COLCHESTER Zoo's newest exhibit takes families through millions of years of natural history with exciting prehistoric giants and an area where children can try their hand at being a palaeontologist. 

The new Dinosaur Realm exhibit at Colchester Zoo, which opened in April, takes visitors down a trail surrounded by animatronic dinosaurs, mist sprays and realistic soundscapes.

It takes the place of the old Birds of Prey display area, where zoo staff worked hard transforming the once grassy field into a beautifully landscaped trail.

Echo: Horns - the Triceratops animatronic in the Dinosaur RealmHorns - the Triceratops animatronic in the Dinosaur Realm (Image: Newsquest)

Andy Moore, the director of science, education and training, worked with the zoo's groundskeepers to create the dinosaur exhibit.

He said: "I think the reason for having this as a new exhibit is to engage with young families to start that voyage of natural history.

"It's about a different angle on engaging people with different stories. We often forget that dinosaurs are still a part of the natural history of our planet.

"People of all ages engage with things like this and of course, when we use exhibits like this it starts to pique people’s interest.

"People’s interest in natural history often starts with dinosaurs and then that develops into all sorts of other areas of wildlife."

Echo: Bones - Andy Moore, the director of science, education and trainingBones - Andy Moore, the director of science, education and training (Image: Newsquest)

The exhibit is also eco-friendly and uses a special system to reduce the amount of electricity used.

Andy said: "It's a nice sustainable exhibit as it is all motion-operated. These devices pick up movement so the dinosaurs are not on all the time."

Echo: Roarsome - another one of the brilliant dinosaur animatronics Roarsome - another one of the brilliant dinosaur animatronics (Image: Tom Smith)

Project director Mel Dench said: "These dinosaurs were actually used in other events around the country previously so we purchased these and they are recycled.

"They have a new lease of life and we have just done them up a bit. This is another way of working towards the green zoo mission."

After experiencing the roaring dinosaurs, visitors can have a go at interactive games themed around palaeontology. 

Andy said: "We have a carbon dating simulator and a fossil database. We are using technology to support the learning experience in a fun and interactive way. 

"It is all about experiencing dinosaurs - people learn through experience."