Walk with me
United Center dinosaur show gives sense of the time of the giants
The United Center is traveling back in time tonight, and being taken over not by basketball or hockey players, but by dinosaurs.
Fifteen of them are roaming the floor through Aug. 17 in the theatrical show "Walking with Dinosaurs - The Live Experience."
Danielle Gardner / Staff photographer
Danielle Gardner / Staff photographer
PHOTO GALLERY
• Baby T. Rex debuts
When: Aug. 7 to 17
Where: United Center, 1901 W. Madison St., Chicago
How much? $24.50 to $74.50
Contact: dinosaurlive.com or ticketmaster.com or call 312-559-1212
But six kids from the Naperville Sunrise Rotary witnessed a preview of the prehistoric event when one dino made an appearance July 15.
And when 3-year-old Jackson Kerstin of Naperville saw the baby T. rex running and roaring at the crowd, his reaction was simply "Wow!"
The dinosaur he saw is the smallest among the giants that will re-enact the evolution and lifestyle of the prehistoric beasts for audiences in arenas across the nation.
Walking with Dinosaurs will be making its 20th stop in America when it entertains audiences at the United Center for 10 days. The show is based on a British Broadcasting Corporation documentary series of the same name that first aired in 1999.
And Jackson's reaction of "Wow!" is exactly what the show's producers are aiming for.
"We think people are more excited by it than scared," said Cameron Wenn, the show's resident director. "There's more of an intrigue factor than a running out of the arena fear factor."
But the T. rex brought many screams from the crowd when it greeted people by lunging at them and roaring in their faces.
Four of the six Naperville children ventured down the steps to get closer to the dino. Jackson's sister, 6-year-old Veronica Kerstin, got especially up close and personal with the baby T. rex.
"I got to touch him a little bit," Veronica said.
The dinosaur advanced up a few steps toward the children and roared in a surprisingly high-pitched, yet still threatening, tone. Its gestures sent the kids running back to their seats.
"It was scary," said 6-year-old Chloe Tsao of Naperville, after she sat back down.
Her sister, 9-year-old Olivia Tsao, also thought the T. rex was scary. But after it left the crowd, she wanted to know more.
The kids in attendance, and a few adults too, quickly came up with questions for Wenn about how the show works and why the dinosaurs seem so real.
"There's such a mystery with dinosaurs," said Georgina Kerstin, Jackson and Veronica's mother. "The kids play with them and learn about them, and I think this shows more of a realistic experience versus Jurassic Park and movies that, I don't want to say glorify (dinosaurs), but are a little over the top."
The show is supposed to be an entertaining and informative experience that families can enjoy together, Wenn said.
Facts about the dinosaurs' eating and living habits are presented within the plot of the show, which lasts 96 minutes. Also during the show, the dinosaurs will interact with each other by hunting and fighting as they did in prehistoric times.
"The show is appealing on many levels," Wenn said. "Adults find different things in the show than kids do."
Kids are impressed by the realism of the dinosaurs, while adults focus more on the show's historical facts about the animals' lives, Wenn said.
Chloe asked the question on a lot of kids' minds - "Are they real?"
The dinosaurs are not real, but if children leave the arena thinking they witnessed a group of real prehistoric beasts, Wenn said the show has succeeded.
All 15 dinosaurs used in the show were built within a one-year span. Each large dinosaur is made of about 1.6 tons of material, including 1,094 yards of cable, 971 feet of fabric, 433 feet of hydraulic hose, 433 feet of foam, 53 gallons of paint and six roller blade wheels.
The wheels allow a person on a go-kart like vehicle hidden underneath the dinosaur's skin to drive it across the arena floor. Two puppeteers standing in the arena control tail and head movements.
But the baby T. rex is not quite so mechanical. It is one of five smaller animals operated by a performer in a suit. At seven feet tall and 14 feet from nose to tail, the costume is more manageable than the show's largest creature, the 36-foot-tall, 56-foot-long adult brachiosaurus.
The Kerstin and Tsao kids have already gotten closer to one dinosaur than most who attend the show will be able to, but Georgina said they still plan to experience the entire program tonight on opening night.
"This is the first time my kids have been to a big arena like this," she said. "We're going to come to opening night, and we're very excited."
