Dino Safari brings 23 full-sized robotic dinosaurs to the Birmingham Zoo through November 1. The lineup includes a 40-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex and its baby, a 35-foot-tall Brachiosaurus, and a Triceratops described as roughly the size of a food truck.
The exhibit opened March 4 and continues daily except Mondays and Tuesdays, unless those days fall on a major holiday, according to birminghamzoo.com. Dino Safari is included with regular zoo admission, meaning visitors do not need a separate ticket to walk among the animatronic creatures scattered throughout the grounds. As Bham Now reports, the dinosaurs move, breathe and roar in ways designed to appeal to guests of all ages.
Nests, a Fossil Pit and a Photo-Ready T. Rex
The walk-through includes two dinosaur nests: one with three Oviraptor babies and another with five Maiasaura hatchlings. Visitors can also try an 8-by-8-foot fossil dig pit and visit a Tyrannosaurus rex photo area in the zoo’s Plaza.
Birmingham Zoo President and CEO Chris Pfefferkorn said the 23 dinosaurs were created under direct scientific supervision. The exhibit’s creator, Don Lessem, founded Dino Don, Inc., advised Steven Spielberg on Jurassic Park and led excavations and reconstructions of some of the world’s largest meat-eating and plant-eating dinosaurs from Patagonia.
An Extra-Cost VR Film Takes Visitors 65 Million Years Back
Dinosaur: Evolution, a virtual reality film offered for an additional charge, accompanies the walk-through exhibit. Set in the Hell Creek Formation at the end of the Cretaceous period, the film depicts feathered Dakota raptors and a Tyrannosaurus rex. It was created in collaboration with paleontologists, including Phillip Manning of the University of Manchester and Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, who narrates it.
ImMotion President and CEO Rod Findley said the film combines science and spectacle. ImMotion operates VR experiences in more than 125 locations worldwide. The exhibit presents the film and dinosaur displays as opportunities to consider evolution, extinction, humanity’s connection to life on Earth and modern climate challenges, alongside conservation messages.
The zoo’s year-round education programs
Dino Safari is a temporary exhibit, while the Birmingham Zoo’s Learning & Engagement page lists ZooSchool for Birmingham City Schools seventh graders and provides field-trip information for school groups. WVTM reported that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums recognized the zoo’s separate ZooSchool program with its 2019 Education Award at a September conference in New Orleans.
How Birmingham's Exhibit Compares to Oklahoma City's Version
Birmingham's Dino Safari isn't the only dinosaur exhibit to have appeared at a zoo. The Oklahoma City Zoo hosted its own DINO SAFARI in 2021, running through October 31, in a 6-acre pollinator garden, featuring 15 animatronic displays and eight skeleton replicas, according to visitokc.com. That version included a Tyrannosaurus rex, a woolly mammoth and a Tropeognathus with a 42-foot wingspan, but unlike Birmingham's model, it charged separate admission on top of general zoo entry — $5 per person for members and $6 for nonmembers, or a standalone day ticket for $31 per adult and $28 per child or senior.
Zoo visitors can also adopt a dinosaur, with their name displayed on the animal for the duration of the exhibit. The opportunity is aimed at companies, organizations and families; the zoo says an adopted dinosaur could be seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors before the exhibit ends. For details, contact adoption representative Kristin Martin at the Birmingham Zoo. With Dino Safari scheduled to close November 1, visitors have until then to see the exhibit.
