Communities often have resources that we don’t use or think of for young children, but many can be exciting adventures, especially if there are dinosaurs. Here are just two examples, a museum and a trail.
In a few areas, there are some dinosaur museums and parts of zoos that rival Jurassic Park and in most major cities, there will be a section of the museum for dinosaurs. At some of them, when kids are a bit older, there might even be an overnight “Sleep With The Dinosaurs” adventure. These places are often on the bucket list for families with kids.
However, even small, local or dusty, aging ones may have some exhibits that young kids would be excited to see. With young children, museum visits ideally are interactive and hands-on but they can be short enough to check out just a few displays like huge bones in glass cases and very old fossils. We were able to see a plaster cast of a dinosaur footprint. A 4-year old hand is smaller than one toe! Little bit by little bit, kids build their knowledge about something, so quick visits are valuable too.
How about a hike to find dinosaurs or a dinosaur trail? Just like museums, some areas will have walks and hikes with full-size replicas of dinosaurs set up in a park. The size alone can be a bit scary and ones with sound effects are quite frightening for young children. Dinosaurs usually have very big mouths with lots of teeth too.
Sometimes, though, the dinosaurs are small plastic ones that are hiding in the woods. Have you ever been on a hike to look for fairies or fairy doors? Instead of fairies, there is a trail in our area with dinosaurs. Families can go for a walk with kids and be on the lookout for dinos. Because they are natural colors, they are challenging to find. This kind of a trail can be set up anywhere. For a party, parents can hide a few dinosaurs in the park or playground for kids to find. What a fun, outside adventure!
Do you have any resources that you’ve found for fun and learning with dinosaurs?
