A couple of weeks ago, I told you about how the little man loves dinosaurs and we found the perfect place to take him. I’m happy to share that he and the rest of us absolutely loved Field Station: Dinosaurs! The animatronic dinosaurs were incredibly cool but there also so many neat activities!
Before we entered Field Station: Dinosaurs, we were all given our scientist credentials and a booklet showing where to find each dinosaur by name. The kids were excited to see the dinosaurs moving their heads and “roaring”. Next to each dinosaur, you could see a board with interesting information about that particular one. The ones tucked away in the woods were the best because they kind of sneak up on you!
Some reviews I read talked about how seeing the dinosaurs doesn’t take as long as they expected but the thing is… if you go to Field Station: Dinosaurs only to see the dinosaurs, you will be missing out on an entire schedule of well-constructed and educational activities. They are completely essential to the experience! T-Rex Games allows all ages to compete in games of both physical and mental skill. The kids threw bean bags onto a map of the world, with the most points going to the bags that landed closest to the dinosaur without knocking it over. They threw balls into bins and then their teams were posed trivia questions about different dinosaurs, My kids are still young and learning their dinosaur facts but I was astounded at how well some of those kids knew their stuff! At the end of these games, points are tallied for a winner but all of the kids gets a small prize!
Feeding Frenzy talks about what the dinosaurs ate but more importantly, the kids had the opportunity to pet the baby Hadrosaurus and watch the baby Tyrannosaurus Rex, roars and all! These dinosaurs are (shh…don’t tell the kids!) puppets that allow the kids to safely and adorably interact. At the end of all of these activities, the kids can get stamps for their credentials booklet.
It gets to be very hot out there in the dead of summer so if you buy a ticket to the 3D movie, I suggest going midway through your adventure as a nice break from the heat! The 3D movie is held inside of an air conditioned tent and like the rest of Field Station: Dinosaurs, it’s both educational and fun! A couple of my kids had never been to 3D movies before so they kept shouting “It’s coming out!” and trying to grab everything!
After the movie, we headed over to the Paleontologist’s Labratory. This is an activity that’s included in the Commander’s Pass admission, but I can tell you that all of my kids got really into it and it was pretty time-consuming too! Each child dons safety glasses and receives a brick of sand (or salt dough, maybe?) containing three or four fossils. The children are to use brushes and other tools to reveal their fossils. My husband and I helped them out a few times but I don’t think they really want us to, they were so determined! Once you find a fossil, you have an identification guide to determine exactly what you’ve found and then you put them into your sack to bring home!
Next to the Paleontologist’s Lab is a giant “sandbox” but wait…it’s a dig site! It’s free with a regular admission and another thing that’s hard to drag the kids away from! When I went to pull them over to catch Feeding Frenzy, my oldest shouted, “But I’ve almost got this whole thing uncovered!” I’m convinced that all sandboxes would be better as dig sites, so many learning opportunities!
After getting our stamp over at Feeding Frenzy, it was feeling hot again and I noticed the dinosaur nursery on the schedule. The nursery is when the baby Hadrosaurus is brought into the Commander’s tent for the children to ask questions and feed the baby with a bottle! This tent, accessed with a Commander’s Pass admission, is quite a cozy little spot! It’s air conditioned with comfy couches, a water cooler, and a small sand table which my oldest daughter ran over to continue her digging exploration. I think we might have a paleontologist on our hands!
My kids (besides the baby), range from ages three to eight and each one of them had their own favorite parts of Field Station: Dinosaurs. The little guy told me that he loved it and he was so happy to see all of the big dinosaurs. We would definitely go again, possibly more toward the cooler months. They have extended their season from September 24th-November 13th this year, which is AWESOME news! They’re also doing a Dinosaurs After Dark activity with additional admission, which will let guests explore the park by lantern light, as well as Dining with Dinosaurs, which is a buffet before the big night begins!
If you’re local and your kids show any signs of interest in dinosaurs, I consider this a must! If you’re a homeschooler or just looking for a day trip that involves learning, I would check this out! There is so much to do and they are constantly adding new ideas to the list of activities!
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*The Quirky Mom Next Door received tickets in exchange for the above honest review. All opinions and experiences are her own only.