The Dinosaur Sale Is Not a Joke

The stegosaurus, over 29 feet long and described as “housebroken,” is selling for $1,260. The adult triceratops? $2,230. A life-size T. rex, 39 feet long, 18 feet tall, “slightly used” and “well loved,” will cost you $2,700.

A dinosaur theme park in Leonia, N.J., is closing next month, and with it has come an unusual opportunity for dinosaur enthusiasts and anyone else interested in adding a bit of prehistoric panache to a boring backyard.

Thirty-one animatronic dinosaurs on display at “Field Station: Dinosaurs” — including some that growl and roar — are for sale. If social media is any guide, the prospect of owning an enormous man-made dinosaur, even a used one, has captured the imaginations of people far beyond New Jersey. Screenshots of Facebook Marketplace posts advertising the creatures have been widely shared.

“That’s a good price for a used triceratops,” one person noted on X.

“I have the money, but I don’t have the means of getting them to Australia,” wrote another.

On a recent sunny Sunday, the man behind the sale, Guy Gsell, was fussing with an electrical box hidden in the brush, flipping switches. The apatosaurus wasn’t moving as it was supposed to.

“We had rain last night, and sometimes the water gets in,” said Mr. Gsell, the president of the park.

The apatosaurus, with its unbelievably long neck, is 75 feet long, 20 feet tall and priced at $2,860.

Mr. Gsell has mixed emotions about selling off the dinosaurs. “It’s a little sad,” he said. “It really kind of feels like I’m putting a pet up for adoption.”

But the park has been open for 13 years, and Mr. Gsell is ready to let it go. “Our lease was coming up and, the county — for good reason — they need a commitment. Is it going to be another five years? Is it going be another 10 years?”

“Field Station: Dinosaurs” stretches across seven acres and includes a variety of prehistoric scenes.

In one, a 29-foot hadrosaurus guards a nest of eggs.

A sand pit serves as a “dig site” where bones and fossils can be uncovered, and a large round beige tent that looks straight out of a Hollywood movie about daring archaeologists is where birthday parties are held.

The dinosaurs move, sort of. Some of their heads turn; some of their mouths open and close, jerkily; some of their arms bounce.

Mr. Gsell, who has a background in theater and exhibition experiences, is more focused on the interactive programming, like “T-Rex Feeding Frenzy,” a musical show with audience participation that uses the scientific method to study the eating habits of the famous carnivore. There’s also “Dinosaur Daycare,” in which children help baby (puppet) dinosaurs hatch — and sing a song about “which came first, the dinosaur or the egg?”

Mr. Gsell will continue to produce educational shows about dinosaurs for schools, libraries and museums.

Although the dinosaurs have separate listings on Facebook Marketplace, Mr. Gsell hopes that one organization — a zoo, a museum or another theme park — will buy the entire collection.

But that doesn’t mean that natural science nerds around the world aren’t dreaming about having their very own life-size dinosaur.

Yinan Wang, a geologist who uses the handle “Fossil Locator” on social media, posted about the dinosaur sale on X on Sept. 25. His post now has 7.6 million views.

Mr. Wang, who lives in Arlington, Va., reached out to Mr. Gsell’s company via Facebook Marketplace. “I was interested in one of their velociraptors,” he said. “It’s only $700, and it’s small enough that I can fit easily on the back of a truck bed.”

Mr. Wang has a 6-year-old daughter and 15-month-old son at home and said that his wife, a marine biologist, approves of the purchase.

The velociraptor is not Mr. Wang’s first choice, however. “I really love the dilophosaurus, but that one’s 19.5 feet and that would be logistically way more challenging,” he explained.

“But dilophosaurus, that’s the one from ‘Jurassic Park’ that killed Nedry,” he added, referring to Dennis Nedry, the character played by Wayne Knight in the movie. “That’s pretty cool.”

The dinosaurs were custom-made in China, and are constructed from latex foam — with a rough texture that is also squishy, kind of like a painted sponge. (On dinosaur petting zoo days, visitors can touch select creatures.) The dinosaurs are not made from molds; each was carved individually. And each has a standard household plug that can go into an ordinary outlet.

While the dinosaurs were made to be outside, in all weather, that doesn’t mean that they are animal-proof.

“Birds love the foam for their nests, so pretty much every morning one of our jobs is walking around and seeing if the birds have pecked the foam out of the dinosaurs,” Mr. Gsell said. “We’ve had raccoons actually burrow into the dinosaurs and set up a nest.”

Mr. Gsell’s favorite dinosaur is the dryptosaurus because, like him, it is from New Jersey. (Dryptosaurus remains were discovered in the state in 1866.) He has an 8-year-old son, and he’s in the process of “managing expectations” about a life-size dinosaur coming home to live with them. (It is not going to happen.)

Nine-year-old Brendan Riley stood inside of a cracked dinosaur egg, posing for a photo. It was his fourth or fifth time at the park — he first visited when he was 4.

“It’s a little sad that it’s closing soon,” he said. He gestured to his grandmother, Carol Riley, who was using her phone to snap pictures of him. “I wish Mimi had a million dollars so they could stay open.”

Mr. Gsell understands why the dinosaur sale has been getting so much attention. “People think dinosaurs are cool. And to see them for sale, it’s just sparked people’s imaginations.”

And, he said, “It’s funny! It’s real, but it’s also funny.”

And while he does feel rather somber about closing the New Jersey location, there is another, in Kansas, that will remain open.

“If I really get lonely for the dinosaurs,” he said, “I can just go visit my Wichita dinosaurs.”