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No Worries, the Dinosaurs won't Bite at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo

Credit John Smith/WAER News

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse is preparing to roll-out some prehistoric creatures that are coming back to life through animatronics.  The Exhibit known as “Dinosaur Invasion!” will run through the summer and kick off on May 25th.  Friends of the Zoo President Janet Agostini says the exhibit will represent the various classes of Dinosaurs.

“I think we’ve got 13.  We also have a baby dinosaur, a puppet, so, there’ll be many, many things… and a robotic dinosaur and a fossil dig.  As you might imagine, it has sand and allows the participants to dust off the bones as a paleontologist would in the research field.  So, it’s a  very complete exhibit for our guests.”

She adds that the dinosaurs are built with weather-resistant-skin and will have no problem being outside.  Zoo visitors can stop by and see them as they’re being set-up and tested.  Once the exhibit officially opens, visitors will have the opportunity to operate a T. Rex.

This dinosaur is taking a ride via forklift as crews from C&S Engineers find the perfect spot which is not always easy to find with these creatures.
Credit John Smith/WAER News
Friends of the Zoo President Janet Agostini.

“It’s robotic, so you can see the inner workings and has a control panel and all of our guests can operate a various portion of the T. Rex and see how it comes to light.” 

Agostini says the Friends of the Zoo thought that implementing the dinosaurs would be perfect because the zoo is charged with trying to save animals from extinction.

“We think that the dinosaurs were the far distant relatives to some of our bird species.  So, that again, allows us to have an educational opportunity to chat with our visitors about where this all comes (from) and how it all connects.”

You’ve probably seen drawings of dinosaurs with wings and we’re told one on display might have feathers.  The large scale animation came from Texas and are unloaded and set-up by locally by C & S Engineers.  They’ll be in action for 101 days starting May 25thClick here for more details.

John Smith has been waking up WAER listeners for a long time as our Local Co-Host of Morning Edition with timely news and information, working alongside student Sportscasters from the Newhouse School.