Farting, peeing dinosaurs come to the Manitoba Museum
World Giant Dinosaurs display runs until Sept. 4; Dinosaurs Alive! also returns to Assiniboine Park Zoo
Call it a different kind of greenhouse gas — dinosaur flatulence is on display in a new exhibit at the Manitoba Museum.
Then there's the dinosaur that pees.
The two are among a dozen robotic dinosaurs on display in the World Giant Dinosaurs Exhibit, which kicked off Thursday morning with an event featuring the exhibit's creator, "Dino" Don Lessem.
- Dinosaur flatulence may have led to global warming
- Dinosaurs arrive in Winnipeg for new Manitoba Museum exhibit
"We want to give the impression of every aspect of dinosaur life," Lessem said, adding there's discussion in the science community of the idea that dinosaur flatulence may have led to global warming.
"So there's a scientific point to all of this stuff, but really above all, have fun."
Lessem, who was an advisor to Steven Spielberg for the 1993 film Jurassic Park, said the Manitoba Museum's Alloway Hall was one of the few places big enough to house the exhibit and its enormous plant-eating sauropods and meat-eating T. rex.
He worked with a robot manufacturer to create the dinosaurs for the exhibit, which includes the Mamenchisaurus — a robot dinosaur that comes in at 66 feet long.
Following Thursday's press conference, Lessem was quick to point out these aren't your typical robotic dinosaurs.
He said the Protoceratops, the dinosaur that urinates on command, was built specifically for the exhibit.
'Like a water fountain'
"Imagine like a water fountain," he said, adding the press of a button makes the Protoceratops urinate into a pond that's filled with yellow food colouring.
As for the Dilophosaurus, the farting dinosaur, Lessem said for now it just makes noises when visitors walk by, but if the dinosaur is a hit, museum staff can install a smell cartridge that will let out a stink when guests pass.
"They're kind of testing out how offended people get," he said.
The Manitoba Museum isn't the only place in Winnipeg to get new dinosaurs.
The Assiniboine Park Zoo also unveiled the return of its Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit Thursday, which features 16 life-sized animatronic dinosaurs along a forested path in the zoo.
The newest dinosaur in the exhibit, which was an attraction at the zoo last year, is a 13-metre long Tylosaurus. The zoo said it's distinguished by its cylindrical snout which may have been used to ram and stun prey.
The zoo said a full-grown Tylosaurus was "invincible" in its environment to almost everything except disease and age.