Illuminate Adelaide returns to the Adelaide Zoo this year, with Universal Kingdom: Prehistoric Nights, a luminous step back in time to when ancient creatures roamed the earth!
Review by Sharon Harrington
The Illuminate experience at the zoo has become a winter favourite activity for many families. It’s great fun to bundle the kids up in their winter woolies and get out and about at night time somewhere enclosed, where they can safely roam (under a watchful gaze) and marvel at the illuminated creature installations, have a hot cinnamon donut and play on the playground.
Glowing prehistoric creatures
This year’s Illuminate experience features glowing pre-historic creatures, think dinosaurs and other creatures from the same period. Our favourites were the Dinosaur Graveyard and Mosasaur Quarters, they look amazing and have an eery soundscape to match! All installations have signs giving educational details noting when the creatures existed, environment, fossil record and diet.
Don’t miss out on the roaming creatures
There are fixed installations but make sure you also keep an eye out for the roaming creatures, such as the Roaming Exo Skeleton and Bioluminescent Jellyfish. It’s definitely worth having a look at the map, so you don’t miss anything!
Trees lit up at night time
We loved wandering the zoo at night time, it was just beautiful to see it illuminated in the dark.
Fossil dusting & glow in the dark face paint
The SA Power Networks Zone is host to fossil dusting for your budding palaeontologists, along with the opportunity to have their little faces painted in glow in the dark colours. Face paint is $12. Perhaps head there first if you want to beat the queues or steer clear if not wanting to partake.
Food and drinks
For those wanting to have some dinner, a treat, or maybe just a hot chocolate, the two zoo cafes are open, plus there is a fairy floss stall near the playground and a pop up stall near the tigers. The atmosphere is lovely sitting under the festoon lights at the Fig Tree Cafe.
Animals at night time
Other highlights were seeing some animals at night time, like the tigers, goats and reptiles in the Reptile House. Also keep an eye overhead when outside the zoo, as there are often lots of bats flying at night time! (Please note not all animals can be viewed during the Illuminate Adelaide event at night time.)
To end the night, the kids had a little play on the nature playground, which is well lit and lots of fun.
All in all, a fun family adventure for the winter school holidays. Rug up and check it out this July!
Tips for visiting Universal Kingdom: Prehistoric Nights
- See all the light installations first and check out the playground last– it may be hard to drag the kids away from the playground once they see it!
- Visit the glow in the dark face painting when you first arrive to save a line up later.
- Don’t forget it’s very dark at the Zoo at night – watch your step on pathways and keep a close eye on little ones.
- The installations will still operate if it’s raining – they are all outdoors so take an umbrella/rain jacket if it looks like it might rain.
- There are food and drink options throughout the zoo. The two cafes are open, plus there is a pop up food stall near the tigers and a fairy floss/glowing wands stand near the playground.
- Parking is available along Plane Tree Drive, Frome Road and War Memorial Drive.
- Keep an eye out for the roaming Exo-Skeleton near the Wisteria Cafe/Reptile House/Playground areas, and the Bioluminescent Jellyfish near the Administration House.
- Bring some glow sticks from home for some added fun.
Universal Kingdom: Prehistoric Nights is on at the Adelaide Zoo until Sunday 21 July 2024. Entry is from 6:30 or 7:45pm.
For more information and all enquiries please visit the Illuminate Adelaide website.
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
Image Source: photos by Play & Go July 2024
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