Kids love dinosaurs and my little guy is no exception. Hollywood has done a wonderful job of bringing these prehistoric giants to life, but Science has been a little lagging. Bones in a museum just don’t cut it. Even though Jack has seen the displays in various museums and watched his share of dinosaur movies/cartoons; there has always been a disconnect.
On a recent trip to our local zoo, we stumbled upon an interesting Dino Walk. It is a self-guided walk that takes you past various prehistoric animals as well as many dinosaurs. The displays grow, screech and roar as well as move. This was the key. Here was a dynamic display that caught my little one’s attention. He watched, listened and asked a great many questions. He also read all the informational signs and actually studied each display. He usually rushes through museums and we end up fussing at each other as I try to slow him down so I can enjoy the displays. This was not the case here. We spent a halcyon afternoon just learning about dinosaurs while walking in the wonderful autumn weather.
A few years ago this would not have been possible. The large sizes of the creatures as well as the noises they create would have scared the bejeezus out of him. And truthfully, if this had been indoors, it may have been a bit much for him. He can be extremely sensitive to sounds and loud noises are especially troublesome. I know that he is not special in this regard and was happy to learn that this exhibit also does Sensory Friendly options once a month. All movement, sound and music is turned off so all children can have an opportunity to enjoy this exhibit. I have never considered this as a possibility and will be looking at other events or museums where this may be an option in the future.
Even though this was an impromptu experience that we just stumbled upon, I could see that Jack learned quite a bit. He asked questions like: “How do they know what they sounded like?” , ” Is that what their skin looked like?”, ” Has anyone ever found a dinosaur egg?” and, “Is that how big they really were?” Being a former science teacher, I was able to answer many of his questions but more importantly these questions prompted conversations about Science, the Scientific Method and how discoveries are still being made. To see a short video of our trip, visit our Youtube channel Jack and Mama or click the link here.