It’s the best time of the year! Life-size, animatronic dinosaurs, including velociraptors, triceratopses, and tyrannosaurus rexes, have popped up throughout Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
The dinosaurs are part of the center’s annual “Dinos in the Wild” exhibit and are one of the city’s most fun summer activities, especially if you have kids or are a 31-year-old newsletter editor. 😉
🦖 How To See the Dinosaurs This Summer:
- The exhibit is open through Aug. 17.
- Your general admission ticket includes access to the dinosaurs. Tickets for kids start at $9 during the week and $12 on the weekend.
- If you’re a center member, you can see the dinosaurs for free.
- Through Aug. 31, the center is operating on summer hours, opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 3 p.m.
A pair of triceratopses! (Kelsey Bradshaw/City Cast Austin)
🦕 Our Tips for Your Visit:
- Go early! It is only getting hotter these days.
- Pack water, a hat, sunscreen, and wear comfortable walking shoes.
- Save the center’s dinosaur map on your phone before you go – the map you get at check-in does not include where the dinosaurs are.
- Arrive before 2 p.m. – the center stops selling tickets an hour before it closes.
- Head to the right after you enter toward the Luci and Ian Family Garden. This is where you’ll find the majority of the dinos.
- Note: You’ll likely hear the dinosaurs before you see them.
- This is the first year the dinosaur exhibit includes baby dinos! Prepare for cuteness.
- Don’t forget to bring a childlike sense of wonder!
📋 What Kinds of Dinosaurs You’ll See:
- Stegosaurus
- Dilophosaurus
- Velociraptor
- Tenontosaurus
- Deinonychus
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Triceratops
- Tyrannosaurus rex
- Troodon
- Parasaurolophus
A parasaurolophus. (Kelsey Bradshaw/City Cast Austin)
Plants that date back to when dinosaurs roamed Texas, including palmetto and river fern, surround the animatronic statues!
🤩 One Fun Fact To Go:
The dinosaurs were created by “Dino” Don Lessem, an advisor to the 1993 movie “Jurassic Park.” Lessem is also a dinosaur expert – the animatronic ones in Austin are the most scientifically accurate robotic dinosaurs ever made, according to Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
A velociraptor. (Kelsey Bradshaw/City Cast Austin)
