[twitter]Dinosaurs at a zoo. It’s an odd combination, but one that has existed at the Calgary Zoo for a number of years.

The north part of the complex has been home to a wonderful collection of life sized sculptures of dinosaurs from the different eras in Prehistoric Park. You walk back in time amongst the creatures in a real life setting to get a sense of the world they lived in, and their true size and shape. Dinosaurs are an important part of life in Alberta. We are home to the largest collection of Cretaceous Period fossils in the world, and all those dinosaur bones and bodies give us the rich oil deposits beneath our surface.

So dinosaurs have always been important in Alberta. Now, mix in some animatronics, and you get an idea of what Dinosaurs Alive at the Calgary Zoo is all about. Dinosaurs Alive was featured at the Calgary Zoo in 2010, and has been brought back this year.

18 dinosaurs from 16 species are scattered across the landscape and they come alive as you walk past, or have buttons where you can control their neck, tail, hands, and voice.

Zacharie and Charlie loved announcing the dinosaurs names and comparing the sounds they made, from the “Minecraft cow” sounds of the triceratops to the deep guttural roar of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

We really enjoyed Dinosaurs Alive at the Calgary Zoo, and you’ll have a chance to check it out until November 1, 2015. These robotic beasts don’t really like the cold. It’s a last gasp for Prehistoric Park which will be phased out by the Calgary Zoo over the next 5 years as it expands and brings in more live animals.

Life advice. #calgaryzoo #dinosaursalive #yyc #capturecalgary #dinosaurs #dadcamp

A photo posted by dadcamp (@dadcampgram) on Mar 22, 2015 at 11:13am PDT

It was odd to be back at the zoo today. I was really into it for a bit, even looking up details to have Zacharie’s birthday party at the Calgary Zoo. Odd, because I had said I wouldn’t take my kids to the zoo anymore. Today, however, I relented. The dinosaurs, the sunshine, second chances, made me want to go back.

It was fun for a while, but it was also still sad. I was having a good time seeing the penguins and the dinosaurs, and meerkating the meerkats with meerkat was very cool .. but after that? Giraffes and hippos in small areas and being indoors during winter didn’t add up. One solitary rhino longingly wandering a fence was .. sad.

Yes, the kids had fun, but even Zacharie, the animal lover, started to get a little upset. Animatronic dinosaurs ftw! Other big guys in small places, by themselves ftl. 🙁

How do you feel about zoos? Does the good outweigh the bad? Does it make you sad?