Dinosaurs once roamed the Strip. We’re not referring to Piff the Magic Dragon or the once-abundant loungeus lizardus. It can’t be determined for sure which species were native to Nevada, but paleontologists believe the Tyrannosaurus rex may have stomped around the area where Las Vegas Boulevard South now intersects with Flamingo Road.
Photo by: Christopher DeVargas
Of course, that was hundreds of millions of years ago, long before construction was started on the first casino on the Strip. It wasn’t until Dino Safari: A Walk Thru Adventure opened its doors inside the Horseshoe Las Vegas that T. rex and company would be sighted on the Strip again, albeit in animatronic fashion.
Located next to the Cabinet of Curiosities speakeasy and presented by Imagine Exhibitions, Dino Safari is a multiroom educational adventure curated by senior scientific advisor Dr. Gregory Erickson. The paleobiologist on the faculty at Florida State University is a T. rex expert and has co-named a handful of dinosaurs, including the fully feathered Guanlong, miniature four-winged gliding raptor Anchiornis and polar region-inhabiting duck-billed Ugrunaaluk.
Dino Safari takes visitors back in time to when the Earth was one big land mass. The supercontinent Pangea would break up and evolve into the continents we recognize today, but dinosaurs would be the first apex inhabitants of Antarctica. It was warmer then, with lush vegetation for the Hadrosaur to sink its 1,400 teeth into. Growing up to 35 feet long, it’s the first big lizard encountered in the journey.
Photo by: Christopher DeVargas
Now, Dino Safari’s exhibits are not real dinosaurs, and they can’t walk away from their stations. Sometimes they can get a little close, though, and should one become too preoccupied with capturing bipeds Herrerasaurus or Leaellynasaura in their simulated natural habitat with cell phone cameras for social media posterity, they might just make you jump back a step when they move.
The larger specimens are more awe-inspiring when they stir and turn their heads, with a roar that’s not too loud to terrify toddlers. Their older siblings get to stick their hands in boxes to guess what kind of fossil is inside before opening lid to see if they guessed correctly. A nearby dinosaur serves as a slide—adults not allowed.
Adults who want to learn about large reptiles will not be disappointed. Dino Safari is that rare attraction that legitimately informs as well as entertains. Who can forget an encounter with humongous carnivore Spinosaurus, the armored Kentrosaurus or the Camarasaurus supremus?
The exhibit identifies Nevada connections as well, such as when Dr. Erickson’s students stumbled upon a dinosaur skeleton while visiting the Valley of Fire State Park northeast of Las Vegas. Look out for the exhibit that displays the thumb-spiked herbivore that left bones and teeth behind.
Dino Safari will make lasting impressions with its exhibits dedicated to species that made footprints in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas. T. rex appears again at the climax, so save phone space for the toothiest critters to ever stay in Vegas.
Horseshoe Las Vegas. dinosafari.com
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