Again, the detailing is stellar. A passageway resembling the underwater tunnel at the Ripley Aquarium in Myrtle Beach lets you see reproductions of animals that inhabited the prehistoric seas. Three paths, each about 8 feet wide, let you wander among the animals and vegetation. Here, terrariums and tanks are discreetly set into the walkways' sides and along the exhibit's outer edges. Within the display are animal specimens posed among artificial trees and other ground cover.
Reality is simulated right down to the last woodpecker hole.
About 13 feet tall and 40 feet long, it was just a tad shorter and lighter than the infamous tyrannosaurus rex that lumbered along 45 million years later. They circle overhead, all-bone scavengers, awaiting the kill. All this, while panels, maps and computer-simulation equipment nearby explains the scene, and the light system flashes like lightning and the speakers crackle with the sound of thunder and prehistoric roars. Three of the big four exhibits are multilevel affairs, the result of common sense as much as showmanship. The panes there act like a giant store window.