Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- Starting Memorial Day weekend, guests at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden will have a new attraction to enjoy.
It's a dinosaur exhibit, and News 19 got a sneak peek.
"It's a fun experience for people to come and enjoy, but also that reminder that there is something you can do for conservation, that extinction is reality, unfortunately, but there's something you can do to help," said Susan O'Cain, Communications Director at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.
Starting May 25, dinosaurs will come alive inside Riverbanks Zoo.
"I love fossils," said Baleigh Jean Holbrooks, a visitor of Riverbanks Zoo. "Dinosaurs are so cute, and I just want a pet dinosaur!"
At the front, you'll see a giant crate, showing visitors that a dinosaur has escaped.
"I was like Jurassic Park's coming!" exclaimed 10-year-old Maxwell Williamson. "Dinosaurs they're just cool. They're awesome. I love to see them. If I see a dinosaur, I'm just gonna go run up to it and say, 'Can I get a picture with it?'"
Children who we met today are fascinated by these prehistoric creatures. Dillon Hall, a Guest Engagement Lead at Riverbanks Zoo, introduced visitors to a dinosaur named Haddie.
"She's just a baby dinosaur," he explained to the children who stopped by. "But when she's an adult, she'll be the size of a school bus!"
"They're very fascinating creatures. Just like dragons!" said Williamson. "Dragons, they're just like a dinosaur, but they fly. Some dinosaurs, they mostly stay on the ground. They're just so exciting because they're so interesting!"
"Some of them are very, very sneaky like a spy," added Benjamin Hall, who was visiting Riverbanks with his family.
"I like dinosaurs because I like things that eat meat and that are really aggressive," explained Benjamin's brother, Jonathan.
Dino footprints will lead the way to the zoo's new exhibit. It's called Dinosaurs Around the World: The Great Outdoors.
"Not only is this a new and fun experience here at the zoo, but also it's a reminder that extinction is reality for many species in the wild. At Riverbanks, the core of our mission is conservation," said O'Cain. "We have several species here at Riverbanks. For instance, the Amur Tiger. They're about 400 of those animals remaining in the wild that we know of. The Western Lowland Gorilla, we know of about 100,000 of those animals still remaining in the wild."
25 realistic dinosaurs await, from the triceratops to the T-Rex.
Zoo officials say guests will traverse a primitive habitat while encountering some of the fiercest and most iconic dinosaurs—from the towering T-Rex to the spectacular Spinosaurus to the crested Crylophosaurus. Visitors can touch fossils and other archaeological relics, discover how dinosaurs lived and how, even today, these prehistoric creatures serve as ambassadors for some of the world's most threatened wildlife.
As you walk the exhibit, you can read about every creature you see.
"There are so many different things to think about and so many different ways to interpret them," said Hall. "They're really, really interesting animals, and I think that's what draws kids in. The curiosity of learning more about them."
The exhibit is an opportunity to connect with the past, while discovering the vital role we all play in protecting other species in the future.
"They're part of history and I like history," said Riverbanks Zoo visitor Meredith Hall.
The dinosaur exhibit opens at 9 a.m. Saturday. It will be at Riverbanks Zoo through October.
To get in, prices vary. It's $5 for the general public, $4 for individual and family-level members and $3 for explorer, patron and Gold-level members.
For more information, visit https://www.riverbanks.org/.