A big dinosaur show reportedly headed here

Dinosaurs, barring a “Jurassic Park”-like genetic miracle, will never walk the Earth again. 

Yet they seem to do just that in “Walking with the Dinosaurs: The Live Experience.” This arena show, reportedly headed for St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, features full-sized dinosaur recreations that are part puppet, part robot. 

Xcel Center representatives are playing coy on the timing for any local version of the show, which has garnered rave reviews in other U.S. cities. A formal announcement of some sort is scheduled for April 8. 

But Twin Cities media outlets received a DVD with eye-popping footage of humans walking alongside giant reptiles in an unidentified arena.

See that video here (if you're subscribed to my podcast feed, it drops  into your iTunes for syncing to your iPod). Here's a YouTube version (also embedded below). The "April 8" cited in the video clip refers to the press announcement, not when the live show would debut for the public at the Xcel.

The show features 15 dinosaurs in all, representing 10 species. Examples include carnivores such as the Allosaurus and the Tyrannosaurus Rex (with its wee baby) along with other favorites such as the Stegosaurus and the Anklyosaurus. 

The show depicts the dinosaurs’ evolution and demise, complete with changes to the Earth’s surface and climate, in what is described as “almost cinematic realism.” 

The dinosaurs are said to weigh about as much as a family sedan. They incorporate hundreds of feet of foam, fabric and hydraulic hose, running off about a dozen truck batteries with about two dozen microprocessors to regulate a half-dozen hydraulic motors. They move on rollerblade wheels and typically require three people — a driver and two puppeteers — to operate. 

The dino tour, launched in July, will have hit about 60 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico by the end of this year. It plays next in Pennsylvania before moving to Massachusetts, Texas, South Carolina, Nebraska and New Hampshire through late April. 

The show, which had an earlier run in Australia, is based on an acclaimed BBC television series.