VANCOUVER—Hidden in Kevin Yau’s garage lives the dream he’s had for close to two decades — to build a life-size raptor that moves and sounds like the dinosaurs of 74 million years ago.

He has big plans for the velociraptor he’s meticulously painted for a week and built over several months out of his home located in a quiet Burnaby neighbourhood, after long hours working at a software company.

It’s to light up the faces of more children at birthday parties, conventions or wherever he’s wanted with his side business Vancouver Dinosaur.

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“I’m a kid at heart. When I was a kid, I would’ve loved something like that. They just didn’t have it back in the day,” said Yau who’s been visiting his son’s school outside in the costume as Aiden’s pet ‘Vince’ — named after the NBA player Vince Carter, who used to play for Yau’s favourite team, the Toronto Raptors.

Kevin Yau's velociraptor suit has been a bit hit with children, especially his son, Aiden. (Star Vancouver)

“If a parent wants it for a birthday party, sure I’ll show up for a couple of hours. If no one is interested in it, that’s OK, I can still bring it out for Halloween and kids to enjoy it.”

Most recently, Yau was invited to attend the school assembly with Vince to the astonishment of the students.

“Most of them are surprised to see something so realistic. Most of them scream with excitement.”

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Robert Takacs, Yau’s neighbour, has known the family for four years and says he was never surprised to see a dinosaur over the fence in Yau’s backyard.

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“He’s a nerd, like me,” said Takacs sporting a KISS T-shirt. “I tried the suit on once, and I can’t imagine how he keeps that thing on for so long. It’s heavy, it’s kind of awkward. The kids love it.”

The fascination all started for Yau at Station Square next to Metrotown mall in the ’90s, where he waited in the long lineup with his family to watch his first movie, “Jurassic Park” directed by Steven Spielberg. The fascination only grew from there — complete with a recent family trip to Drumheller, Alta., to visit Dinosaur Provincial Park.

The “mythical” factor of these creatures never wore off of Yau.

Kevin Yau installed foam padding underneath the fabric skin, a fan at the tail for ventilation, battery pack and a monitor to navigate outside terrain connected to a small camera on Vince's chest. (Star Vancouver)

“It’s just so cool that millions of years ago, these humongous creatures walked on the same earth as us. It’s just hard to fathom these creatures existed,” said Yau.

But the technology and parts he needed to build a life-size animatronic dinosaur were only accessible to commercial players, such as Disney, that display it in their theme parks, said Yau. They weren’t attainable for the average person.

It took 15 years before his vision came closer to reality after he noticed companies in China selling fabric Velociraptor costumes and the metal frame of its body online.

Inside, he installed foam padding underneath the fabric skin, a fan at the tail for ventilation, battery pack and a monitor to navigate outside terrain connected to a small camera on Vince’s chest.

“There’s a cliché that accountants are boring, (but building dinosaurs is the) complete opposite,” he laughed.

Kevin Yau hopes to book a couple of birthday parties and conventions next year to spread the word about his side business Vancouver Dinosaur. (Star Vancouver)

Next year, Yau plans to book more events to showcase Vince and attend conventions to get the word out there about Vancouver Dinosaur.

In the meantime, Vince doubles as a handy alternative to a television or computer screen for Aiden.

“Anything that takes his time away from his screen is a win for parents,” he said.

— With files from The Canadian Press