Elmwood Park Zoo is set to unveil a large addition to its exhibit collection when they debut Dwayne “The Brach” Johnson, a 65 foot long, 35 foot tall Brachiosaurus. Dwayne will be officially available to greet the public on Friday, July 19, beginning at 10:00 am.
The lifelike robot is the creation of Dino Don, Inc., a Media, PA-based firm responsible for state of the art dinosaur exhibits that are on display throughout the world. The Brachiosaurus that they’ve installed in the zoo’s former capybara pond swings his neck and moves his head while emitting a roar that is similar to the ones heard from the dinos running amok in the Jurassic Park films.
The zoo held a contest to name the dinosaur, with people asked to vote on their favorite name from a list that included “Zacheosaurus,” and “Bracha Lee.” Dwayne “The Brach” Johnson ran away with the vote, garnering nearly 30% of all 1,300 online respondents.
In addition to Dwayne, guests will see a smaller Velociraptor robot positioned on the banks of the pond that also moves and makes noise. The zoo has also created a dig pit for children to uncover bones and artifacts like their favorite paleontologists, and a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex head will be on hand for unique photo ops.
Elmwood Park Zoo’s dinosaur exhibit will be on display through Labor Day. The exhibit is free to view with paid zoo admission. A 50% off admission discount and other savings are available between 2 and 5 pm on weekdays only. More information is available at elmwoodparkzoo.org.