Visitors to the Brookfield Zoo this summer will probably see the lions, penguins and primates they expect, but they may be surprised to meet the zoo’s newest residents: dozens of life-sized dinosaur animatronics.
Ranging from a 65-foot-long brachiosaurus to a nest of hatching Edmontosaurus eggs, the animatronics were featured in a special “Dinos after Dark” event. The zoo saw nearly three thousand visitors over the course of the after-hours event on Saturday, July 11, from 6 to 9 p.m.
“One piece of having dinos here for the summer is helping people understand what is extinction, what are dinosaurs, what are species we want to save for the future,” said Kelsey Mauro, associate vice president of communications at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. “We want it to be fun, but we also want to educate people about dinosaurs and what used to live on our planet.”
Informational tours and so-called “Zoo Chats” with animal care specialists made up the educational components of the event. Meanwhile, zoo performers in realistic dinosaur costumes or holding baby dinosaur hand puppets interacted with guests.
The event was particularly popular among dinosaur-loving children, with unlimited Ferris wheel rides and dinosaur-themed games.
“My son loves dinosaurs, so I thought this would be a cool event to do with my kids, create memories, and then hang out at the zoo at night,” said Austin resident Sharlisa Brooks, who came to the zoo with her 2-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.
Maywood 12-year-old Tiago Jiminez, whose favorite dinosaur is a velociraptor, said he came to the event because dinosaurs are “in his heart.”
“My favorite part of the event has to be the Dino Don trip,” Jiminez said, referring to zoo tours conducted by Don Lessem, whose company, Dino Don, provided the larger-than-life dinosaur animatronics featured at the zoo. “I learned that the biggest dinosaur was an Argentinosaurus.”
While Dino Don’s 30-plus dinosaur animatronics will be at the zoo until Oct. 25, Lessem himself attended the Saturday night event to give educational tours. Originally a science journalist, Lessem has written books on dinosaurs, helped excavate dinosaur fossils, and served as an adviser on “Jurassic Park,” Steven Spielberg’s beloved 1993 dino flick.
Lessem emphasized “the sense of awe” young visitors see when facing a life-sized dinosaur, such as the 40-foot animatronic T. rex at the center of the zoo. To create the most realistic possible experience, Lessem’s animatronics move, breathe, roar, and more.
“We have here the only farting dinosaur in North America,” Lessem said. “It’s an ankylosaur, and we wired him up so that he not only makes noise out the front of his body, but out the other end of his body.”
Even a farting dinosaur is important for the event’s educational mission of showing guests realistic, scientifically accurate dinosaurs, which will be on display at the zoo through late October.
“Dinosaurs did that, so why not show everything they did,” Lessem said. “If we could figure out a way to get them to poop, I would do that too.”