Dinosaur Zoo at Poole Lighthouse

A couple of weeks ago we saw the Hollywood Special Effects show at the Lighthouse, Poole and whilst we were there Isaac spotted a leaflet for Dinosaur Zoo and asked if we could go.

From cute baby dinos to teeth gnashing giants, we were promised to meet the zoo’s newest range of awesome jurassic creatures, including an Arctic Tryrannosaur, baby Triceratops and baby Parasaurolophus so who was I to say no to this request.

We arrived at the Lighthouse in torrential rain and a howling wind so were keen to get inside and seated in the warm. The set was decorated with hay bales and inflable plants and was lit up in an eerie green colour.

Presented by Aussie Shaun Morton the show started with a fun warm up for children and adults alike. The likeable performer had children eating out of his hands and threw in a few adult gags to keep us amused too.

Of course the show wouldn’t be a Dinosaur Zoo without the dinosaurs and this is a puppet-tastic kids’ show that had the kids leaping out of their seats with excitement and cowering in equal measure.

We were eased in gently meeting a baby Triceratops, baby Parasaurolophus and a baby T-Rex. Some children were invited on stage to meet them but Isaac and Eliza preferred the safety of our seats in the audience.

As the show went on we were introduced to more lifelike giant puppetry as well as aerial and flying creatures which flew over the entire audience, landing on raised hands (if you were brave enough) as they went around. The Dinosaurs somehow magically entraped all the children’s imagination, and the ‘dinosaurs’ on stage were shown to be as funny as they were frightening.

There was plenty of opportunity for audience participation and an impressive amount of children and adults were brave enough to go up on stage to meet the various dinosaurs as they came out. One very brave boy even put his head in a very realistic T-Rex’s mouth.

At 50 minutes long the show was the perfect length and afterwards the kids got to meet the giant T-Rex, which is strangely un-nerving up close, and the baby dinosaurs who came out for a cuddle with the audience.

I would highly recommend this show. If you have fearless beasts yourself then sit in then you can pay a little extra to sit in the first few rows and therefore more likely to be picked to go on stage. If you have slightly more cautious children then a few rows back is perfect.