Families on winter break will get a chance to walk among and play with the dinosaurs.
Jurassic Quest, a dinosaur-themed adventure playland, roars into the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont Dec. 28-Jan. 1, 2024. Guests can venture through the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods viewing and even ride lifelike dinosaurs. They will see live dinosaur shows, go on a fossil dig, and see real fossils like T-Rex teeth, a dino skull and a triceratops horn.
Hours are 1-8 p.m. Dec. 28, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 29-30, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Dec. 31 and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 1, 2024.
The Jurassic Quest herd of animatronic dinos are displayed in realistic scenes with some that move and roar. Guests can also meet the baby dinos hatched at Jurassic Quest — Cammie the Camarasaurus, Tyson the T-Rex and Trixie the Triceratops.
Nick Schaefer is a marketing and customer experience specialist with Jurassic Quest who creates educational online content and promotional material. He is also a dino trainer who goes by the stage name Prehistoric Nick. He’s been the Jurassic Quest for seven years.
“Jurassic Quest is North America’s largest touring animatronic dinosaur show,” he said. “We have over 165 animatronic dinosaur and prehistoric creatures as well as other activities like bounce houses, fossil digs, a display of real fossils and so much more.”
Most of the animatronic creatures are dinosaurs, he said.
“There are Quetzalcoatlus, which is a pterosaur or flying reptile,” he said. “It was discovered in the American southwest, so it was named after the Aztec serpent god, Quetzalcoatl.”
The Quetzalcoatlus was the largest flying animal in earth’s history with a wingspan of 36 feet. When walking upright it was the height of a giraffe, he said.
In addition to the dinosaurs, there will be crafts and other activities, as well as a “Triceratots” soft play area for toddlers.
The animatronic herd has expanded to include fan favorites the Utahraptor and Giganotosaurus, he said.
“We also have The Quest, which is a scavenger hunt in the exhibit,” he said. “The Quest is an opportunity to follow clues throughout our show. Once they have discovered all the clues … they can (turn in) their completed sheets and get a prize.”
Jurassic Quest is celebrating its 10th year and a new addition to the show this year is Raptor Run Races against Utahraptors.
“Our guests can time themselves to see how fast they are in comparison to a dinosaur,” he said.
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Then there’s the Rope-a-Raptor, where kids can try to lasso stray dinos to get them back to their pens.
There is a service called Dino 411, accessible via QR code, where kids can text Prehistoric Nick and other dino trainers to ask questions about dinosaurs.
“The amount of questions we get on a weekly basis is phenomenal,” he said.
He loves seeing the reactions when guests come in, he said.
“One of the most amazing things is watching people walk in and the look on kids’ faces when they first see the dinosaurs and the massive size of them,” he said.
“There’s a little something for everyone. I think kids get real excited about the rides and digs and bounce houses. Adults gravitate towards the fossil table. I’ve had people tell me the things they learned there were worth admission alone.”
As Prehistoric Nick, Schaefer doesn’t travel to every show but when he is on-site, he helps with the performers in raptor training sessions, he said. Or he’s at the fossil table answering questions or giving tours through the exhibit, walking through the time periods.
Guests in Rosemont will see him in welcome video tour, he said.
“One thing that I think is fascinating is that kids who love dinosaurs or have a long-standing fascination with … really anything, but dinosaurs are probably the most popular one — that is called a sustained interest,” he said.
“Kids with long-sustained interests tend to do better in STEM fields in school. To foster a love of dinosaurs at an early age is really fundamental towards helping a child’s growth in the science or engineering fields. Fostering a love of dinosaurs is really important to fostering a love of science.”
Jurassic Quest
When: Dec. 28-Jan. 1, 2024
Where: Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont
Tickets: $23-$43
Information: Jurassicquest.com
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.