A ‘real’ Jurassic Park is opening in Kilkenny!

This looks amazing.

Breaking! A real-life Jurassic Park is coming to Kilkenny! Dinosaurs will once again roam the land as the creative team at the 4-star Newpark Hotel, which is located on 25 acres of parkland and known as one of Ireland’s top family break destinations, is creating a prehistoric habitat called ‘Jurassic Newpark’. The Park, which will open to visitors at the end of July, will be home to a number of lifesize dinosaur species, which have been extinct for over 66 million years. These will include Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Velociraptor, and dinosaur eggs, making it a dino-mite experience for any Dinosaur fan! Sharing the news of their secret dinosaur breeding programme to bring giant prehistoric reptiles back to Kilkenny, General Manager of Newpark Hotel Paul Beehan jokingly 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! 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.”

Newpark Hotel is creating a safe and secure habitat for the dinosaurs and an interactive walk-through experience for visitors, which will officially open from August. The space will be similar to the paddocks depicted in the Jurassic Park movies (but without the escaping dinosaurs or ensuing carnage). It will feature ‘electric fenced in enclosures’ for the carnivorous predators including the fearsome ‘king of the dinosaurs’ Tyrannosaurus Rex and the dangerous and yet fascinating Velociraptor, with its signature curved claw on each toe for pinning prey! There will also be large fenced in open paddocks for the plant eating herbivores including the distinctive three horned Triceratops, armoured Stegosaurus with plates along its spine, and the long necked majestic Brachiosaurus. These paddocks will be linked with accessible trails, with fantastic photo ops along the way and Park Rangers who will give informative talks about the different dinosaurs. You can find more information and booking details on the Jurassic Newpark  website here.