YAKIMA, Wash. -- Back in the late 1980s or early '90s, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland featured what was then a high-tech exhibit of moving robot dinosaurs. It promised to be almost like the real thing.

And for the wide-eyed elementary school kids who visited that exhibit -- I was one of the most wide-eyed -- they were indeed fascinating, and at times a little scary.

But now, compared to the dinosaur show coming to the Yakima Valley SunDome next week, those OMSI reptiles seem totally tame.

Billed as the biggest show ever to play Yakima, "Walking With Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular" is a mix of animatronics, puppetry, science and theater magic that brings to life 15 full-size dinosaurs, including a terrifying tyrannosaurus rex that's 18 feet tall at the shoulder. It runs for eight performances Thursday through April 26.

"It does sometimes feel like a movie because you can't believe what you're seeing. But it is a theatrical experience," says 32-year-old Amanda Maddock, one of the "voodoo" puppeteers for the touring show.

Based on the Emmy Award-winning BBC television series "Walking With Dinosaurs," originally broadcast in 1999, the live show took six years and $20 million to create.

It features 10 species from the 200-million-year reign of the dinosaurs. With Huxley the paleontologist as narrator, the audience is guided chronologically through the dinosaurs' evolution, complete with the climatic and tectonic changes that took place and led to the demise of many species.

Based on scientific research, it's affectionately called "edu-tainment," says Michael Hamilton, 27, head of creatures for the U.S. tour.

Although the show isn't interactive in that the audience can actually walk among the dinosaurs, it is staged somewhat like a theater-in-the-round and the audience will be in stadium seating surrounding the dinosaurs, one of which, the 36-foot-tall brachiosaurus, is as tall as the SunDome's main scoreboards.

"There is a barrier space so no one gets hit by a wandering dinosaur tail," says Maddock, who is on the team that controls the T.rex, torosaurus and baby brachiosaurus.

For the larger dinosaurs, it takes three puppeteers to make the animals move and act just as they most likely did millions of years ago.

Two of the puppeteers, sitting in what they call the "voodoo lounge," use glove and joystick controls, or "voodoo rigs," to control the dinosaur. One is responsible for the head, neck and body; the other -- Maddock's position -- controls the eyes, mouth and sound effects. A driver in a low go-cart-looking apparatus moves the dinosaur around the arena floor.

"It's certainly fun to be part of the T.rex team," says Maddock. "The anticipation's been building up and when she does finally come out, we give the people what they came for.

"But I do also enjoy the interaction between the brachiosaurus and her baby," she adds.

For the smaller dinosaurs, there are actor/puppeteers who essentially wear large dino-looking backpacks.

The result is something that "looks too real to be a puppet," says Maddock, who's been with the show since November.

"It's fabric and foam, gears and machines, but it is really quite beautiful," she says.

And, admittedly, relationships between the real people and the robot dinosaurs do form. Hamilton, who has a special bond with the torosaurus that he "drove" for more than two years, concedes the dinosaurs can become like pets.

As for Maddock and the other "voodoo" operators who are in the stands, they like to wander the arena floor before a performance and say hello to the dinosaurs.

"You have to have your pre-show rituals," she explains. "It's also to regain perspective."

The show opened in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, and has played to more than 2 million people in the U.S. since. "Walking With Dinosaurs" visited the Tacoma Dome and Spokane Arena in 2007, and the Rose Garden in Portland in early 2008.

Yakima is the only Eastern Washington stop this year -- and it's been announced as the highest-grossing ticketed event in the SunDome's 19-year history. The dinos will roam into Seattle's KeyArena a few days later.

The spectacle -- which will arrive in 24 semi-trucks -- hasn't been pared down for the SunDome. What's coming here is exactly the same show the larger venues in major cities have had.

It runs about an hour and a half with an intermission, and is suitable for ages 3 and older. It features simulated earthquakes, loud guttural roars, and, of course, life-size dinosaurs.

"My favorite part is to get to see the kids," says Hamilton. "To see the excitement, joy and fear in their face.

"It's really fulfilling how much they enjoy it," he adds.

If you go

WHAT: "Walking With Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular."

WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday; 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. April 24; 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. April 25; 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. April 26.

WHERE: Yakima Valley SunDome, 1301 S. Fair Ave.

HOW MUCH: Tickets cost $19.50 to $47.50 and are available through TicketsWest, 800-325-7328, www.ticketswest.com, or the State Fair Park ticket office, 509-248-7160.

SHOW INFO: www.dinosaurlive.com.