Walk among giants at DinosAlive
DINOSAUR fans still have a week left to walk among the prehistoric giants at the DinosAlive Exhibition at Baywest Mall.
In the Eastern Cape for the first time this year, the family-oriented dinosaur exhibition consists of 25 life-size animatronic dinosaurs. It ends its visit to Port Elizabeth on Sunday, January 7.
Its previous stop was East London. The travelling exhibition, valued at R5-million, takes about six days to set up and four days to break down before moving to its next venue.
The animatronic dinosaurs, made from synthetic foam and rubber, emit lifelike roars, blink their eyes and move their tails, giving a real sense of what these now extinct creatures were like.
Visitors to the expo also can enjoy the Dino Lab and a 20-minute educational movie. Children can ride an Apatosaurus, meet Timmy the baby dinosaur, play themed tablet games, get their faces painted like a dinosaur or dig for “fossils” in the excavation sand pit.
Souvenirs and gifts are also on sale at the on-site merchandise shop and there are “photo-eggs” where visitors can pose for pictures.
While it was great fun for children, organiser Etienne Schlechter of Expo Africa said the emphasis was on making it an informative and educational experience for visitors of all ages.
“Even if you aren’t that clued up on dinosaur trivia, there is ample information available all around the exhibition on information boards. These boards explain the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods in detail in a fun way,” Schlechter said.
“We try to make the experience just as fun for the adults as we do for the children, so we have aspects like the dino movie room and fossil display that the grown-ups can really get stuck into.
“Our animatronic dinosaurs are a hit across the board.”
(The DinosAlive Exhibition is in no way affiliated to the failed Dino Expo which was held in Nelson Mandela Bay in March.)
DinosAlive is open from 9am to 5pm daily. Tickets, at R75 per person, are at Computicket.