AZA 2025: A Week of Wonder, Relationships, and Roars

For 18 years, Billings has proudly called AZA home. This year in Tampa reminded us why: the people. We’re a relationship-based company— real collaboration through communication —and this past week overflowed with it.

—Mira Bryant; Friday, September 24, 2025

All Photography Rights to Mira Bryant & Billings Productions

The Week in Sparkles

• Icebreaker at The Florida Aquarium: We kicked off among sharks, rays, sea turtles, and a whole lot of smiles.

• Evening receptions: Old friends, new partners, and vendor-booth neighbors who felt like family by day two.

• Tiny fuel, big gratitude: Our new 2025 luggage tags found their forever homes, and those 3mg coffee candies kept folks energized through packed sessions (yes, we spotted a few “coffee candy connoisseurs” returning to try all three flavors!).

A Show-Stopping Highlight: Tours at ZooTampa

Walking guests through our ZooTampa exhibit was the week’s crown jewel. The setting felt theme-park level—towering horticulture, cinematic foliage, and immersive sets that drop you straight into another world. From the moment you enter into the exhibit, it is a beautiful display of interactive elements themed for an educational adventure. At the start of the trail, you are immediately submerged into the story. Stamped custom crates and fossils decorate the entrance, setting the vibe of a jungle exploration. The lanterns began to blink, giving a unsure feeling upon entering. You see the fossils and dig site, the shredded tent, and you begin to really feel like you have been transported to a remote island.

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From there it only becomes more spectacular. The first turn gives you a singing Parasaurolophus and our towering Brachiosaurus. Walking under her gives you that child-like feeling of wonder. You will also find a curious Apatosaurus humbly munching on some greens.

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But don't blink! Right past the Brachi's lumbering legs is a sneaking Carnotaurus. She is moving through the vast brush looking for her next snack.

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Just around the corner you better watch out! A Utah Raptor waits for you in the vegetation, while the Dilophosaurus sprays you with a squirt of water! But no need to fret! There's a friendly Ornithomimus just down the path!

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As you round the corner, you come across one of our most recent animatronic builds, our Stegosaurus. Standing at 10 feet tall, her boney osteoderm plates tower over the exhibit behind custom creates, making it an epic photo op. Her skin was hand designed and maliciously hand placed, giving it a realistic texture.

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Though you can't help but to keep adventuring ahead! Before you stands the almighty Allosaurus! Who was the winning Dinosaur for our 2025 luggage tags this year. Beside him you will find an interactive fossil dig, where you can learn even more about nests and eggs!

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Moving through the exhibit you will even more prehistoric pals, including three Troodons, up to no good! A Pachycephalosaurus guards the path while a Amargasaurus sings a gleeful tune while munching on yummy lush green foliage.

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As you come to the end of the exhibit, you can't help but feel wowed by how stunning the Diabloceratops as she stands proud. Follow around her and you will find an interactive activity behind her, as you look upon the Brachi as she greets new guests.

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The last bit of thrill is absolutley by the sunning Tyrannosaurus Rex waiting for unsuspecting guests in a breathtaking scene. A Land Rover lays in wreckage ad lights flash with in. The Rex's low grumbles shake the ground in a brillant display of pure artistry of exhibit design. From the greens that adorn her, to the boot left behind by an victim, its no wonder why guests of ZooTampa have been raving about how stunning this exhibition is.

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We fielded everything from “How do you do the skin texture?” to “Which dinosaur had those claws?” and loved geeking out together over natural history, conservation, and science—and how our animatronics are designed and built in Texas.

One unforgettable moment: a guest caught the Dilophosaurus spray and screamed, then laughed for five straight minutes. She told us the interactive elements were her favorite part—and she wasn’t alone. That little burst of surprise-and-delight became the most-talked-about feature on our tours.

Why It Works: Partnership

This year, Sandra and Jeff shared how the exhibit served ZooTampa’s mission—and their guests. As Sandra Torres put it, “We saw an uptick in membership.”  Statements like that mean the world, because they’re about outcomes for our partners and communities.

Our North Star

We value relationships above all else. When we collaborate, we dream bigger, solve faster, and build experiences that feel impossible—until they’re not. Thank you, ZooTampa, for being spectacular hosts and creative allies. We can’t wait for the adventures we’ll bring to life together in the years ahead.

Teaching the children of today to help save the creatures of tomorrow—so they don’t become dinosaurs, too. 💚

Photos: Scenes from the AZA floor and our ZooTampa exhibit tours.

Photo Cred: Mira Bryant