Dinosaurs Claw into Red Deer to Reveal Who Battles Who

Dinosaurs Claw into Red Deer to Reveal Who Battles Who

April 30, 2019

Red Deer, Alberta – Roaring into Westerner Days Fair & Exhibition at Westerner Park from July 17-21, Dinosaurs Unearthed: Predator versus Prey exposes true life dinosaur confrontations and how we know it happened. The exhibition features 26 life-sized animatronics including a giraffe-sized pterosaur together with seven feathered dinosaurs and over 20 fossils.

The spotlight will certainly shine on the iconic duo of Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops as they face off in a scene of battle, but little-known species from around the world such as the enormous feathered Gigantoraptor, Alxasaurus and Ouranosaurus will also vie for attention.

“We are thrilled to be bringing the excitement of dinosaurs to Westerner Days”, says Westerner Park CEO, Bradley Williams. “This exhibition shows not only the awesome size of some of these magnificent creatures but also shows how paleontologists know who fought with who. There is real evidence left in the fossils, so for scientists, it’s sometimes like investigating a crime scene. With all the new tools and discoveries that are happening every day, and the rich heritage that we have right here in Alberta, we think it’s a fascinating time to introduce our Fair guests to palaeontology.”

Dinosaurs Unearthed: Predator versus Prey features numerous scenes of predation and attempted predation. Attempted, because the predator is not always the victor. A miscalculation could result in a painful wound from a thagomizer strike or a broken shoulder blade that would have been equal to the damage suffered in a high impact car crash. Explore the physical features that prey animals often possess to fight back with and those features that would have been useful for attracting the opposite sex. Specialized body parts also point to diet and survival during harsh conditions. Crocodile-like jaws indicate a predator whose main diet may have been fish, while a large hump may have stored nutrients for times when food was scarce.

Rich, snappy, colourful content provides the fascinating facts of life for each of these dinosaurs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous. For guests who want to get in on the action, the multiple hands-on interactives including gigantic skeleton puzzle walls, “touch fossils” and a dig table provide fun and, dare we say it, education for all. Did you know that the bones of dinosaurs are exactly the same names as the bones of humans?

Dinosaurs Unearthed: Predator versus Prey will be open at Westerner Park’s Exhibition Hall from July 17-21, 2019 during Westerner Days. Tickets for the exhibition are on sale May 1, 2019 at 10 AM.