Jurassic Quest set to make ‘jaws drop’ for local dinosaur fans
If your love of dinosaurs burns like that of the fictional paleontologist Ross Geller of “Friends,” the chance to walk among some of nature’s most awe-inspiring reptiles may not have passed you by millions of years ago.
A grand scientific adventure awaits those who seek it at Jurassic Quest, a touring dinosaur exhibit that will migrate to Orange County next week.
Jurassic Quest will take over the Anaheim Convention Center from Dec. 28 to Jan. 1, ushering in a new year — if not a new age — for budding scientists in the area. Those interested can view a full schedule and tickets at jurassicquest.com. Admission is free for children under age 2.
Anaheim, of course, is no stranger to the dinosaur scene, as the Disneyland Railroad that transports guests around the park notably gives guests a glimpse of the Primeval World before pulling into Main Street Station.
While discussion topics such as the breaking up of Pangea and when dinosaurs roamed the Earth are far from an exact science, the whereabouts of the Jurassic Quest tour are known down to the time and place.
It will appear locally at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa from Feb. 23 through 25. Other stops in Southern California include the Del Mar Fairgrounds from Jan. 19 through 21, the Ventura County Fairgrounds from Feb. 2 through 4 and the Pomona Fairplex from Feb. 9 through 11.
Jurassic Quest promises to provide a closer look at the prehistoric favorites, with hands-on activities such as fossil digs and the ability for children of a certain age to ride on the back of an animatronic dinosaur.
“The exhibit, obviously, every family spends a lot of time there,” said Amanda Gableman, vice president of brand and experience for Family Quest Entertainment. “Depending on the degree of passion for dinosaurs, we have families that might spend an hour in the exhibit. We have families that might race through the exhibit to get to something that is more interactive like our fossil experience, like our raptor training experience.
“New to the tour this year, we’ve added a raptor run where you can race and see what your speed is, as compared to what a dinosaur’s speed might be. We have meet-and-greets with our baby dinosaurs.”
An informational video tour featuring Jurassic Quest dinosaur trainers Dino Dustin, Park Ranger Marty, Prehistoric Nick and Safari Sarah will also provide new content for guests as they navigate through the exhibit.
Now celebrating its 10th year, Jurassic Quest has expanded since its inception to have three touring exhibits throughout North America. It has braved all threats to its extinction, including the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the show to adapt to a drive-through format.
It was necessary back then, but there is no replacement for the immersive, up-close experience that being back indoors brings, Gableman said.
“That dedication to reality is that difference-maker, and especially with extremely small children, you want to give them the opportunity to feel like they’re really there,” Gableman said. “We were thrilled to be able to share the experience with families at a time where nobody knew if they would be able to attend events like this anymore, but there was definitely something missing without the lights and the sounds and the movement, and [with] that degree of separation that the car window provides.”
Marty Hoffman, otherwise known as the personality Park Ranger Marty on the tour, is not so unlike the dinosaur enthusiasts who had their obsession nurtured through cinema selections such as “Jurassic Park,” “The Land Before Time” and “Godzilla.” Hoffman said he grew up on “Land of the Lost,” the 1970s sci-fi television series.
“When I was in second grade, it wasn’t my homeroom teacher, but the teacher right next door for one six-week period would have her room decorated in dinosaur eggs, so I would always sneak over to that room so that she and I could talk about dinosaurs,” Hoffman recalled. “When I got into sixth grade, she actually had me come back and do a presentation about dinosaurs for her second-grade class.”
Hoffman explained that he has been “nerding out and talking about dinosaurs for a long time,” and he shared some thoughts on the value of entertainment in education. He described dinosaurs as a point of entry into science for kids.
“That’s the great thing about dinosaurs because, yeah, they’re cool, and they are entertaining, but they also are what I call a gateway science,” Hoffman said. “If your kid is into dinosaurs, whether they realize it or not, all of a sudden they’re learning about geology, they’re learning about biology, they’re even learning about astronomy, all these different things just because they think dinosaurs are cool.”
Between offerings like the informational video tour of the dinosaurs in its exhibit and the fossil experience, Hoffman indicated that Jurassic Quest can contribute to that interest. He added that a communication line is available to text questions to the dinosaur trainers that is monitored on show days. People have continued to message for months after attending the show, he said.
The Children’s Museum Houston has collaborated with Jurassic Quest in a programming partnership in providing a host site. With the tour’s use of life-sized dinosaurs in its installations, museum personnel feared that the gargantuan figures might not fit inside its halls.
“They brought this giant, almost life-sized T-Rex,” said Henry Yau, the director of communications for the museum. “It was very, very big.”
Yau referred to the activities provided by Jurassic Quest as an interaction that can “spark interest and curiosity in a child.”
Having watched families’ encounters with the dinosaurs, Yau added that the experience can provide jaw-dropping moments for its viewers.
“It’s like this ‘oh wow’ moment, because kids’ jaws drop, like, ‘Wow, this is intense,’” Yau said. “Of course, there are some kids that are a lot smaller who might be a little intimidated because of the size of these things, but it is a very, very authentic, I would say, experience.”
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