Dinosaur Encounters
We look forward to returning in the new year.
Check back here for the 2025 schedule.
Date
Dinosaur Encounters is currently on hiatus.
We look forward to returning in the new year.
Check back here for the 2025 schedule.
Location
Tickets
Free for Members. Reservation required.
Have a dinosaur encounter with our engaging and fun live performance featuring NHM's life-size dinosaur puppets. Our large-scale, realistic T. rex and Triceratops puppets capture the imaginations of audiences in performances each week. Each show explores a different theme. Thanks to the expertise of NHM's paleontologists and puppeteers, you can experience how these prehistoric animals lived.
Learn more about on our all new Ocean Encounters show, which opens November 23 in the NHM Commons theater!
Marionette and full-suit dinosaur puppets!
Dakota gets lost following a playful dragonfly.
The show begins with a magic shadow puppetry performance that foreshadows the live-action drama.
Dakota calling for her family
Dakota and Hunter meet!
Dinosaur Encounters is family friendly, and each presentation is around 15 minutes long. The show is general admission, standing room only. ADA Accommodations Available. Please inquire with an associate upon arrival.
Meet our Dinosaurs
"HUNTER" THE T. REX
Hunter is a life-like full-body puppet based on the juvenile specimen in the T. rex growth series on view in the our Dinosaur Hall.
Covering Hunter are “proto-feathers.” Dinosaurs and birds share a common ancestor, and it has been hypothesized that a juvenile T. rex may have had downy feathers to keep warm. As an apex predator, Hunter is always on the lookout for a good meal.
"DAKOTA" THE TRICERATOPS
Dakota is a realistic large-scale puppet of a juvenile Triceratops specimen. She is named after the great state of South Dakota where Triceratops is the state fossil.
Please note these are not small hand puppets. The Museum's puppets are very large, realistic interpretations of wild animals. Please prepare small children accordingly.
Dinosaur Encounters Sensory-Friendly Show
Our sensory-friendly Dinosaur Encounters performance provides a warm welcome to guests who need a little less stimulating environment and the opportunity to move around during the show.
Dinosaur Encounters is sponsored by Superior Grocers.
