Do you have a Dino Lover in your home? You can embark on a Jurassic Journey your children will love! From Dinosaur Dining, to an amazing Larger than Life Dinosaur Exhibit, to parks and playgrounds with Dinosaurs, and Dino Rock 'n Roll... we have it all! This is your Complete Guide to Dinosaur Fun in Kansas City!
Dinosaurs Stomp and Soar into Kansas City
The Largest, Life-Sized Dinosaur Exhibit in the History of Kansas City, Roars into Union Station on May 1st! (Find out what Kansas City Kids think of the exhibit in our feature article on Dinosaurs Unearthed.) For your inner scientist, "Dinosaurs Unearthed" is a multisensory and interactive exhibit bringing inspiration, science and technology together as visitors also hear the sounds and see the movements of 24 full-sized animatronic dinosaurs, 8 of them feathered. Visitors can see all of these creatures as they appeared and behaved when they roamed the Earth, from the familiar T-Rex and Triceratops, including a feathered juvenile T-Rex, to Stegosaurus, Protoceratops and many others. Visitors can control some of the animatronic dinosaurs by pressing simple buttons on consoles to create a series of movements. The life-sized Baryonyx, Stegosaurus, Allosaurus and juvenile Apatosaurus capture some of the most life-like motions ever created. Also featuring five fully-articulated, life-size skeletons (including the 62-foot long Omeisaurus) and more than 40 fossil replicas and eggs from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The exhibit features a kids paleontological dig site where visitors can uncover prehistoric fossils. Visitors to Science City in Union Station also experience the Dinolab where they can watch and interact with resident paleontologist, Matt Christopher, Kansas City's own Dino Matt, while he and staff educators prepare real dinosaurs for display. Also, catch "Dinosaurs Alive! 3-D" a thrilling film which takes visitors back into the early Triassic period to follow the tiniest dinosaurs to the largest creatures is also showing on the Regnier Extreme Screen.
"Dinosaurs Unearthed" in Kansas City Details:
- Union Station, Bank of America Gallery, 30 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, Mo. 64108
- Exhibit Hours (May 1, 2010 - Jan. 9, 2011): Tuesday---Saturday: 10:00 a.m.--5:00 p.m.; Sunday: noon--5:00 p.m.
- Admission: Adults 13-59: $13.50; Seniors 60+, College Students with valid ID and Military personnel with valid ID: $12.00; children 3--12: $9.50; children 2 and under: FREE. Groups of 15+: $9.50 per person; and, Union Station members: Adults $8.50; Children $7.00.
- See Dinosaurs Unearthed for more information.
Build-A-Dino at Union Station
If you're looking for a souvenir that will be a GIGANTIC hit with your Dino Lovers, check out the BRAND NEW Build-A-Dino at Union Station! Children choose one of nine dinosaurs to "make their own" dino friend! Several of the dinosaurs are also featured in the exhibit including the T-Rex, Triceratops, Brachiosaurus, and Velociraptor. Kids choose a dino, give it a heart, stuff it with fluff, and select an outfit for their new dinosaur friend! The store carries an exclusive Union Station T-Shirt for your Dino for just $6. They also carry "already stuffed" mini dinosaurs. Prices for stuff-your-own Dinos range from $12-22 and outfits range from $6-20 (depending on the number of accessories and pieces chosen). Follow KCParent.com on Facebook to learn how YOU could win a Build-A-Dino Gift Card! Note: You may also Build-A-Dino at T-Rex Cafe!
Dine with Dinos 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).
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 year 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 www.jimcosgrove.com or check the KCParent.com Calendar.
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)
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.
Visit Nerluc the Dinosaur.
The Berry Patch is a U-Pick Berry Farm in Missouri, open for picking June-August. 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:
- Metal Dinosaurs in Centralia, Missouri (13200 Hw T, 2 ½ hr drive from Kansas City) This is a roadside attraction. You will find half a dozen dinosaurs welded from metal implements in the yard of this home.
- St. Louis Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri (5050 Oakland Ave., 314.725.5645. 4 ½ hr drive from Kansas City). The St. Louis Science Center features a dinosaur exhibit including a giant roaring dinosaur.
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).