Indonesian Digital News Archive: Dinosaurs

Articles by "Dinosaurs"

West Hartford Children's Museum

We've visited the West Hartford Children's Museum several times. It takes one hour exactly from our home, and is very close to the highway so it's easy to find. Parking is free, and though the lot has often been crowded I've always found a spot.

This museum really is a kid pleaser. A physics oriented room painted vividly is a big draw. Other features: A large fossil dig area with goggles and dress up vests, a surprising number of live animals (many snakes, lizards, turtles, and a few small mammals), a lego room, a toddler area, and some other fun nooks and crannies. The outdoor space is disappointing here, and I haven't seen much improvement over the course of my visits - though I allow there has been some. A dinosaur themed mini golf area had really gross old water that the kids kept fishing golf balls out of. My friend and I were appalled. Really Gross.

You can choose indoor seating for your snack, next to some exhibits and basic vending, or outdoor seating at picnic tables under a shade tent.

Admission is FREE with your Springfield Quadrangle membership.

Boston Museum of Science, Boston MA

We've visited this museum several times, and keep discovering pockets that we missed before. This is a large museum with exhibits that will fascinate kids from 1 on up. The youngest visitors will probably spend lots of time in the Discovery Center. Though only a corner of this enormous building, it has two floors of preschool age activities: a vacuum tube, various building materials, a strong blower, a water table, a bee hive, animal costumes, live woodland animals and insects, animal bones, hiding spots... those are the elements I can reel off without even thinking about it. Not comprehensive - so you can get an idea of how much the Discovery Center offers. The exhibits in the rest of the museum are too numerous to count. An electricity show is free with admission and is exciting. I still remember the climax of the show from my childhood, when lightening is created right in front of your eyes. The last time I took my children there, my oldest, at 4, did not have the attention span for the show so we'll try again next time.

Parking is extremely convenient and usually costs us $11. The garage is attached to the museum itself so even in winter weather it works out great. There is a large cafe with tons of food choices and copious seating. We choose to bring our lunch and then supplement with buying a treat there. It's really expensive. The other huge advantage is that by bringing your own food you are skipping the whole line experience. There are often large school groups, and it is always crowded. Once the kids' tummies are full they are ready to go.

If you are a member of the Springfield Science Museum/Springfield Quadrangle, your admission is FREE. And you don't wait in line, just continue on to the turnstiles, show your membership card and you are in the museum. That's it. Through the Association of Science and Technical Museums, the Springfield membership will privilege you to free admission at the Boston Children's Museum, the Ecotarium, the Boston Science Museum, and many more museums in other states. We have been members for several years now- our annual fee would be paid for in visits to the Quadrangle alone, never mind the aforementioned additional places.

Museum of Science

Ecotarium, Worcester, MA (Update)

Our recent visit (June 2009) was a lot of fun. I found that exhibits had been changed/renewed since our last visit, sometime in the midwinter of 2008-2009.

We got to see the polar bear. The tree canopy was still not open. The person I spoke with said that there are pretty strict weight and height limits so my kids might not be eligible to do that yet anyways. We'll be back there soon - after several visits I am even more convinced of it's lasting interest. The boys played on the pirate ship in the toddler area for a good 45 minutes, a feature that had barely caught their eyes previously. There are plenty of corners to discover here.

Original Post:
We are very happy to have discovered the Ecotarium. Our admission is free with our membership pass to the Springfield Museums. After gaining admission at the front gate, the parking is free.

The museum itself is an interesting building with an eclectic array of exhibits. You'll enter at the top level, right by the gift shop. The shop is nice and they do have some smaller items. When we get our kids a treat we tend to want to spend $1 or so.

Walk down a curved staircase to the second level. More animal stuff, some dino stuff, a presentation area - on our first visit we saw an excellent owl presentation.

On the ground floor, there are live animals in the aquarium/terrarium area, lots of fun weather related exhibits. My husband's favorite feature is a tidal pool camera; by turning a dial you can watch hours of sea activity in mere moments. It is really cool to see the starfish and sea urchins moving in time lapse.

From the ground floor you exit to the grounds. This is the reason that the compound is such a wonderful destination. There are more animals in small, self contained buildings and environments throughout the grounds. We haven't seen the polar bear (!) but it has been fun to explore the trails.

The playground is fine - the rope ladder is an interesting feature & the sandbox is large.

There is a train - tickets are several dollars. We haven't gone yet.

The snack bar that is open only a few hours a day, so bring your food.

Ecotarium

Granby Public Library, Granby, MA

I had a great first visit to this library today. The children's room is separated from the rest of the library, with the whole downstairs to itself. (The videos are located upstairs, which could be a boon or a burden. I found myself glad about it today, because the kids were more focused on books than DVDs). The restroom was clean and well equipped for children. There was a train table as well as another play table with plant and dinosaur legos. I browsed the parent - oriented books, such as crafts and activities. The selection was fantastic. There were lots of themed backpacked available to check out. Plenty of puzzles too. Two computers were set up, but I didn't bother checking whether they were library-catalogue only or had internet access.

The room is small and cramped, but has a well cared for and friendly feeling. A large table had coloring sheets and library information, but it was being used more as a work surface during my visit there. There was an adult sized chair that I sat in to nurse the baby, but in a small space it's hard to create true privacy.

When I checked out my books, on the main level, the children's librarian introduced herself and welcomed me to the library. All in all, a really nice small community library.

Granby Public Library

Dr. Spooky's, South Deerfield, MA

"I vill Suck zee Money out of your Wallet!"

Dr. Spooky's cost us $26.50 to get in with 2 parents and 2 kids . However, there were a lot of cool exhibits. Spiders, bats, birds, and rodents were the stars of this zoo. There was also a dinosaur section which included killing claw fossils (the second toe of many carnivorous raptors was elongated, curved, and razor sharp), a model of a large pterosaur, and a somewhat disappointing "dinosaur fight" where you basically go in a dark tent and they play a recording of roars and thundering footsteps. The store area had a lot of dinosaurs also. It was open to the rest of the museum (slightly annoying).

On one hand I would love to go back to see it again, on the other hand.... $26.50? I could take us all out to lunch.

Southwick Zoo, Mendon, MA

My visit here was two summers ago, on a hot hot day. The zoo was less impressive than I remembered it, having gone there as a child. However, the large visitor/science center was great, volunteers were holding millipedes and snakes; there were a lot of activities. If I return to this zoo I'll spend more time here. There were some charming features like a wooded area with a stream. My kids enjoyed the fox that they glimpsed through the trees.

There was a dinosaur section with large dinos you could ride, as well as an excavation area. Adjacent to this was an amphitheater; on the day of our visit a really awesome bird show was taking place but they were too young to go in at that point - specifically because a sign by the entry said that loud noises scare the birds.

The sea otters put on a wonderful show for us. A seating/vending/ride area had a train and a couple of other things that ranged from coins to a couple of bucks for the train. Waters were $2.

Parking was free, but the lot was pretty packed. Lots of buses, too.

Southwick Zoo

Lupa Zoo

Lupa Zoo (my post)

Dinosaur Footprints, Holyoke, MA

Pull of Rt. 5 onto a half circle parking area. Walk down a small hill and you'll find this sign, and actual, honest to goodness, dinosaur prints. There's a culvert with clean water running through, so there were some rock throwing opportunities. The river is in sight through some trees. We did not spend much time here as it was an adjunct activity.

Dinosaur Footprints (Trustees of Reservations)

Dinosaur State Park, Rocky Hills, CT

In the late 60s, during excavation of a construction site, one worker noticed some dinosaur tracks in the rock. Turns out, this area is home to one of the best preserved sections of prehistoric footprints in North America. A large geodome was erected directly over the fossilized bedrock. The exhibits inside the museum were not very fascinating, but adequate. The largest exhibit features an indoor bridge across a dinosaur scene which incorporates models, wall murals, and sounds. The track exhibit explains how the fossils are formed and other relevant information. Several dioramas set into the walls show the terrain in various eras. The activity area was very well equipped with art supplies, lots of dino toys, puzzles, models, live lizards, books, etc.

The real prize of this museum is the network of trails outside. The woodland has been cultivated with Jurassic species so that it more closely resembles the terrain where Coelephysis roamed.

There is plenty of free parking.

The restrooms were not memorable - adequate.

There is no food for sale here, but indoor and outdoor dining areas are provided.

Dinosaur State Park

Public Parks in Rocky Hill

Rocky Hill Ferry

Museum of Natural History, Amherst College, Amherst, MA

I don't have a complete review because I sat in a side hallway with 8 day old baby boy the whole time. What I saw from the entrance to my spot was impressive. My husband and kids had a great time. We are looking forward to visiting again.
The parking situation is not great. I would use downtown Amherst metered parking or street parking, especially during the school year when the Amherst College lots are full.

Amherst College Museum of Natural History

Campus Map

Springfield Science Museum, Springfield, MA

Parking is free - there are two lots, one directly in front of the ticketing area, and another across the street.

The Science Museum is the first building you'll see as you approach. This museum hosts the popular dinosaur exhibit once per year. Regular exhibits include an aquarium & terrarium area, many examples of stuffed animals, early American History, an Earth Sciences section, a planetarium (still looking forward to this - have removed myself due to crying both times I tried to take them in), and a dinosaur area.
The Science Museum hosts most of the special programs that are available at the Quadrangle. On certain days additional areas are opened - a really awesome activity room in the basement and a second area with art projects near the planetarium.

The gift shop is lovely, and set up pretty well so that the high end fragile stuff is on one side and the kid friendly stuff is on the other. Unfortunately it's impossible to avoid the gift shop because the seating area where you can have your lunch is literally inside the store. There are a few vending machines there, but otherwise no food for sale, so definitely bring your own. The restrooms are fine. The best one is the handicapped one located right in the entrance area.

We have a membership to this museum complex and it is a GREAT DEAL. The regular admission, the other museums that we can visit for free on the passport program, such as the Boston Children's Museum, the Boston Science Museum, or the Ecotarium. The special programs that they hold there, the permanent exhibits and the weekend family events... all of these make the membership very worthwhile for us.

Springfield Science Museum

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