Philadelphia Zoo (3400 W. Girard Avenue) announces Big Time: Life in an Endangerous Age, a brand-new immersive multi-sensory experience featuring 24-life-size, animatronic dinosaurs that will transport guests back to when these giants roamed the Earth. Opening to the public on March 29, 2021, Big Time highlights some of history’s most powerful events, volcanic eruptions and asteroid strikes, that changed the atmosphere, the level of the seas, the temperature of the earth, even the amount of sunlight on the planet. As a result of these catastrophes, some creatures had the time to adapt, and others did not, dying off forever. Through evocative landscapes, realistic settings, immersive sounds and life-like giants, Big Time takes guests through the Age of Dinosaurs through to present day, showing what life was like and the challenges faced when these amazons walked the planet. Big Time will open to members for a preview from Thursday, March 25th to Sunday, March 28th. Big Time opens to the general public on Monday, March 29th through September 30th. Reservations are available for Big Time starting on February 17th at Noon. All reservations should be made online at www.PhiladelphiaZoo.org. Attendance will be capped to ensure a wonderful, safe experience, don’t wait to reserve your visit now. Tickets are the cost of General Zoo Admission $24 for ages 12+ and $19 for ages 2-11, children under 2 are free, plus entrance for Big Time $6 (adults and children ages 2+). Members enjoy free admission to the Zoo with advance reservation and save on BIG TIME tickets.

“We are very happy to welcome guests to the Zoo, to experience BIG TIME, a tailor-made adventure immersing guests in the world of history’s most impressive behemoths, taking them through cataclysmic events, highlighting threatened animal species today and providing ways to help enact change,” said Philadelphia Zoo’s President & CEO Vikram H. Dewan. “Big Time is a dynamic experience that will stimulate the senses and transport guests back in time to walk among dinosaurs like the mighty T.Rex, puts them face-to-face with an enormous Woolly Mammoth, and side-by-side with a life-sized polar bear, elephant and Sumatran rhino – incredible!”

When Big Time opens, the first stop for guests will be Volcano Vapors, where smoldering rocks, rivers of molten lava and clouds of acidic ash set the scene detailing the searing changes that effected dinosaurs forever. Volcano Vapers will highlight the erupting volcanoes that spouted masses of magma and toxic gases, wiping out most living things, enabling dinosaurs to evolve and take over. While discovering Volcano Vapers, guests encounter the 98-foot-long, 6,000lb. Alamosaurus, the largest dinosaur known in North America, as it swings an enormous, 20-foot-long tail and the 40-foot-long, Edmontosaurus, an herbivore, with a toothless beak so strong it crushed plant material such as ginkgo’s, conifers and cycads.

Guests will then continue on to Prehistoric Passage, where a 40--foot-long, 3,000 pound, T- Rex chomps his threatening jaws and a strange-looking Ankylosaurus sporting a heavy body armor, thrashes its gigantic club-like tail. Check out the Triceratops, with its 1,000-pound head, and three massive horns, the 30-foot-tall Quetzalcoatlus, one of the largest flying animals of all time, with an enormous 35-foot-long wingspan, and the Anzu, a feathered dinosaur resembling a bird, that is 10-feet-long!

Keep trekking, through to Asteroid Void, 66 million years ago, and explore a desolate landscape, the aftermath of the enormous asteroid which struck the Earth wiping out dinosaurs, changing the world forever. Encounter a young, 24-foot-long, T.Rex, observe two huge Pachycephalosaurs, dome-headed herbivores, standing 15-foot-tall and weighing about 1000 pounds, check out the Dakotaraptor, an 18-foot long feathered predator -- truly amazing sights!

Migration Maneuvers, takes guests back 70,000 years ago when humans began migrating, causing devastating effects on the wildlife they encountered. The interaction affected a number of species, Migration Maneuvers takes visitors to North America, Madagascar and Australia to walk among the species, now extinct, that once roamed the Earth.

In North America encounter the Smilodon, aka “Saber-tooth tiger”, a ferocious feline, sporting 11-inch fangs, a humongous 15-foot-tall, Woolly Mammoth, ancestor to the Asian elephant, the Glyptodon, a relative of the armadillo, the same size of a Volkswagen Beetle, and the Megatherium the second largest land animal behind the woolly mammoth.

In Madagascar, cross paths with a Megaladaplis or “Koala Lemur,” a prehistoric primate, and check out a pair of Aepyornis, or “Elephant birds”, massive 10-foot-tall animals that weighed about 1200 lbs.

In Australia, be amazed at the Procoptodon, an ancestor of today’s kangaroo, standing 10-feet-tall and weighing more than 500lbs., and the Thylacoleo, also called “Marsupial lion”, the largest carnivorous mammal to ever inhabit Australia, that lived about 2 million years ago.

Returning to present day, guests will meet some species whose days are numbered due to the actions of humans. See a life-size Sumatran rhino, asking for the protection of habitats around the world, a massive polar bear reminding us effects of climate change, a colossal African elephant advocating to stop illegal trade, and a monarch butterfly illustrating how we can all make a difference doing our part to help wildlife here and around the world.

As the Big Time journey comes to an end, guests can take steps to help turn the tide for endangered animals and enact change to ensure a future where we can all live and thrive together on our planet.

TAKE THE PLEDGE

As the Big Time journey comes to an end, guests can take steps to help turn the tide for endangered animals and enact change to ensure a future where we can all live and thrive together on our planet.

• Take a packet of the seeds and grow native plant species that attract and sustain pollinators, such as the monarch butterfly.

• Send a postcard or sign an electronic petition to advocate for global conservation actions aimed at addressing wildlife extinction.

• Advocate for 30x30 and ask national and world leaders to protect 30% of lands and oceans by 2030.

TICKET AND VISITOR INFORMATION

Big Time will open to members Thursday, March 25th to Sunday, March 28th. Big Time opens to the general public on Monday, March 29th through September 30th.

Tickets and reservations are available for Big Time starting on February 17th at Noon. All reservations should be made online at www.PhiladelphiaZoo.org. Attendance will be capped to ensure a wonderful, safe experience, don’t wait to reserve your visit now. Zoo Admission tickets are for a specific date and time. Entrance times are every half hour. Reserve BIG TIME tickets with your admission to secure your spot. Tickets are the cost of General Zoo Admission $24 for ages 12+ and $19 for ages 2-11, children under 2 are free, plus entrance for Big Time $6 (adults and children ages 2+). Members enjoy free admission to the Zoo with advance reservation and save on BIG TIME tickets!

Big Time will be open from 9:30am to 5:00 pm daily. The last entrance time to the exhibit is 4:00pm. Stay tuned for special evening dates coming closer to the opening date.

HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTOCOLS

All health and safety precautions are in place for Big Time - including the wearing of COVID 19-safe face masks and practicing social distancing. For a full reminder of Philadelphia Zoo's safety protocols, visit the Philadelphia Zoo website.

* All visitors MUST reserve / pre-purchase timed-tickets for admission.
* Social distancing and Masks are required for guests 2+
* Indoor animal exhibits and attractions remain closed.
* Touchless toilets, faucets, paper towel and soap dispensers.
* Hand sanitizing stations throughout the campus.
* More grab and go food selections and touchless transactions at food locations.
* Guests can bring their own food in the Zoo.
* “Clean Team”- staffers dedicated to sanitizing and cleaning high touch areas.
* New procedures that allow public safety officers to check bags without touching.

ABOUT PHILADELPHIA ZOO

Animals are on the move like never before at Philadelphia Zoo with Zoo360, a first-in-the-world system of see-through trails passing through treetops, crossing over pathways and connecting habitats, giving animals like amazing big cats, majestic primates and marvelous meerkats the opportunities to travel and explore. Visit young western lowland gorillas, giraffes, hippos, white rhino, zebras, red pandas, Amur tigers and more at America’s first Zoo. Explore our 42-acre Victorian garden and enjoy award-winning exhibits at one of the region's foremost conservation organizations. Home to nearly 1,300 animals, many rare and endangered, Philadelphia Zoo connects people with wildlife, while creating discovery and inspiring action for animals and habitats. Philadelphia Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. To reserve tickets visit www.PhiladelphiaZoo.org. Check out social platforms at Facebook: PhiladelphiaZoo; Instagram: @philadelphiazoo; Twitter: @phillyzoo.