Dinosaur Costumes & Puppets

A costume has one constraint that overrides everything else: a person has to wear it. Weight, ventilation and visibility decide whether a performer lasts twenty minutes or two hours, and no amount of sculpting detail compensates for a suit that cannot be worn.

Our walking builds keep all-up weight under about 12 kg by carrying the head on a frame rather than on the performer's neck. The body uses a light internal structure with the skin stretched over it, and the venting runs from the shoulders up through the crown so heat leaves at the highest point.

Parades, Events and Meet-and-Greets

Three use patterns. A parade needs a costume that survives two kilometres of walking and looks right in photographs taken from three metres away. A meet-and-greet needs visibility and a wide field of view, because the performer is interacting with children at arm's length. An event booking needs the suit to go back in a crate and travel — which is a different structure from a permanent exhibit.

Two performers and a rotation are the practical minimum for a full day. We say that plainly because operators who ignore it end up with performers who stop performing at hour two.