Do you know how to transport and set up animatronic dinosaurs?
Have you ever wanted to pull on a velociraptor suit?
The City of Burnaby is looking for an experienced contractor to wrangle its “dinosaur assets.”
Are you surprised the city has dinosaur assets? You’re not alone.
The Burnaby NOW learned of the program through a request for proposal on the city’s bids and tenders webpage.
The city originally bought the dinosaurs as part of a council-approved pilot project in 2021 to test interactive attractions in outdoor spaces within Burnaby’s parks, according to public affairs officer Cole Wagner.
“The city’s collection features six distinct types of dinosaurs including a triceratops, a velociraptor, a stegosaurus, a pterosaur and an ankylosaurus," Wagner said in an emailed statement.
The largest animatronic dinosaur is about 6.5 feet by 20 feet and weighs about 485 pounds (220 kilograms).
The city also owns dinosaur puppets (three feet by a foot and a half) and two full-body, 44-pound velociraptor costumes measuring about 6.5 feet by 14.7 feet.
The assets cost $52,866 including taxes, freight and transport.
The city is now seeking a contractor with “specialized knowledge and experience in the transportation and installation of animatronic dinosaurs, as well as the donning of the city’s dinosaur puppets and costumes on an as required basis,” according to the bid documents.
The contractor will be responsible for safely transporting all dinosaur assets back and forth from their home warehouse to designated venues within the city.
The city features the dinosaurs at its public events such as Canada Day, Burnaby Pride and the Willingdon Fair for “educational purposes and to help increase community engagement,” according to the documents.
“It’s a pretty cool feature to be able to roll out at various city festivals and events — they are a huge hit with kids (and parents),” Wagner said.
“Just another small thing that the city does to bring more life and fun to our events.”
