Eyes blink, tails swish, hands move, and children watch as the past briefly comes to life in front of them. Equal parts science and theater, the exhibit allows the ever popular dinosaur to share a space with a species that never even walked the earth at the same time. However, more than 65 million years can’t stand between mankind and our fascination with these giant lizards. 

The Dino Safari is one of the traveling exhibits located in the Spring’s Preserve’s Origen Museum. The dinosaurs were designed with the help of paleontologist Dr. Gregory Erickson and the Imagine team, an exhibition design company. The exhibit is the intersection of two sciences; the engineering of the animatronics themselves, and evolutionary paleoecology, bringing new meaning to biological mechanisms.  

Since the 1960s when Disney’s first animatronics entered the scene, visitors to theme parks, museums, and other attractions, have found themselves taken in by these cleverly animated robotic sculptures. Animatronics often make us think of theme parks, of pulse-pounding rides or uncanny human faces, but they’re also a staple of museums. 

There are more than a dozen dinosaurs to view, and they range from tiny to towering. Projectors give context to the regions each dinosaur came from, and speakers give visitors a taste of the roars and strange calls that were the birdsong of the prehistoric kingdom. 

For fans of the feathered dinosaur, the exhibit also features some of the softer members of the dinosaur family, although petting is still discouraged. It’s an immersive but accessible exhibit, with staff knowledgeable on quiet spaces, sensory needs, and more. 

“There’s the sounds the dinosaurs are making, but the general noise level is mild.”  a staff member at the Springs Preserve said, referring to the animatronic’s steady vocalisations heard throughout the experience. “There’s an animal habitat in the outdoor area as well.”

Outside, the modern relatives of these extinct giants rest in their habitats, lounging in the Vegas summer heat, including the California King snake and Great Basin Gopher snake.

A Great Basin gopher snake coils in its habitat at Springs Preserve in Las Vegas on Aug. 9, 2026.  Kelsey Willliams.

Other dinosaur related events at the Springs Preserve have included 2024’s Dinosaur Explorer, and Dinosaur Discovery Day. 

The Dino Safari exhibit is included with general admission to the Springs Preserve

and is open now through October 5th.