Cape Town - Beware the swish of T-Rex’s tail and steer clear of the snap of its teeth as you walk – or run – through the Days of the Dinosaur exhibition at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
The exhibition crew are hard at work, surrounded by crates, hatching eggs and dinosaurs of all sizes in preparation for the opening on Thursday Ju;y 31. It will run until August 20.
Many of the dinosaurs, 45 in total, have been set up in realistic habitats, with some still needing a lick of paint or limb re-attachment.
Once sensors have been placed, the dinosaurs will blink, breathe, growl and move their tails as people walk by.
The exhibition weighs more than 50 tons.
The exhibition takes six days of 12-hour shifts to set up and requires the services of 24 riggers, scaffolders, technicians and support staff. It includes a volcano with lava, a fog machine, two waterfalls, 439 plants, 267 lights, 57 sensors, 38 computers, 29 audio speakers, 25 000kg of shredded rubber resembling bark as ground cover, four 63-amp electrical distribution boxes and 3 000m of extension cord.
The dinosaurs and all the equipment needed to bring them to life travelled to South Africa from Spain in 11 con-tainers.
Everything needed for the exhibition, which originated in Argentina, travels from one country to the next with an expert team to take it apart and put it all back together again in the next host city.
Edmund Beukes, one of the organisers, said the towering Brachiosaurus was the favourite with children and a lot of adults
But a sign points out that Tyrannosaurus rex is “the most popular” dinosaur.
Beukes also pointed to two Velociraptors in attack mode, which tend to raise eyebrows. He said that when children asked what was happening, he would sometimes hear the occasional fib from parents saying “it’s just a baby” or “a small dinosaur playing”.
He said visitors would be taken through the Jurassic, Triassic and Cretaceous periods. Information boards in English and Afrikaans would highlight facts about each dinosaur.
The dinosaur experience takes about two hours, allowing time for children to dig for fossils, play on “dino rides”, watch a 3D movie or have their photograph taken on Tyrannosaurus rex or in a dinosaur egg.
Tickets are available from Computicket.
Cape Times