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Gallery: Jurassics and jingle bells at Phipp’s Conservatory

Josh Imhof | features editor

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens have opened their “Garden Railroad: the Age of Dinosaurs” and “Phipps Holiday Magic” exhibits for the winter season. “Age of Dinosaurs” combines lush plant life with dinosaur miniatures, taking guests through the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. “Holiday Magic” takes guests outside into the Pittsburgh night in a walk-through light exhibit.

A toy dinosaur resembling a brontosaurus stands among various plants and rocks in a miniature landscape.
Dinosaur fossils and crystal formations, such as Amber, were borrowed from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and used in the exhibit.
A colorful Christmas tree covered in vibrant, multi-colored lights with a decorative ornament hanging prominently.
The holiday lights drew large crowds of families, couples and college students.
A small, textured lizard-like creature with a long tail perched on a rock in a natural setting surrounded by greenery and small flowers.
Phipps employees arrive three hours before the conservatory opens in order to maintain the plants in the exhibit, and plans for each them are made a year in advance.
A brightly lit Christmas tree decorated with colorful lights, surrounded by glowing ornaments and snow, creating a festive nighttime atmosphere.
A large tree towered over the rest of the exhibit, decorated top to bottom with lights and ornaments.
A couple stands in front of a wall adorned with the word 'joy,' surrounded by colorful holiday lights creating a festive atmosphere.
The outdoor light exhibit featured a tunnel of lights that many guests, like this couple, used as a photo opportunity.
A Tyrannosaurus rex stands tall in a lush, green environment, with a smaller dinosaur looking up at it. In the foreground, there is a small yellow dinosaur beside a rocky area.
Each plant is carefully selected and meant to emulate the fauna of the time period it is placed in, like these flowering plants that could be found during the Cretaceous period.
A nighttime scene featuring large illuminated orange shapes surrounded by green lights, resembling flowers, against a snowy ground, with additional red-lit decorations in the background.
Some of the lights, like the ones pictured above, mimicked plants and other fauna. Along the walkway and hanging from trees were bush-like and vine-like lights.
Three toy dinosaur figures walking near a reflective water surface surrounded by greenery.
Some of the plants in the exhibit were shipped in from other places, while others came from Phipps. Plants that are shipped in are then kept and taken care of.

Josh Imhof can be reached at imhofj@duq.edu

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