Kilkenny's Newpark Hotel is opening "Jurassic Newpark," a €250,000 interactive attraction this month featuring a number of lifesize dinosaurs.

The creative team at the four-star hotel, which is located on 25 acres of parkland, has created a "prehistoric habitat" called Jurassic Newpark. 

The new park will be home to a number of dinosaur species that have been extinct for over 66 million years, including Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, and Velociraptor. Visitors may also see some dinosaur eggs, reports The Irish Independent.

Paul Beehan, the general manager of the hotel, said: “I am delighted to announce our successful venture into paleo genetic engineering, a little skill we picked up during lockdown.

"We’ve been busy harnessing dinosaur DNA from local ‘black and amber’ fossils to create a new dinosaur park in Ireland!"

He continued: "The Newpark Hotel family loves to offer our guests amazing and unique experiences, so we can’t wait to see the look on their faces when they have the unique opportunity to see dinosaurs up close that move and roar! So far everything is going really well since they arrived on site - no raptors have escaped into the kitchen and the T-rex hasn’t swallowed any of our staff.”

Step back in time to our pre-historic playground.. ?
Watch this space..........coming soon!#prehistoricplayground #NotJustAWalkInThePark #dinosaurpark #dinosaurlovers #dinosaurland #dinosaurlife #adventure #explore #lifesizedinosaurs #backintime pic.twitter.com/5VJuGuWY5J

— NewparkHotelKilkenny (@NewparkHotel) July 20, 2022

The "dinosaurs" will be fenced in paddocks similar to those depicted in the Jurassic Park movies. Accessible trails will link the paddocks and Park Rangers will give informative talks about the different dinosaur species. The attraction promises many fantastic photo ops along the way.

The extensive project, which required reallocation of space on the hotel grounds and major landscaping work to create the lush natural environment, cost more than €250,000, reports Beat.

The attraction will also create several new jobs including park rangers, maintenance workers, landscaping and gardening workers, café and gift shop employees, as well as additional hospitality roles within the hotel.

Jurassic Newpark will be free to hotel guests, with tickets for the general public costing €11pp. Children under the age of two are admitted free, and family rates are available from €35.

Bookings are available starting from July 27. For more information about the attraction, JurassicNewpark.com

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