Life finds a way…
Birmingham is getting a taste of the Jurassic Park experience with a touch more mechanical puppetry and a lot less life-threatening peril. Giant animatronic dinosaurs are set to pop up among the wilderness at the city’s botanical gardens, brought to life by robotic movements and realistic sound effects. The aptly-named Jurassic Encounters will be available to visit from October 23rd until November 7th.
Make sure to keep your kids close and steel your nerves. A winding path will lead you through trees laced with bluebells and primroses, but don’t let the pretty nature fool you; there are all manner of treacherous creatures lurking in the undergrowth. On your walk you’ll encounter everything from an 18-metre tall T-Rex, complete with a swaying tail and rumbling breaths, to a towering brachiosaurus steadfastly guarding her eggs. You’ll find yourself mumbling ‘clever girl’ as you pass fighting raptors and craning your neck to spot the screeching pterodactyls among the trees.
While the adults channel their inner Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill and Laura Dern), children will think they have wandered into a dinosaur dream world. The experience features 50 dinosaurs from the Jurassic, Triassic and Cretaceous periods, so any aspiring young palaeontologists are sure to find their favourite among them. Don’t forget your camera either, there are sure to be no shortage of selfie opportunities when the kids clamber into the (thankfully toothless) T-Rex mouth.
As well the prehistoric creatures, the verdant grounds of Birmingham Botanical Gardens are home to all sorts of fascinating flora, fauna and wildlife. Once you’re done with the Jurassic Encounter it won’t take much convincing to steer your kids to the Butterfly House, filled with tropical butterflies from as far as the Philippines, or play hide and seek in the natural labyrinth of the Bamboo Maze. You can find more information and tickets here.