Dinamation

Dinamation International Corporation was an American robotics-effects and exhibit-production company that specialized in large animatronic dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. Founded in California in 1982 by former airline pilot Chris Mays and a group of local associates, the company initially operated as a leasing business. Its first concept was to place handmade, Japanese-produced robot dinosaurs in shopping malls across North America. Dinamation soon moved beyond that original model, producing and selling its own exhibition systems and production-line creatures for science museums, zoos, and other educational attractions. The company began with a small team of roughly a dozen movie special-effects technicians, sculptors, painters, and engineers working in industrial premises in Santa Ana, California. Early work was based on limited reference material, but the organization gradually developed more sophisticated fabrication, painting, mechanical, and exhibit-production capabilities. Its first major show was sold to a museum in Boston rather than leased, and the company also supplied a display to the Mesa Southwest Museum in Grand Junction, Colorado. These early installations helped establish a commercial model centered on educational dinosaur exhibitions rather than temporary retail entertainment alone. Dinamation's growth was supported by collaboration with paleontologists and by the work of engineers, inventors, sculptors, public artists, and film-effects specialists. Scientific advisers associated with its development included Robert Bakker and George Callison. The company sought to improve the movement, surface treatment, proportions, and presentation of its creatures, although its reconstructions reflected the scientific knowledge and exhibition conventions of their period. Its portfolio expanded beyond dinosaurs to include prehistoric reptiles, marine animals, insects, mammals, a giant squid, a great white shark, and creatures inspired by speculative zoology. By 1988, Dinamation had reportedly grown to approximately 150 employees and occupied a 39,000-square-foot facility in Tustin, California. Its traveling and installed "Dinosaurs Alive!" exhibitions became a major attraction for host institutions. Museum attendance often rose when the shows opened and remained elevated afterward, making the exhibits commercially significant for venues as well as educationally popular. Dinamation installations appeared at prominent institutions and public venues, including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the National Geographic Museum, and the British Museum of Natural History. The business later declined amid unresolved financial problems. The company disappeared from active operation around March 2001, leaving more than 700 American-made robotic creatures distributed among museums, transport vehicles, warehouses, and shipping containers. Some machines became permanent displays at venues that had hosted Dinamation exhibitions; others were sold, dismantled, discarded, lost, or cannibalized for parts. A substantial collection was acquired or held by Wonder Works USA in Abilene, Texas, which continued leasing portions of the collection after Dinamation's collapse. Former Dinamation technicians also helped maintain and operate surviving creatures through Creature Craft in Nebraska. Although Dinamation no longer operates as an independent company, examples of its work have remained visible in museums and attractions, including Dinosaur Journey Museum in Fruita, Colorado, and the Otway Fly in Victoria, Australia. Its creatures and production artwork have also circulated through children's books, toy imagery, magazine illustrations, video backgrounds, and film appearances. Dinamation's legacy lies in helping popularize large-scale, traveling animatronic natural-history exhibitions and in demonstrating that a business initially based on imported robot attractions could develop into a significant American producer of museum-scale educational creatures.

Dinamation was established in California in 1982 by Chris Mays, a former airline pilot, together with several neighbors and collaborators. Its initial business idea was to lease one-of-a-kind, Japanese-produced robotic dinosaurs to North American shopping malls. The company soon changed direction. Rather than remaining a distributor and lessor of imported attractions, it began creating and selling its own large-scale robotic creatures and complete natural-history shows for museums, zoos, and other public institutions. The early organization was small and multidisciplinary. Approximately twelve people, including film-effects technicians, sculptors, painters, and engineers, worked in industrial facilities in Santa Ana. The group initially had limited scientific and production guidance, using general dinosaur books and broad client specifications. It produced an early exhibition for a Boston museum and sold another display to the Mesa Southwest Museum in Grand Junction, Colorado. These projects gave Dinamation a foundation for expanding into museum-oriented educational entertainment. Over time, Dinamation developed stronger fabrication and mechanical capabilities. Its work drew on the expertise of paleontologists such as Robert Bakker and George Callison, as well as engineers, sculptors, inventors, public artists, and motion-picture effects specialists. Contributors associated with the company's creature development included Raymond Persinger, Marianne O'Barr, Steve Koch, Brian Sipe, and Matt Croteau. Their work addressed both the physical construction of the machines and the sculptural, paint, and presentation details that made the creatures suitable for public exhibition. The company's products were not limited to a single dinosaur lineup. Dinamation produced half-scale and full-scale versions of familiar dinosaurs including Tyrannosaurus rex, Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Allosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Pachycephalosaurus, Deinonychus, and Utahraptor. It also created prehistoric marine reptiles, pterosaurs, insects, mammals, a great white shark, a giant squid, and speculative animals influenced by future-evolution concepts. Some displays included hatchlings, eggs, family groups, and narrative scenes intended to make the exhibits more accessible to general audiences. By 1988, the company had reportedly reached about 150 employees and operated from a 39,000-square-foot facility in Tustin, California. Its growth reflected the popularity of traveling dinosaur exhibitions during a period when museums and science centers increasingly used large visual attractions to broaden attendance. The company's Dinosaurs Alive! shows became especially important. Host institutions frequently experienced strong visitor interest when the exhibitions opened, and some retained improved attendance after the shows had finished. Dinamation therefore occupied a position between a special-effects workshop, a traveling-exhibit producer, and a museum-services supplier. The company supplied or displayed work at important institutions, including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the National Geographic Museum, and the British Museum of Natural History. Its creatures also reached venues outside the United States, contributing to a wider international market for animatronic natural-history attractions. In this respect, Dinamation began by following a Japanese model of robotic dinosaur entertainment, then adapted and expanded that model into an American production and exhibition business. Dinamation's later history is less clearly documented. Around March 2001, it ceased active operation in circumstances associated with financial uncertainty. More than 700 American-made creatures were reportedly left distributed across museums, trucks, shipping containers, and other locations. The aftermath varied by machine and venue: some robots remained on permanent display, some were sold, some were dismantled or recycled for components, and others were lost or disposed of. The disappearance of the operating company also created practical problems involving ownership, transportation, repair, and maintenance. A large surviving collection came into the possession of Wonder Works USA in Abilene, Texas. Under Jack Hull and, at an earlier stage, his business partner John Thomas, the collection continued to be leased for exhibition. Former Dinamation technicians Ken Diggs and Mike Short helped preserve and operate surviving creatures through Creature Craft in Nebraska. Individual examples remained visible at sites such as Dinosaur Journey Museum in Fruita, Colorado, and the Otway Fly in Victoria, Australia. Dinamation's work continued to circulate after the company's disappearance. Photographs of its creatures and production artwork appeared in children's publications, toy-related imagery, magazine illustrations, video backgrounds, and other reused media. Its robots also appeared in popular cinema, including Woody Allen's film Alice. The company's enduring significance is therefore not only its individual machines but also its role in establishing large animatronic prehistoric-life exhibitions as a recognizable museum and attraction format.

• 2001

  Dinamation disappears from active operation

  [1]Dinamationen.wikipedia.org

  The company ceases active operation around March, leaving hundreds of robotic creatures dispersed among museums, storage locations, and other custodians.

• 1988

  Company reaches large-scale production status

  [1]Dinamationen.wikipedia.org

  Dinamation reportedly grows to approximately 150 employees and operates from a 39,000-square-foot facility in Tustin, California.

• 1982

  Dinamation is founded in California

  [1]Dinamationen.wikipedia.org

  Former airline pilot Chris Mays and associates establish Dinamation, initially focusing on leasing Japanese-produced robotic dinosaurs to North American shopping malls.

• First museum exhibitions are sold

  [1]Dinamationen.wikipedia.org

  The company moves beyond mall leasing by selling an early exhibition to a Boston museum and another display to the Mesa Southwest Museum in Grand Junction, Colorado.

• Dinosaurs Alive! exhibitions expand internationally

  [1]Dinamationen.wikipedia.org

  Dinamation's traveling and installed dinosaur shows appear at major museums and public institutions in the United States and abroad.

Educational and entertainment-oriented robotics-effects producer specializing in scientifically themed, large-scale animatronic creatures for museums, zoos, traveling exhibitions, and public attractions.

• Traveling museum exhibition

  Dinosaurs Alive!

  Dinamation's principal exhibition format consisted of large animatronic dinosaurs arranged as an educational and entertainment show. The installations were designed for museums, science centers, zoos, and other public venues, where the creatures served as attendance-driving attractions as well as natural-history displays. Shows could include multiple species, environmental settings, family groups, hatchlings, eggs, and explanatory interpretation. Their popularity helped host institutions attract visitors and extend interest beyond the opening period.

• Robotics-effects exhibit

  Animatronic dinosaur collection

  The company's core production line included half-scale and full-scale robotic versions of Tyrannosaurus rex, Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Allosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Deinonychus, Utahraptor, Parasaurolophus, Pachycephalosaurus, and other prehistoric animals. The machines combined sculpted exterior forms with mechanical movement and exhibition-oriented finishing. Individual creatures were sold, leased, installed, or later maintained by museums and successor custodians.

• Natural-history and speculative zoology exhibit

  Prehistoric and speculative-animal exhibits

  Dinamation's scope extended beyond dinosaurs to include marine reptiles, pterosaurs, prehistoric mammals, giant insects, a great white shark, and an eight-limbed giant squid identified as Archeteuthis. The company also produced creatures associated with speculative future zoology, including concepts connected with Dougal Dixon's After Man. These displays broadened the company's attraction offering while retaining a strong emphasis on large sculptural and robotic forms.

• 2001

  Operations end and the creature collection is dispersedOther

  Background

  Dinamation's operating history ended amid financial uncertainty, with hundreds of creatures located across museums, vehicles, shipping containers, and other facilities.

  Action taken

  The company ceased active operation, leaving individual venues and later custodians to retain, sell, dismantle, repair, lease, or dispose of the machines.

  Aftermath

  Wonder Works USA became the holder of a particularly large surviving collection, while individual Dinamation creatures remained in museums and attractions around the world.

  Source

• 1982

  Shift from imported robot leasing to proprietary exhibit productionStrategy

  Background

  Dinamation began with a plan to lease handmade Japanese robotic dinosaurs to shopping malls, but the company soon encountered an opportunity to serve museums and other educational venues directly.

  Action taken

  It developed, sold, and installed its own production-line robotic creatures and complete dinosaur exhibitions rather than relying solely on imported machines and mall leases.

  Aftermath

  The change positioned Dinamation as a major American producer of museum-scale animatronic natural-history attractions and supported its later international expansion.

  Source

1. 1Dinamationen.wikipedia.org