Life-size dinosaurs invade Leu Gardens
Connolly: “Dinosaur Invasion” exhibit returns for the first time since 2017.
Visitors to Leu Gardens might be surprised to see prehistoric creatures lurking behind tropical vegetation as “Dinosaur Invasion” returns to the 50-acre botanical oasis.
Of course, these aren’t living ancient beasts but realistic, lifesize re-creations of the reptiles that first roamed Earth more than 200 million years ago. The exhibit, open now through April 18, contains more than 20 dinosaurs ranging in size from 14 inches to a massive 33-foot Daspletosaurus, which is a cousin of the Tyrannosaurus rex.
The invasion first appeared in 2017 and is “back by popular demand,” bigger than last time, according to Robert Bowden, Leu Gardens executive director of 28 years.
“We know that there’s a specific group of people that visit botanical gardens and museums,” Bowden said. “But when we have exhibits like this ... we really increase the diversity of the type of people that come visit.”
Bowden said that dinosaurs can attract visitors of all ages, but they can help especially in reaching middle schoolers and high schoolers.
Fossil collector, paleontologist and artist Guy Darrough — someone who has created dinosaurs and toured with them for 25 years — crafted the exhibit with the help of paleoartists, who work to make these beasts look so lifelike.
“A lot of the [dinosaur exhibits] you see are those rubber robots. They move and they growl, but they don’t look as good as mine,” he said. “The paint jobs on mine are just way better than any other paint jobs out there.”
Darrough’s creations start off as foam bodies, each of which are coated in non-hardening clay and detailed as accurately as possible. Then, a mold is made to craft parts, which are painted and later assembled on site.
Within the gardens, dinosaurs have scales and eyes that pop, each featuring distinguishing details that give life to these creatures that went extinct millions of years ago. The dinosaurs are meant to serve as historically accurate replicas and all of them blend into an environment suited for them.
“We don’t want them standing out there by themselves, we want to make them look as realistic as we could,” Bowden said. “We take our role as being an educational institution pretty seriously. We’re not just bringing people in the door, we want people to learn something.”
Informational plaques are stationed next to each dinosaur habitat (there are 15 in total), which detail the reptile’s time period, anatomy, habitat, diet and other fun facts. A map will guide visitors to see these ancient creatures around the gardens.
The exhibit’s visitors may be surprised but curious to see and learn about less popular and smaller dinosaurs, Darrough said.
“I think everybody likes the big ones but they’ll be interested in the smaller ones, too,” he said. “Most people are thinking they’re going to see 50-footers and 20-footers and 30-footers all over the garden ... We have all varieties and sizes there to give the public an idea of what it was like.”
Darrough’s dinosaurs should provide educational opportunities while also allowing people to get out and enjoy the abundant fresh air at Leu Gardens.
“Everybody’s got cabin fever. It’s nice to be outside and looking at neat stuff, so it should work out,” Darrough said.
If you go
The exhibit is included with garden admission, which is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 4-17. Leu Gardens is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at 1920 N. Forest Ave. in Orlando. Special ticketed events include a kid’s dinosaur garden workshop and “Din-O-Night” flashlight tour after dark. For more information, call 407-246-2620 or visit leugardens.org.