Dinosaur Encounters | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Our T. rex puppet, part of the Dinosaur Encounters program, gives an up-close greeting to a visitor.
Meet the rest of the Dinosaur Institute Team!
There are a lot of people that help out in the Dinosaur Institute. Meet the rest of our family!
Dinosaurs on the Loose!
Witness Dinosaur Encounters Wednesday-Sunday in the North American Mammal Hall, Level 2.
Learn more >
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 Performance Artist Staff. Learn more >
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Have You Had a Dinosaur Encounter?
Wednesdays-Sundays 11:30 am, 1:30pm and 3:30 pm
In the North American Mammal Hall, Level 2. FREE with Museum admission.
Close enough to count teeth! One of the Natural History Museum's most inspiring and innovative programs is Dinosaur Encounters, a performance-based interpretive program that lets visitors get up close and personal with a realistic, life-sized juvenile T. rex. In 2008, the Natural History Museum commissioned a team of paleontologists, engineers, artists, and puppeteers to bring this prehistoric animal to life. Terror and laughter exist side by side as the puppet roars, stalks, and bellows through our halls. Our interpetive staff guide the audience through 20-minute presentations on this "animal," using the puppet to demonstrate theories on behavior and movement. More than 1,200 shows and 225,000 audience members later, this dinosaur puppet has quickly become a visitor favorite and has brought new excitement and wonder to the mystery of imagining just what these beasts may have looked like.
Dinosaur Topics
Our highly educated, well-trained Gallery Interpreters and Performance Artists have varying areas of interest and expertise, so they talk about many topics at Dinosaur Encounters. Each presentation is unique, even if you have seen a Dinosaur Encounter, each staff member will highlight a different subject. Discussion topics include the relationship between birds and dinosaurs, predator/prey theory, extinction, the process of paleontology, social behavioral theories, dinosaur anatomy and movement, and many more.
Walkabouts and Chance Appearances
T. rex sometimes appears in the halls of the Museum. He has also gone to the Grove, to First Fridays, "Good Morning America" and even the L.A. County Fair. You never know when one might come around the corner…
Dino Video
Seeing is believing! Here are video links to see our dinosaur puppets in action.
YouTube also has some fancy footage from some of our visitors. After your visit, be sure to post your own encounter!
American Association of Museums
Our Dinosaur Encounter program 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 our seven-minute video about how the program was created. It features our Dinosaur Institute Director, Dr. Luis Chiappe, our Education staff, and some of the artists that make our puppets come to life.
For Teachers
Our interactive performance art programs satisfy many of the California Visual and Performance 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.
Compare our performance art programs with the VAPA Standards.