Last weekend the Jurassic Quest exhibit came to our town’s Exposition Center (the fairgrounds), boasting true-to-life-size animatronic creatures and a host of activities aimed at entertaining all ages.  Some 80 life-scale dinosaurs from the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic eras populate the main exhibit hall, developed in consultation with paleontologists and featuring details like scales, fur and feathers (!) and emitting roars, chirps, clicks and squeals. In the darkened hall with dramatic uplighting and spotlights, tails whip back and forth and heads nod and dip, making for a lively experience. 

I eagerly observed my grandsons’ reaction to the presentation. Sean, at four and a half, balked at entering the hall at first, hanging back and looking pretty scared. After assurances from his mom that they would not eat him, that they were robots and not real, he warmed up pretty quickly and enjoyed exploring and running from one critter to the next. His little brother, James, at 18 months, seemed interested yet unfazed by it all.

A host of experiences offer plenty of hands-on and interactive activities. Older kids and adults can take a guided tour through the exhibit, with the guide sharing lots of information.   Plentiful signage provides information for those who prefer a self-guided experience, but the low lighting and occasionally crowded conditions make those a little harder to read. Science stations and craft tables allow one to make a plaster fossil cast, color or paint a paper dinosaur, even take part in a “fossil” dig in a large sand pit. Separate buildings offered the chance to interact with baby dinos (cleverly crafted hand puppets)    and walking, adolescent dinos (think Big Bird but in a T-Rex costume). I could see Sean was still not completely convinced the creatures weren’t real as he very cautiously reached out just a few fingers to graze their sides and then quickly draw back.

The open-air but covered rodeo arena held what seemed to be the biggest draw for the younger guests: about half a dozen bounce houses and toys, vaguely prehistoric in theme.    At least one was set aside and scaled for the 2-and-under set, which James thoroughly enjoyed, while the others held Sean’s full attention and let him expend some energy. Also sharing the space were dino rides. Remember those automated pony rides in front of the grocery store? Same idea, but these “ponies” were life-size, animatronic dinos with healthy roars and very sharp teeth.

After refueling with some ice cream at the concession booth, we made a final stop so Sean could drive the kid-sized Jeeps and ride some baby dinosaur vehicles (complete with dinosaur-spiked safety helmets).      We assiduously avoided the well-stocked gift shop, deciding the boys had enough toys already. Besides, when we checked in at the beginning, we learned our $20 ticket included a nice plastic toy dino for each boy, and they were perfectly happy with those.

The Jurassic Quest experience has several touring companies visiting cities across the country. If offers something for nearly everyone, from toddlers to adults (including a display of actual dinosaur fossils), and we found the admission price reasonable for the sophistication and extent of the exhibit.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor