The biggest zoo in Texas gets even bigger this spring with the opening of the Giants of the Jurassic exhibit. There will be more than 20 roaring, animatronic dinosaurs and the world-renowned, interactive theater puppet experience of Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo Live. It runs from April 1 through Sept. 7 at the Dallas Zoo.
“The Zoo’s newest attraction will be one of the most comprehensive dinosaur experiences in the country,” said Sean Greene, the Dallas Zoo’s vice president of guest experiences. “We’ve talked about this for many years at the Dallas Zoo, and now guests can experience a variety of prehistoric-themed programs that will really set Giants of the Jurassic apart from other dinosaur exhibits.”
Dinosaurs Come to Life
Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo Live will include Tyrannosaurus rex, Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus and baby, Orinthomimus, Amargasaurus and baby, six Compsognathus, Baryonyx, Quetzalcoatlus, Dilophosaurus and baby, Parasaurolophus and its nest, Triceratops, Megalosaurus, Carnotaurus and Coelophysis.
In addition, zoogoers can explore raised “dig box” and fossil boxes, operate a robotic Dimetrodon, put together a large wooden dinosaur skeleton, and say “cheese” with a very photogenic Tyrannosaurus rex. The exhibit will be spread across the area of ZooNorth known as Picnic Ridge, but renamed Raptor Ridge for the summer.
In the new DinoSOAR show, which runs several times a day Wednesdays-Sundays in the Wildlife Amphitheater, exotic animals help the zoo’s “paleontologist” search for fossils to complete a dinosaur skeleton. DinoSOAR includes unique birds, including an African crowned crane, trumpeter hornbill, Eurasian eagle owl, toco toucan and a bald eagle. And two new faces are Fred and Ginger, capybara siblings who weigh almost 100 pounds each. (Capybaras are the largest rodents in the world, and scientists believe they are distantly related to giant ground sloths that once grew to 20 feet long.) Another addition is Willow, an American beaver.
Dinosaurs also will be key elements of the zoo’s educational programs and summer camps, and special dinosaur-themed events and birthday parties will be available.
The special engagement of Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo Live will include special 30-minute shows four times a day, on Fridays through Tuesdays. The immensely popular, international experiential theatre production features a large-scale cast of dinosaur puppets brought to life by sophisticated design and presentation and puppet mastery.
The production, created in Australia, will feature an array of dinosaurs on a special stage, including the awesome Tyrannosaurus rex and the peaceful giant Triceratops, which was created by Erth uniquely for the North American tour. These lifelike recreations connect children to paleontology in a fun and informative setting, as guests meet a menagerie of insects, mammals and dinosaurs that once roamed the planet millions of years ago.
