ellie entered the auditorium, as well as when she went outside after the presentation, she was not wearing the blue coat plus she now had a wallet-sized hand purse but no large shoulder purse. Even IF there was a coat check-in, Ellie would not have left her shoulder purse/bag behind. (00:37:06 - 00:40:13)
Continuity mistake: When Owen and Claire were sitting at the outside table talking to Franklin, the amount of water in their glasses changed a few times (but neither drank any). Side-rear views of Owen's glass tended to show it about half full, but front views varied from quite low to about two-thirds full. Front views also showed discrepancies in the amounts of water in Owen's and Claire's glasses, such as both about half-full but later Owen's glass two-thirds full and Claire's less than half full. (00:32:00 - 00:33:05)
Continuity mistake: In Malta, when Owen is told that Maisie is being sent to the lab, his hand is raised next to his ear. A shot later, it's lowered.
Continuity mistake: At Claire and Owen's mountain cabin, as they, and also Maisie, have been going up and down the snow-covered front stairs, there are no footprints left on the steps. It is only later that the snow looks somewhat disturbed.
Continuity mistake: When Owen wraps the rope around the tree stump, the position of the rope changes between shots. Note the gap between the ropes. (00:08:30)
Continuity mistake: Blue's baby was standing along her left side when Owen told Maisie to breathe. After a quick camera shift, the baby dinosaur was further back, standing on a log that was more perpendicular to Blue. There had not been any sound suggesting that the baby dinosaur had moved, but there were footstep sounds after the baby jumped off the log. (00:27:47)
Continuity mistake: When Owen latches on the parasaurolophus he stops it with a tree trunk. He loses grip on his rope, leaving just a small bit of rope. He then ties a longer piece around the trunk. (00:08:44)
Continuity mistake: Maisie set the front tire of her bike against the side railing of the steps to the cabin. It looked like it might have been sliding down when the camera shifted. Even if the bike did slide onto its side, it was at a different angle on the ground and too far away from where it had been propped. A little later when Owen and Claire where about to go up the stairs, the bike's rear tire was along the front of the steps, not side. (00:12:28 - 00:14:32)
Answer: The live dinosaurs are genetically tweaked recreations, they're not the "pure" dinosaurs of the past, which would still be of great interest. Plus just like any other archaeology or historical study, there's always more to be learned about the past, and a great many people are interested in what the past has to teach us.