The Oklahoma City Zoo Now Includes Dinosaurs?!

The Oklahoma City Zoo has been one of the state's leading facilities for wildlife conservation and studying animals thanks to their team of expert caretakers and staff members. Now, though, they're bringing a different kind of "animal science" for families to learn about.

Starting March 6, families will be able to explore and immerse themselves in a new dinosaur expedition at the OKC Zoo. Things might feel larger than life with the life-sized animatronics and wide range of children's dinosaur-themed rides.

The expedition will be up and running at the OKC Zoo until November 1, 2026.

New dinosaur expedition with life sized dinos, a VR experience, and more.

The new experience at the OKC Zoo doesn't just include a chance to see how the dinosaurs really would have looked like in real life, but also a chance to interact with a virtual reality experience.

The new storytelling VR experience, narrated by renown paleontologist Dr. Phillip Manning, uncovers how these apex predators and resilient survivors were wiped out an astroid impact.

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Dr. Dwight Lawton, OKC Zoo's Executive Director and CEO is ecstatic about what this exhibit will offer families, saying “By learning about the animals that used to roam the Earth and seeing the current wildlife in our care, we hope that guests are inspired to take conservation action.”

The closest relatives to dinosaurs still walk Oklahoma's grounds at the OKC Zoo.

Although dinosaurs are long gone, the Oklahom City Zoo still houses animals that share a distant common ancestor. Guests can find animals that have some sort of link to dinosaurs in the Raptor Ridge portion of the zoo.

Animals like the Andean condor share a direct evoluntionary link with dinosaurs like Velociraptors. The zoo is also home to komodo dragons, which have been described as "living fossils." Most people have never seen a cassowarie, which are also known as "dinosaur birds" with fierce claws and a helmet like structure on their head.

@speares.hassenger Funny cassowary#cassowarysound #dinosaur #funnyanimals#funnybirds #foryou ♬ original sound - Speares Hassenger

Apparently, many dinosaurs were thought to have that same structure on their head.

So this year, the OKC will offer experiences, both with fantasy and reality, for families to get a closer look at dinosaurs and their history. For more information about the expedition, ticket prices, and more, visit the zoo's website here.