Do you have a Dino Lover in your home? You can embark on a Jurassic Journey your children will love!

Note: This is our 2009 Guide, check out our 2010 Guide to Dinosaurs in Kansas City for ALL NEW information!

1. Dine with Dinosaurs in Kansas City.

    

   • T-Rex Café is a dining experience you won’t forget! The restaurant features life size dinosaurs and theatrical prehistoric settings. The dinosaurs “come to life” among the waterfalls, aquariums, and ice caves. Activities include Build-A-Bear Workshop’s Build-A-Dino store in the restaurant where children can create their own dinosaur friend and a excavate fossils in a bone dig. Take photos with dinosaurs and enjoy dinosaur themed food. (1847 Village West Pkwy, KCKS. 913.334.8888).

2. Watch Darwin the Dinosaur.

   Darwin The Dinosaur: A glow-in-the-dark adventure
   From a land of darkness, comes a tale of light. CORBIAN Visual Arts and Dance presents Darwin The Dinosaur, a truly unique theatre experience featuring larger-than-life, glow in the dark characters that light up the stage. With moments of both calamity and comedy, this heartwarming tale tells the story of a scientist, his creation and the true meaning of love. Using electroluminescent, crayon drawing-like creatures and an irresistible and expressive soundtrack, Darwin The Dinosaur is an imaginative spectacle for kids of all ages. Shows at the Lied Center in Lawrence Kansas. October 3, 2009, 1:30pm and 4pm. Click here for Tickets and information.

    

3. Dig for Dinosaur Bones.

   Science City features a Dinosaur exhibit where children can see real dinosaur skeletons, dig for fossils, and learn about paleontology. (30 W. Pershing Rd., KCMO. 816.460.2020. www.unionstation.org)

    

4.  

   Rock ‘N Roll Dinosaur Style.

   KC’s Kid Rockers, Dino “Dinosaur" O’Dell & the Veloci-Rappers and Jim “Mr. Stinky Feet” Cosgrove perform live concerts in Kansas City all summer long.  Dino O’Dell sings a number of Dinosaur tunes, and Mr. Stinky Feet will have your kids dancing to Bop Bop Dinosaur. For schedules, visit www.dinoodell.com and http://www.jimcosgrove.com or check the KCParent.com Calendar. 

    

5. Find Fossils.

   Take a Day Trip to Lawrence and visit the KU Natural History Museum. The Museum features an extensive collection of fossils, including the Mosasaur, the largest known lizard to have lived. (1345 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045. 785.864.2344. www.nhm.ku.edu)

    

6. Read about Reptiles at the Reading Reptile in Brookside

   (63rd and Wornall, KCMO. 816.753.0441. www.readingreptile.com). The Reading Reptile is a gem of a bookstore tucked in Brookside. Enter a dream world of children’s literature and let your dinosaur fanatic explore their passion for reptiles… or perhaps, after so many Jurassic Journeys, they’ll choose a new favorite theme! While you’re at The Reading Reptile, enjoy a Free Friday Night Film or story time. Wander next door to Brookside Toy and Science and then treat the kids to ice cream at Topsy’s. Make it a day of fun your young explorers will love.

    

7. Eat Dinosaur Pizza.

   At Double Dino's Pizza kids watch the staff make the pizzas right before their eyes. The restaurant features dinosaurs kids can climb on, funhouse mirrors, and flat screen tvs with personal remotes at EACH table so diners may choose their own program for viewing. (5436 Roberts, Shawnee, KS. 913.422.9010).

    

8. Visit Nerluc the Dinosaur.

   The Berry Patch is a U-Pick Berry Farm in Missouri. Families pick their own blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries throughout the summer. They also feature a Family Fun Zone with an obstacle course, Berry Train, and Nerluc, the dinosaur. (22509 State Line Road Cleveland, MO. 816.618.3771. www.theberrypatchonline.com)

    

More Dinosaurs in Missouri:

More Dinosaurs in Kansas:

• Dinosaur Not So National Park in Erie, Kansas (Hwy 47, 1.25 miles west of Hwy 59. 620.244.3489, 2 ½ hr drive from Kansas City). Twenty metal dinosaurs, the largest over thirty feet long, were created and welded by Robert Dorris. The park is open during daylight hours to visitors who are welcomed to drive in, photograph, and enjoy the art.

• Riverside Park in Independence, Kansas (north side of town, east of U.S 75 at 120 N. 6th St. 316.332.2512, 2 ½ hr drive from Kansas City) features a stegosaurus, a corythosaurus and a brontosaurus.

• Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, Kansas (600 Park St. 785-628-4286, 4 ½ hr drive from Kansas City) is devoted mainly to dinosaurs. The most unusual artifact was discovered by Mr. Sternberg: the "fish within a fish" fossil. The museum features life-sized models and murals of dinosaurs.

• Welded Dinosaurs in Rose Hill, Kansas (256 W. Rosewood St., 3 hr. drive from Kansas City). Phil Brinkly welds scrap metal dinosaurs, bugs, and pigs. Some of the dinosaurs are riding motorcycles or in other humorous poses.

• Play on the Dinosaurs at Leawood City Park (10601 Lee Blvd., Leawood, KS).