SOUTH BEND — This weekend, South Bend's Century Center has been transported back in time a few centuries — or millennia — as Jurassic Quest's herd of dinosaur exhibits has migrated in.
Running from Oct. 4-6, the traveling dinosaur experience Jurassic Quest offers a variety of dino-themed attractions, featuring animatronic dinosaurs, inflatables, fossils and games. The exhibits are spread across several rooms and spaces within Century Center, with attractions for kids of all ages. Lifesize Dinosaur
Dino Trainer Lauren, a Jurassic Quest staff member, said the event includes "165 million years worth of dinosaur facts" and is perfect for kids aged 2-11, but there is something for anyone aged 2-100.
The Convention Hall has been transformed into an immersive, prehistoric world, the air filled with the roar of dinosaurs and the rumble of a volcano, as guests walk among towering, lifelike animatronic dinosaurs with informational cards beside each.
The hall also includes a gift shop, two bouncy houses, a table with fossils, ridable stationary dinosaurs and the "raptor training" experience, where attendees can meet a cast member dressed as a Utahraptor and become Junior Park Rangers.
Another staff member, Dino Trainer Suave, said his job includes training the Utahraptor to "make sure he's very nice and well behaved" for attendees. He said he and the other Dino Trainers also care for the baby dinosaurs, which are lifelike animatronic puppets, and make sure they have eaten all of their chicken nuggets — a surprising addition to the dino diet.
Dino Trainer Suave said they make sure to feed the dinosaurs ahead of time: "They're very friendly, they're very full, so no fingers lost."
Across the hall, the Discovery Ballroom includes a craft area, face painting, a "Tricera-tots" soft play area for younger children, walking dinosaur rides and a green screen for photos.
Downstairs, attendees can play several inflatable carnival games, drive kiddie-sized Jurassic jeeps and dig for fossils at the excavation station.
Dino Trainer Lauren said the event is educational as well as fun.
"Throughout our exhibit where the kids get to see the depictions of the dinosaurs, we have informational cards, so we advise everybody to read those cards and get to know the dinosaur that you're admiring," she said, adding that a "dino expert" is available at the fossil table to answer any questions future paleontologists might have.
Tickets are still available on Century Center's website or at the door.
Friday, Oct. 4 was the event's opening day in South Bend, and Dino Trainer Lauren said they expect to welcome around 5,000 attendees over the weekend, many of them young kids.
"It's a great exhibition, super fun experience. … Even to this day, every weekend is something different. You're never going to have the same group of people, but the reactions are always the same," she said. "That's what really gets me, the reactions on the kids' faces, because it's kind of like living out my childhood through them."
One young dinosaur enthusiast, 6-year-old Otto Barsic, was exploring the event with his family on Friday. He said his favorite attractions were the life-sized dinosaurs, specifically the velociraptor and T-Rex.
Barsic said he likes dinosaurs because "they eat meat, and they're also really cool creatures."
Another attendee, 7-year-old Evelyn Leake, said she had enjoyed the rideable dinosaurs.
"It's really cool how I can literally sit on it," she said.
Leake had also been to the fossil dig exhibit, where she had found four fossils.
Her favorite thing about dinosaurs? "They go, like, 'Roar!' And they have tiny hands, sometimes."
Animated Dragon Email South Bend Tribune staff reporter Rayleigh Deaton at rdeaton@gannett.com.