A fierce, life-sized Tyrannosaurus Rex mother defending her young and 14 other dinosaurs stomp into Nampa with such awe-inspiring reality that they'll take your breath away.

"Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular" will perform eight shows based on the award-winning BBC television series from Wednesday, Jan 7, through Jan. 11 at the Idaho Center.

Ten species represent the 200-million-year reign of the dinosaurs, including Torosaurus, Stegosaurus, Utahraptors, Plateosaurus and Liliensternus. The largest of them, the Brachiosaurus, is 36-feet tall and 56 feet from nose to tail.

The show depicts the dinosaurs' evolution and demise with climate and tectonic changes as oceans form, volcanoes erupt, forests burn and a comet strikes the Earth.

"We take the audience on a journey back in time and show them how the dinosaurs might have actually looked in their prime - huge, sometimes frightening, sometimes comical monsters - that fought for survival every day of their lives," said director Scott Faris. "Our dinosaurs move exactly like they are real with all the roars, snorts and excitement that go with it. The realism is mind-blowing."

It took 50 people one year using cutting-edge technology to build the creatures. It takes three people to move each big dinosaur - two around the arena and a driver inside, while the smaller dinosaurs are operated by suited puppeteers inside them.

Sonny Tilders, who designed and built the creatures, said computer software and hardware in the show is based on the systems used to control animatronic creatures in feature films.

"The puppeteers use 'voodoo rigs' to make many of the dinosaurs move," Tilders said. "They are miniature versions of the dinosaurs with the same joints and range of movement as their life-sized counterparts. The puppeteer manipulates the voodoo rig and these actions are interpreted by computer and transmitted by radio waves to make the hydraulic cylinders in the actual dinosaur replicate the action, with a driver hidden below the animal, helping to maneuver it around the arena."

The script, music, special effects, lighting and sets evolved as the creatures were built.

"It was a huge challenge, and at the same time, it was a blast," said Faris, who directed Michael Crawford in EFX at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas and Bette Midler in The Showgirl Must Go On at Caesars Palace.

He said "Walking with Dinosaurs" is big-time entertainment that's educational and fun for all ages, something the family can enjoy together.

"I'm really proud of it," Faris said. "It's not just for kids. Everybody walks out being happy and awestruck, and that is the greatest kind of response you could hope for."

Almost 2 million Americans have seen the $20 million production since it opened in July 2007.

"It's truly an amazing show," said Katrina Lemmon, the Idaho Center's marketing manager who saw the show in Los Angeles. "It was fantastical. I jumped in my seat many times."

The dinosaurs -from their rippled skin and glinty eyes to their movements and sounds - seemed real, she said.

"It is kind of heart-stopping when those guys come out," Lemmon said.

Sandra Forester: 377-6464