Midlands-based marketing services provider MICE Group has been at the design and implementation helm of a new attraction at Blackpool Zoo that allows visitors to experience life on earth more than 65 million years ago.
The retail and visitor experience, which officially opened to the public last week, includes a prehistoric garden attraction, called Dinosaur Safari , and a new entrance, aviary, amphitheatre and commercial spaces.
Dinosaur Safari, created by design consultancy MICE CsAky Associates, involves "spectacular lighting, sound and smells and transports visitors to a sub-tropical, prehistoric world of roaming dinosaurs".
Features include more than 30 full scale dinosaur models, including the largest creature now residing in the park - a 30 foot long Macroplata, roughly the size of a single decker bus; an erupting volcano; spouting six-metre high water geysers; running streams; a waterfall curtain; a lake; a smouldering meteorite; and 13,000 trees and plants including many species that have remained virtually unchanged since prehistoric times.
The new feature also provides a new home for the zoo's giant tortoises and a family of tree shrews, believed to be one of the few mammal species alive today that once shared their world with the dinosaurs.
The 1000 sq m complex has been developed in conjunction with landscape architects Roger Griffiths Associates, and fellow group company MICE Amigo, which managed all the audio and software programming for the audio visual elements of the project.
The new entrance area, which has been built in one of the zoo's old World War II
aircraft hangers by MICE company Silver Knight, includes a reception and first aid suite, Fair Trade shop, cafe, rest rooms, further retail space, ticketing, soft play area for children, as well as office, conference and presentation facilities.
Andrew Coates, Blackpool Zoo managing director, said: "MICE has created the ultimate visitor experience and a must- visit educational resource at Blackpool, which is a key attraction and source of employment in the region. This sees us well on the way to
becoming one of Britain's leading zoos offering forward thinking animal management and comprehensive education. "The Dinosaur Safari is the first attraction of its kind in the area and will ensure that Blackpool Zoo remains one of the leading tourist attractions not only in the North West, but throughout the UK.
"We have already had significant interest from local schools and expect increased visitor footfall and positive reactions from visitors of all ages."
Headquartered in Coventry, MICE employs over 1,900 staff at more than 40 operations around the world, including Europe, the Middle East and North America.
It has worked on many other visitor experience projects including Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Science Museum London; Cats the ultimate predators, Royal Museum, Edinburgh; Queen Elizabeth I Gallery, National Maritime Museum, London; Thinktank, Millennium Point, Birmingham; and Action Stations! Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The Dinosaur Safari at Blackpool Zoo ..SUPL:
