Animatronic dinosaurs make for a fascinating topic. Apart from the uses of the technology and arts to create these lifelike creatures, the movies have highlighted the terrors of these ancient beings and reminded us that the world was once a very scary place. Children and adults alike experience a thrill when they sight an animatronic dinosaur. Dinosaurs continue to be popular and attract attention, and today, there are numerous uses of animatronic dinosaurs, which we will explore.

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park began with a book of the same name. This was followed by two trilogies of movies directed by Steven Spielberg between 1993 and 2022. There were also two short movies released in 2019 and 2021. This is pretty intense to cram all these movies into two decades, but it goes to show how much of a hold dinosaurs have on the imaginations of young and old alike.

Stan Winston was hired by Spielberg to create the dinosaur models. Electric motors were used to power the metal skeletons, covered in latex skin. In some cases, more than twenty puppeteers were needed to get the dinosaurs to move.

How Animatronic Dinosaurs are Made

Computer-generated imagery was combined with animatronics to produce the lifelike animatronic T-Rex dinosaur, the rest of the dinosaurs, and other creatures in the movies that Spielberg directed. In the first movie, computer-generated imagery took up six minutes of the dinosaur action and nine minutes of animatronics. The entire movie lasted 127 minutes.

Animatronic dinosaurs are models of real dinosaurs. They are made very lifelike, using the available information that scientists have discovered and put together. Once fitted with a robotic device, an animatronic dinosaur can carry out movements and sounds just like a real dinosaur would, such as making a realistic roar or rolling its eyes. The best models are very good at getting this right. They rely on the electronic device providing as many true-to-life movements as possible.

How Kids Benefit from Learning About Dinosaurs

While the movies were short on scientific facts, such as the impossibility of creating dinosaurs from their DNA preserved in mosquito fossils, they can encourage a child to be imaginative and enhance their cognitive abilities. The movies are a good starting point to what is and isn't true about dinosaurs. It also enables them to think about impossibly long timespans and how we can learn about the past. Budding scientists learn concepts about the food chain and the methods used for classifying different plants and animals.

Where Animatronic Dinosaurs are Found

Theme parks are an ideal place to find animatronic dinosaurs. The park could be themed primarily around dinosaurs or have them as part of a bigger display, taking a scientific, historical, or biological context for the overall concept. Museums are also popular places to find them. Single animatronic dinosaurs often find their place in shopping malls to attract visitors, especially children, as this virtually guarantees that the family will have a meal and spend time there. Some people choose an animatronic dinosaur for the home.

Wherever they are found, animatronic dinosaurs continue to attract attention.