Dino Safari opens at NC State Fairgrounds

The Dino Safari, a completely drive through experience, runs through March 7 and includes 40 giant robotic dinosaurs.

Posted 7:45 p.m. Feb 18, 2021 — Updated 10:38 p.m. Feb 18, 2021

Kathy Hanrahan, Out

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Dinosaurs have invaded the North Carolina State Fairgrounds.

The Dino Safari, a completely drive-through experience, runs through March 7 and includes 40 giant robotic dinosaurs. Tickets, which are sold in half-hour time slots, are $49.95 per regular-sized vehicle and $59.95 for vehicles that hold eight or more people.

The event was set to run through the end of February, but organizers on Thursday extended its run due to ticket demand.

The event opened Thursday amid wet weather. Dino Safari runs rain or shine and lighting helps illuminate the dinosaurs in the evening.

Upon entry, guests are given a ""survival pack" with a passport to fictional Pangea National Park. The packs also include a scavenger hunt and crayons. There is also an audio tour, available in both English and Spanish, that you can play through your vehicle's audio system.

The tour, which lasts about 30 minutes, winds through the fairgrounds and includes stops in front of the moving dinosaurs. There is also a location where masked volunteers bring real dinosaur fossils up to your window.

The event was created with help from paleontologist Gregory Erickson, who received his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley and conducted post-doctoral research at Stanford University and Brown University before joining the faculty at Florida State University in Tallahassee, according to the event's website.

Dino Safari's hours are:

Mondays – Wednesdays, 3 p.m. – 8 p.m. (last ticket sold at 7:30 p.m.)

Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (last ticket sold at 8:30 p.m.)

Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (last ticket sold at 8:30 p.m.)

Weekend best bets: Drive-through dinosaur tour and explore Black history in Durham

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