ST. GEORGE – Dinosaurs have come back at the Dixie Convention Center. Jurassic Quest, a dinosaur exhibit with more than 50 life-size, realistic dinosaurs, opened Saturday and continues Sunday. The dinosaurs featured in the exhibit are animatronic, which means they move to imitate animals rather than robots.

(story continues below)

Videocast by Samantha Tommer, St. George News

As visitors walk into the exhibit, they are immediately greeted by life-size dinosaurs that imitate the sights and sounds of what it would feel like to live among the extinct creatures. Each dinosaur has a large sign by it, describing what the dinosaur is named and a timeline of when it roamed the Earth.

After visitors walk through the dinosaur exhibit, multiple activities are available for children. Many kids spent time playing in the dinosaur bounce house inflatables, riding dinosaurs, digging for fossils, making crafts with their parents and getting their faces painted.

Saturday was the first day a science table was added, giving children an additional educational experience.

“We are growing every day,” Danielle Arnold, Jurassic Quest assistant manager, said. “We are always looking for things to add to our show to make it better.”

Jurassic Quest is a family business based out of Houston, Texas, that has been open since September 2013. There are 24 employees that travel with the exhibit and six employees that work from Texas.

The exhibit has been booked all over the country but has recently traveled primarily in the Northwest. A majority of the dinosaurs were created at factories in Utah, Wyoming and Montana.

The setup and tear down for the exhibit is not an easy task. A team of 22 people handle the technical work of putting together the dinosaurs, landscaping, lighting and bounce houses.

Jurassic Quest is a weekend event that requires two setup days. Once the exhibit closes Sunday nights, the team begins the teardown to load trucks. On Monday, after the semitrucks are loaded, the crew travels to the next city where the exhibit has been booked. After the St. George show ends Sunday, the exhibit will travel to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

“We all have a good time,” crew member Kyle Warner said. “The ‘Dino Crew’ is what we call ourselves. We are like a family and we all help each other out as a team.”

Arnold and Warner each said they enjoy interacting with children at the exhibit and watching them enjoy their time while having an educational experience.

“I love working with kids and I always have since I was young,” Arnold said. “I love seeing the excitement on their faces. That’s what we do it for, the kids.”

Jurassic Quest continues at the Dixie Convention Center, 1835 Convention Center Dr., through Sunday. Sunday hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Event details

• When: Continues Sunday, June 8, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Where: Dixie Convention Center, 1835 Convention Center Dr., St. George
• Admission: $18 adults, $13 kids ages 2-12, $16 for military and senior citizens
• Website: Jurassic Quest

Related posts

• They’re back: St. George goes Jurassic
• TGIF weekend event guide
• Digging for dinos: Free Hanksville-Burpee Dinosaur Quarry tours

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.