An unusual outdoor exhibition just went on display at The Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney, one that would be right at home in an episode of Game of Thrones.
The museum, widely known for its annual fall/winter display of life-sized dinosaurs, is going mythical this spring with an exhibition featuring 12 moving, roaring dragons situated along a half-mile nature trail.
So, if you’re the kind of person who wants to see an episode of Harry Potter come to life, you will be excited to know these dragons are animatronic, meaning they look, move and sound like the real thing--well, like what you'd imagine a real dragon would look and sound like.
They're made by the Pennsylvania-based company Dino Don, Inc.--that's the same group that created the animatronic dinosaurs that have roamed the Heard for the last 20 years.
KERA News Morning Producer Alexsis Jones and I wanted to know more, so we took a trip to the Heard to take a peek at its latest visitors.
As we entered the wooded trail, we heard something that sounded like a mix between a moose, a Northern Loon and a very mad chicken.
As it turned out, this wasn’t the mating call of an exotic hybrid bird, but rather it was the imagined sound of a Cockatrice. In case you didn’t know, that’s a dragon with the head, legs, and wings of a rooster and the body and tail of a snake.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE ROBOT
Each dragon starts with a steel skeleton that is shipped in pieces and then constructed on site. Once they’re built, the skeleton is covered in foam and then topped with a rubber silicone skin. They're finished up with lots of glue and stitched together with a needle and thread, just like a giant teddy bear.
Reba Hull is a repair technician and dragon installer for Dino Don, Inc. When she first started working for the company, she was surprised to learn the robotic dragons were actually pretty simple on the inside and made out of everyday things you could buy from the store.
“The foam they're made out of is just like the foam inside a couch cushion. The silicone rubber is exactly the same stuff you'd use in your shower,” Hull said. “They're made out of pretty common everyday materials. It's just the end result is a magical creature that moves.”
DRAGONS FROM EVERYWHERE
The dragons might be simple on the inside, but they represent mythical creatures from cultures all over the world, including a Bunyip, a water monster from Aboriginal Australian mythology and a Manticore, a dragon with a lion's body and a human head, which originates from Persian folklore.
Not all of the dragons are scary. In the mix, there’s also a friendly dragon. Instead of roaring, she tells stories and jokes. Hull says it’s her favorite of the bunch.
“I love how she looks so mean, but she sounds so friendly.”
A BUZZY ENCOUNTER
The dragons are designed to be displayed outdoors, but Hull says there was one time when being outside wasn’t so great.
“We’ve had honeybees nest up inside their heads before,” Hull recalled. “I came walking by and a dinosaur opened its mouth, and a bunch of bees flew out, and I was like, oh no, that's not good.”
“It adds to the personality,” I replied. “Instead of fire, they breathe honeybees.”
“Oh no,” laughed Hull, “That's worse than fire!”
AN OASIS SAVED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
Bees aside, what makes the Dragon Trails exhibition special is that they're displayed in a natural setting, among trees, meadows and wildlife.
It's worth pointing out that this little slice of heaven in McKinney was all thanks to Miss Bessie Heard. She was the visionary who, way back in 1967, saw the need for connection and conservation of natural places.
“She had a huge passion for education and children and wildlife, so she decided to open the museum,” said Brittany Kryder, who is the director of development at the Heard Museum. “She purchased 289 acres of land over several years for the sole purpose of preserving it for future generations.”
Miss Bess was a visionary, but what would she have thought of dragons at the Heard?
“She might have found it a little out of the ordinary,” Kryder said. “But I think understanding that you're opening the idea of spending time out in nature to potentially a new group of people and capturing the imagination and interest of children, so I think she would think that that was a really cool endeavor.”
Details: The Dragon Trails exhibition will be on display at the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney through June 26. Tickets range from $12 to $16. Admission is free for children 2 and under.
