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Dinosaur Encounters | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Hunter the T. rex puppet, part of the Dinosaur Encounters program, gives an up-close greeting to a visitor.
Dinosaurs on the Loose!
Witness Dinosaur Encounters Thursday-Sunday in the North American Mammal Hall, Level 2.
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Dinosaur Encounters Sponsor
Support for Dinosaur Encounters is provided by Bank of America
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Hop, Slither and Stalk!
Move, think and behave like an animal in our interactive giant puppet shows. Learn more >
Who's in the Puppets?
What does it take to be a dinosaur? Meet our Performing Artist Staff. Learn More
How Do They Work?
It took a team of scientists and artists to bring our dinosaurs back from the dead.
Go Behind the Scenes
Dinosaur Encounters
Watch as dinosaurs come to life! Our realistic T. rex and Triceratops large-scale puppets capture the imaginations of audiences in performances throughout each week. Thanks to the expertise of NHM's paleontologists and puppeteers, you can experience how these prehistoric animals lived. Our team of performance artists will guide you back in time to better understand dinosaur anatomy, possible behavior and movement.
"Hunter" the T. rex
Hunter is a life-like full body puppet based on the juvenile specimen in the T. rex growth series on view in the new Dinosaur Hall.
Covering Hunter are proto-feathers. Dinosaurs and birds share a common ancestor, and it has been hypothesized that a juvenile T. rex may have had downy feathers to keep warm. As an apex predator, Hunter is always on the lookout for a good meal.
"Dakota" the Triceratops
Dakota is a realistic large-scale puppet of a juvenile triceratops specimen. She is named after the great state of South Dakota where Triceratops is the state fossil.
How do the puppets work? How do they move and roar?
Go behind the scenes and learn how our puppeteers bring these costumes to life.
Who operates the puppets?
Get to know our Performing Arts staff
Appearances and Videos
Hunter the T. rex can be seen on the prowl throughout Los Angeles!
He has been spotted at NHM's First Fridays, the L.A. County Fair, the Grove, “Good Morning America," and on the field with the L.A. Galaxy.
Watch a behind the scenes video of how the Dinosaur Encounters program was created. The video features our Dinosaur Institute Director, Dr. Luis Chiappe, our Education staff, and the artists that bring our puppets to life.
Catch a few clips of him on NBC:
NBC News Channel 4
NBC LA Around Town
Check out Dinosaur Encounters on YouTube. Be sure to post your own encounter!
NHMLA YouTube Channel
Program Accolades
National Endowment for the Arts
In recognition for innovative cross-disciplinary arts programing, our Museum was one of the featured organizations on the NEA's Facebook page for the 2011 National Arts and Humanties month.
American Association of Museums
Dinosaur Encounters was honored to be a part of the American Association of Museum’s 2009 EdCom’s Marketplace of Ideas for exemplifying what makes museum exhibits real, responsive, and reactive for the visitor. Watch how our innovated program was created here. The video features our Dinosaur Institute Director, Dr. Luis Chiappe, our Education staff, and the artists that bring our puppets to life.
For Teachers
Our interactive performing arts programs satisfy many of the California Visual and Performing Arts Standards for grades Pre-K through 2, using a combination of theater and kinesthetic lesson plans. Click here for details of how to make the most of your field trip to NHM by being sure to include a stop at Dinosaur Encounters or a Hop, Slither, and Stalk presentation.