NEC exhibition marked in chocolate

Cadbury World and Dinosaurs in the Wild celebrate arrival of the Chocolatosaurus.

Budding palaeontologists visiting Birmingham’s giant attraction Dinosaurs in the Wild will be given an extra sweet treat, with the arrival of a Chocolatosaurus from Cadbury World.

Dinosaur hunters – who will be travelling back 67 million years when they visit the NEC this summer – will be able to seek out the incredible chocolate replica of the Ankylosaurus.

The beautifully created replica of the vegetarian reptile, which features heavily in the Dinosaurs in the Wild show, was crafted by the talented chocolatiers from Cadbury World and can be seen munching on some chocolate fern amongst the dry chocolate earth, while fiercely protecting her eggs.

Weighing in at around 80kg and constructed using the equivalent of 1,777 standard bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk, the Chocolatosarus took the two chocolatiers just over two days to make.

The Chocolatosarus, which has been lovingly nicknamed Mabel by the team at Cadbury World, sports white chocolate horns and spines with bronze lustre highlighting her armour plating to protect her from predators. The chocolate artists also used blue lustre dust to reflect the top of her head and back. The impressive creation will be on display at the NEC exhibition from Saturday 24th June until Wednesday 23rd August. The show will be a blend of live-action theatre, theme park fun and the very latest palaeontological knowledge – all combined to take visitors on the ultimate journey of discovery.

Visitors will be able to find out more about the Late Cretaceous Period, be guided across a prehistoric landscape and tour a ground-breaking dinosaur research station – TimeBase 67.

The Ankylosaurus, which means ‘fused lizard’, could be found in Western North America and weighed in a 6,000kg. It feasted on ferns and other low-growing vegetation, living 68 to 66 million years ago. This herbivorous dinosaur, which is nicknamed a living tank by palaeontologists, is well protected with spikey armour from the bones of its skull down to the rounded club at the end of its talk.

Diane Mitchell, Marketing Manager at Cadbury World, said: “Everyone loves to find out about dinosaurs and how they roamed the earth millions of years ago. Our chocolatiers had great fun making her and it really is a stand-out piece that we know visitors to this brilliant new attraction in Birmingham will really warm to.

“We are huge champions of anything educational and fun, just like at Cadbury World. We are so proud to be a part of this new attraction, and we are sure everyone will have a Jurassic time which will be choc-full of fun!”

Jill Bryant, Producer at Dinosaurs in the Wild, added: “We were fascinated to find out what the dinosaur would look like made out of chocolate – and it has exceeded our expectations. We cannot wait for our visitors to come and hunt it out too and enjoy finding out more about the species.”

Each day at the Bournville-based attraction, visitors of all ages will be able to enjoy an array of chocolate-themed fun, with fun events taking place throughout the summer holidays. There will be the chance for visitors to meet their favourite Cadbury characters as the likes of Freddo, Creme Egg and the Caramel Bunny pose for photos throughout Character Weekend on 8th–9th July. Sooty and his pals will be celebrating his birthday as they bake his chocolate cake, with a sprinkle of Cadbury magic, from 15th–16th July.

For more information about Cadbury World, or to book tickets, visit www.cadburyworld.co.uk.

Tickets for Dinosaurs in the Wild start from £29.50 for adults, £26 for children, and there are discounts available for group bookings. For more details, visit www.dinosaursinthewild.com.