Huge jaws and sharp teeth!
Eyes blinking, staring you down.
Earth shattering ROAR!
“Discover the Dinosaurs” at the Duke Convention Center this weekend gives you the opportunity to get up close and personal with dino favorites such as Triceratops, Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Each dinosaur station includes information on what period they lived, what they ate and other cool facts. My dudes liked the fossil dig site, where they used paint brushes to uncover dino bones. Yet the 40 life-like animatronic dinosaurs are just one of the many highlights at this event.
“Can we get a toy?”
“Can we get ALL of the toys?!”
-Toddlers in gift stores.
About halfway through the experience, you are forced to make your way through a maze of dinosaur themed items available for purchase. Isn’t that convenient? Luckily, we had two $5 certificates to use (they came with our Groupon ticket purchase). We settled on a dinosaur figure and a dinosaur boat, only costing us an additional couple of dollars.
In a dark cavern,
Crystals glisten from headlamps,
A discovery!
Gem mining was a big hit with my family. My younger son enjoyed panning for gold with a water sifter (he liked picking out the big rocks and putting them in the baggie), while my older son opted for the tunnel mining experiment (he liked wearing the headlamp and searching for the perfect fossil).
Jumping and bouncing,
Hurdle over a t-rex,
Slide down volcanos!
“Discover the Dinosaurs” had three separate inflatables for guests to enjoy. There was a large tiger slide, a large dinosaur themed obstacle course and a smaller inflatable with a slide for the youngest inflatable enthusiasts.
It’s a bumpy ride,
When you saddle up dinos,
Better hold on tight!!!
The children’s choice award definitely goes to the dinosaur rides. Riders could choose from 4 different dinos to hitch a ride on. The staff certainly helped make the experience memorable. They turned the sound off for my little guy to make it less scary, and they made my oldest giggle by playfully acting scared of his dinosaurs.
Overall we had a Dino-mite time! If you have dinosaur lovers, there is still time to see “Discover the Dinosaurs” at Duke Convention Center before it goes extinct!
Ages: All Ages
Tickets: $20 ages 13 and older, $25 ages 2 – 12, $18 ages 65 and older
Website: http://
Amanda Ciani is one of our NEW Mom Reporters, sharing her experiences on what’s happening this summer! Amanda lives in Northern Kentucky with her husband and their two terrific toddler sons. She graduated from NKU with degrees in Sociology and Philosophy. She enjoys writing haiku parenting poems for her blog (www.haikuciani.weebly.com) and Twitter account (@haikuciani).