But Lois Tomuri said the dinosaurs at Wingatui were better because they were bigger and louder, and they were not locked in a retirement village.
"The locals are probably quite used to having dinosaurs in Mosgiel, but not at the racecourse."
The Amazing Dinosaur Discovery co-ordinator, also known as Professor Dino, said about 600 people of all ages roamed around the Otago Racing Club grounds, exploring the prehistoric ages and more than 30 life-sized robotic dinosaurs, made of metal reinforcing rods, sculpted foam, pantyhose and latex, with dozens of tiny electric motors inside that could make them appear as though they were wagging their tails, breathing, blinking, walking, chewing and roaring.
"Some of the children are frightened to start off with, but by the time they’re finished looking around, they’re loving it and they don’t want to leave.
"It was the kids that were dragging their parents around.
"The kids are fascinated by them — they’re really brilliant, and a lot of them know more than what I do about dinosaurs.
"Some of the parents that come into the learning lab where I work, they are pretty amazed with some of the information and they go out saying, ‘wow, we didn’t know that’.
"So it’s educational for all ages really."
Crowd favourites were the Tyrannosaurus rex, the Brachiosaurus with its 12m-long neck and the raptors.
There was also a Dino-mite Playground, fossil panning, a learning lab and rides.
She said the Hamilton/Auckland-based show was travelling around the country.
The dinosaurs would be packed on to several large trucks and moved to the Kensington Oval in Dunedin today, where they would stay for the next two weeks.
