Places to Take Kids Who Love Dinosaurs

If your kid's favorite toys are his dinosaur figures and he's constantly correcting you on their names, you've got a huge dino lover on your hands. You can indulge your future paleontologist by taking him to places where he can see and learn more about dinosaurs, including interactive museum exhibits and exciting, dino-themed attractions.

  1. Museums

    • Take your dino-loving kid to the nearest natural history museum. Most have dinosaur skeletons, fossils and replicas for children to view. Some include interactive fossil digs where children can pretend to dig for dinosaur bones. Among the most notable natural history museums for their dinosaur exhibits is the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, which features Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton. Other natural history museums with impressive dinosaur exhibits include the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, which features a gigantic, suspended Barosaurus and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., which has scores of real dinosaur fossils.

    Dinosaur Digs

    • While many natural history museums include dinosaur dig experiences for children, you can also take your child to some real sites across the U.S. where paleontologists have dug up dinosaur bones. At the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis, Wyo., your kid can see paleontologists at work in excavation sites and even participate in looking for dinosaur bones. In Colorado, Utah, you can visit the Dinosaur National Monument, a 210,000-acre park where several major dinosaur fossils have been discovered. The park has a program where kids complete different tasks throughout the park related to paleontology and earn a badge upon completion. Other real dinosaur dig sites to consider include the Mammoth Site in Paleo Park in Rapid City, S.D., and the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in Hill City, S.D.

    Dinosaur Theme Parks

    • Take your child to one of several outdoor dinosaur parks, featuring life-sized, realistic-looking dinosaurs. At Dinosaur World, which has three locations -- Glen Rose, Texas, Plant City, Fla., and Cave City, Ky., you and your child can marvel at up to 150 dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. All locations also include children's fossil dig ad play areas. At theme parks Kings Dominion in Doswell, Va., and Kings Island, in Mason, Ohio, you can take your child to visit the Dinosaurs Alive Park, which include up to 60 life-sized animatronic dinosaurs that move and sound like living dinosaurs, sure to be a thrill for your kid.

    Dinosaur-themed Amusement Rides

    • Take your kid to an amusement park that features a cool dinosaur ride or attraction of some sort. At Universal Studios Orlando and Hollywood, take your child on the Jurassic Park River Adventure ride, which takes you through a prehistoric jungle scene before taking an 85-foot plunge, guaranteeing you will get soaked. At Disney's Animal Kingdom, you and your child can enjoy all the rides and attractions in the Dinoland area, such as the Primeval Whirl roller coaster and Dinosaur, a simulator ride where Bill Nye the Science Guy sends riders back to prehistoric times.

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