Chinook Centre is home to a full-scale model of an Albertosaurus - a smaller
cousin of the T-Rex Raptor - fashioned entirely from more than 600
farm machinery parts found in Alberta scrap heaps and junkyards, created by artist
Russell Zeid.
Although Zeid's Albertosaurus is freely adapted, it is based on
the extensive research from critical sources such as 'The Complete T-Rex', written by Phillip
Currie - paleontologist at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller.
"It's a reminder of this area, of the land, and of what stood on it and passed over
it," says Zeid. "Albertosaurus were roaming the landscape 75 million years ago."
A series of Albertosaurus footprints cast in bronze and glass - created
by High River artist, Rocky Barstad - lead you from the Macleod
Trail parking lot to the base of the giant sculpture.
The dinosaur spans 27 feet and rises 20 feet from the ground floor, inside
Chinook Centre's main entrance.
Albertosaurus keeps a close watch
on customers in the food court with its motion sensor eyes - triggering
their movement via motion detectors.
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