The Dinosaur Petting Zoo

Photo by Diana House, shared via Flickr.

Erth Visual and Physical, an Australian company that creates all sorts of cool visual physical theater shows and events, has been touring with their "Dinosaur Petting Zoo" for the last couple of years. Having built their business mainly in Australia, they've also been branching out globally, having performed for the Sue 10 year anniversary at the Field Museum in Chicago as well as a visiting Ireland this summer. Being Australian, they prominently feature Laellynasaura and Minmi, part of the island continent's Mesozoic fauna. You can't thrill the kids on diminutive ornithischians alone, of course, so a "dwarf allosaur" and a tyrannosaur are featured as well, more heavily stylized than their small co-stars.


Photo by Mike Riversdale, shared via Flickr.


Photo by Merrigong Theater Co., shared via Flickr.

It's hard to predict what the rocks will produce, and I'm sure that had Erth had psychic powers, or developed the petting zoo just a year later, they would have loved to include a few more Aussie natives - namely, Wintonotitan, Australovenator, and Diamantinasaurus, three dinosaurs described in 2009 who would make for showy additions to the program. It seems that it's done well, so maybe they're developing new puppets as I type. The company's calendar doesn't indicate if there are more dates scheduled for the rest of the year, but here are some more photos of what to expect if you get the chance to see the show. Find out more at Erth's website and Youtube channel.