Family Outing: Visit to Jurassic Quest Dinosaur Exhibit
FAMILY OUTING
Fast forward to me now having a 3 year old, and out of the blue dinosaurs have become his favorite thing! His favorite toys now are his T-Rex stuffed toy from Target, and 2 mini dinosaurs we got when we visited the Jurassic Quest Dinosaur Exhibit.
Since he kept going on and on about dinosaurs, we thought a visit to see them would light up his day, and it sure did! I'm writing this weeks after going and he's still asking to go back!
What is it that happens when a kid turns 3, that makes them suddenly obsessed with dinosaurs? When I worked at a pre-school, the 3 year olds would constantly talk and debate about dinosaurs, and which was the best. I was blown away to hear them say all the complex dinosaur names perfectly, especially since English wasn't their first language.
Since they are a moving exhibit, we managed to catch then while in York, Pa, quite an easy drive from our home in Maryland. We purchased tickets through their website in advance to make sure we could enter the time we wanted.
When we arrived, parking was a breeze. There was a single mini dino exhibit at the entrance for pictures and selfies, but we didn't get around to it. Checking in was pretty quick. We showed our digital ticket, got a bag with little toys and activities, stamps on our hand, while my kiddo got a band which allowed him to do the rides and activities inside.
Then off to see the dinosaurs!
The exhibit was divided into 3 major sections-
The first section had all the life- size animated dinosaurs. They made motions like moving their limbs, tail, neck and head, along with making ROARing sounds. My little one ran in filled with excitement and awe at all the dinosaurs. He was especially thrilled to see the velociraptors, triceratops, and the T-Rex.
The second section was all entertainment and a gift store. They had Jurassic themed inflated bouncy houses for different ages, a baby dino park for babies to crawl and roam around, motorized jeeps to drive, and even dinosaurs to take a ride on! You could be a paleontologist for the moment and search through the sand for dinosaur bones and skeletons. There was even a craft station to make your own dinosaur.
We spent most of our time in this section. My little guy had a blast on the Jurassic jeep bouncy house; I was able to peek through the mesh sides to see him jump around. (Socks are needed for the bouncy house. We forgot to bring but fortunately, they had on sale at the gift shop.) Then he took a ride in the jeep, driving around a dinosaur while being guided by an attendant. Hubby and I joined him digging through and brushing away sand to find dinosaur bones, and then we took a break and made our own dinosaur at the craft corner to take home.
The third section was past the entertainment section and led to the exit. It opened with a giant shark with mouth wide open that you could sit in and take pictures, and went on to show the Jurassic era sea animals, including the megladon. It was huge!
We had so much fun, and it was great to see my little one interested, excited and enjoying all the different activities. It was truly a morning well spent!
If you want to visit this mobile exhibit, click here to see when they'll be near you.