That point once more: One other zoo within the Netherlands has been dinosaurified! Beforehand I confirmed you the dinosaurs that got here to ZooParc Overloon, Dierenrijk and GaiaZoo. This time, it’s Ouwehands Dierenpark within the city of Rhenen that has been visited by creatures from thousands and thousands of years in the past. There’s a twist, although; whereas the earlier sights centered across the traditional fashions and animatronics, this attraction is a dinosaur-themed version of Ouwehands’ yearly Mild Nights winter occasion. Which means these dinosaurs are mild sculptures that mild up in the dead of night and switch the zoo right into a surreal, psychedelic nocturnal wonderland.
I’ve been to quite a few earlier editions of Mild Nights right here, themed to basic animals and to the underwater world. This one being themed to dinosaurs, in fact I’ve to share it with you. By the way, Ouwehands Zoo will quickly be, roughly, my employer. That signifies that this text will not be, strictly, a overview; you shouldn’t overview the place the place you’re employed. I’m simply displaying you the photographs and telling you what they’re from a customer’s perspective, and I’m going to attempt to not be pedantic. Despite the fact that being pedantic is like 60% of my complete character. Evening falls!
The zoo entrance has been became this tunnel of time. I couldn’t discover any info on who created these mild sculptures aside from a notice that they’re “hand-crafted by Chinese language artists”.
The doorway sq. has a ceratopsian and naturally a volcano, take a shot! There’s additionally a fireplace juggling present right here. The sculptures appear to be manufactured from some kind of tarp over a metallic body. with lights inside. They appear to be fairly sturdy; they’ll stand as much as some harsh climate. There was snow on our day trip.
Inside the guts of the zoo will be discovered a number of the large centerpieces. Right here’s an enormous blue T. rex mouth that you could stroll into. The spider net construction flaring out from behind its head is kind of curious and offers it a dragon-like vibe. The “raptor” appears to be principally primarily based on the quilled one from JP3.
This blue and yellow ceratopsian is a part of the identical tableau. It options on lots of the posters.
Subsequent to the large Rexy head is one other cluster of dinosaurs and vegetation.
Cryolophosaurus right here might be the deepest reduce at this attraction. The way it seems remains to be principally knowledgeable by Jurassic Park; it seems like it could match proper in amongst that bestiary.
Dilophosaurus advantages from being not primarily based on its JP-counterpart. It seems full-sized, its jawline is visibly primarily based on the actual factor and it doesn’t have the frill.
Right here’s our full-bodied T. rex. You may see the sculptors have gone wild with the colors on this one; it seems prefer it needs to be Spider-Man.
Talking of color: the sauropods on the dinosaur disco are all inexperienced. Since Sibbick made his Brachiosaurus inexperienced, that’s what sauropods are within the minds of us 90s children. This sauropod has a brachiosaur’s physique, however a diplodocid’s head. I believe the theropod right here may be meant to be Monolophosaurus? The hatchling is one other inevitable trope, although the sculptors have once more let their fantasies run free the place the color is worried.
After all, there’s additionally a few animatronics, additionally seemingly of Chinese language manufacture. They’re a success with the children (in fact, they roar with the JP sound impact) however I discover these loads much less attention-grabbing than the sunshine sculptures.
Feed me, Seymour. The flamboyant carnivorous plant has little to do with dinosaurs, and but it appears to slot in right here. The hallucinogenic world conjured up by these psychedelic sculptures is as soon as once more not an actual reflection of the mesozoic, however extra of a fantasy dinosaur world.
There’s additionally room for quite a few extant animals. Elephants, apes, pandas and reptiles, all of which have their residing, respiratory counterparts right here at this zoo. These massive iguanas specifically caught my eye as a result of, nicely, they remind me of the Crystal Palace Iguanodons.
One other very distinct ceratopsid. All ceratopsids listed here are named “Triceratops” on the indicators however that is clearly meant to be one thing like Styracosaurus. The pink pterosaur appears to be vaguely Ornitocheirus-like.
The most important single sculpture right here will not be of a dinosaur, however of a large spider you may stroll beneath. Arachnophobes beware! Imagine it or not, there are spiders on the market who’re really this brilliant blue and yellow.
Right here’s an enormous ornithopod, probably meant to be Camptosaurus because it has fingered palms with no thumb claw. Actually what actually makes the entire thing work isn’t just the dinosaurs, however all of the fantastical vegetation that give the dinosaurs some context, some setting. Complete displays are simply issues like large lillies or psychedelic gardens in all colors.
I wouldn’t care a lot for this raptor, for example, if it wasn’t surrounded by all this dreamlike foliage.
This was my favorite sculpture, a mosasaur consuming a smaller mosasaur, with a splash made of sunshine and surrounded by magical water vegetation and corals. I don’t a lot adore it for the depiction of extinct life, however for the nods to each classic palaeoart (which was all about sea monsters) and classic Asian artwork.
Oh no, it’s Spinosaurus! Transfer alongside, nothing to see right here.
The Ice Age animals get a nod too. They aren’t surrounded by vegetation, however by blocks of ice. The blue and pink ice crystals do make all of it really feel a bit magical.
Stegosaurus can also be right here.
When it comes to respectable depictions of dinosaurs, this Oviraptor might be pretty much as good as issues get right here. It’s feathered, and it’s even received these again feathers that Saurian’s Anzu has. Plus it’s nesting, which is a pleasant factor for Oviraptor to do. The arms and palms are a bit suspect. Oops. No reviewing! Simply impartial discription.
I admire how birdlike the eyes of Pachychephalosaurus look. Right here, you may see nicely the strategy to foliage, vegetation, flowers, every kind of vivid, vibrant and magical wanting flora. It makes these dinosaurs inhabit a fantasy world, which suggests they’ll type of get away with being lower than completely scientifically correct.
There’s only a magical environment to this whole occasion. Being right here at a zoo in the dead of night with all these surreal technicolor scenes actually does really feel like being transported to a different world. The snow helps too, the chilly not a lot. Right here’s one other mosasaur.
Scratch what I stated about Cryolophosaurus being the deepest reduce. Who’d anticipate to see Hallucigenia reproduced in mild sculpture type? This bizarre critter from the Burgess shale will not be even essentially the most hallucinogenic factor round right here…
…not when there’s a tree stuffed with ammonites close by!
One other inexperienced Brachiosaurus! This one doesn’t have as a lot flora surrounding it, simply two palms. Which means this one, which seems type of remoted, doesn’t hit the identical excessive notice as a number of the others.
That is in all probability the weirdest sculpture of the bunch. It’s a wholly fabricated model of an anglerfish. It has tusks outdoors of its mouth, and 4 eyes. As a result of this one is on an island solely reachable by stepping stones and I didn’t wish to threat getting myself moist within the freezing chilly, that is the most effective image I might get.
One other surreal scene: It’s a lit up tree stuffed with planets. That’s the way you get planets, they develop on bushes. Does this have something to do with dinosaurs, or broader ideas of deep time and the place of humanity in an enormous universe? I don’t actually thoughts, it seems cool.
And that’s it for our non-review of this surreal dive into deep time. It’s not simply the dinosaurs that make this occasion so cool. It’s the environment, the sensation of stepping right into a magical dream, the loving consideration to element, not simply on the sculptures themselves however within the broader approach the scenes are arrange and built-in with this zoo. There’s a purpose I’ve been going to the Mild Nights occasion at Ouwehands for 3 years straight now. The occasion was as a result of run till the top of January however it has now been prolonged into February and will be visited each Saturday till then. Subsequent yr, it would in all probability be again. There seemingly will likely be no dinosaurs, however there’s a great probability I’ll go once more.
