Did Dinosaurs Poop?

On Saturday, February 9, we went to the North Museum as a family. I had reserved the family pass in the summer, and then it was our "turn" the week of Christmas. We didn't get to go, so I put our name back on the waiting list and received an email the day before that it was ready for pick-up. Thankfully Shawn is easygoing and agreed to make it a fun family day after the gym!

The timing was GREAT because the museum just opened a new exhibit called "Did Dinosaurs Poop?" The boys love dinosaurs, and being boys, they giggled at the word "poop."

The first room we checked out was the live animals room. The attendant said he could take almost any animal out of its cage for the boys to touch, if we wanted. But, there were also lots of other folks in the room and Shawn shook his head no. There were cockroaches, snakes, frogs, turtles, lizards, a super hairy tarantula and all sorts of small  animals in this room. Ryan is checking out the turtles in the picture above and below.

The other boys were fascinated by this room and would tell me when they spotted the creature in its cage (some of them were hiding).

They had some various exhibits on stars and the solar system in general, and we did not pay the extra fee to see the planetarium presentation this time.

The next area we went into was the "hands on" room for little discoverers. Joshua was excited to see some dinosaurs already out. They also have tons of bins with different items to check out (my favorite being the animal feet that you have to guess belong to which animals). Others have rocks and minerals, etc. One had building blocks that the boys enjoyed putting together.

I thought this bee hive was also intriguing. Shawn told the boys if they ever see anything like that outside, they should stay away from it. Ryan enjoyed the birds on the wall, the puzzles for his age group, and the little wall of pieces that you can turn together (forgetting what it's called now). 

Caleb especially LOVED the microscope where he could adjust the focus and brightness and try to find things on these tiny cards that then were magnified and big! He could have sat there all day. Eventually he also colored some pictures and Joshua also took a turn at the microscope. 

And while I don't have as many pictures as I usually do at events like this, I was busy with my hands interacting with the boys and the stuff they were exploring. FUN!

The best part by far, though, was the actual dinosaur exhibit.

There were lots of signs and information about how dinosaurs ate and what anthropologists can tell from their fossils and even their feces. The kids could have cared less at the 'boring' info. They were just happy to PLAY! They all loved the dino slide (which you can't tell from the picture that the sides are the shape of a dinosaur).

Ryan sat down to examine the dinosaur poop to learn what the dinosaurs ate. When he went to eat the "excrement," I drew the line. But, there were also other dinosaurs to play with, which he highly enjoyed. There were books on dinosaurs (some just 'fun' ones too that we've read from the library before) and there dinosaur puzzles. There was also a station to build-a-dino with various parts of legs, heads, bodies and tails that were foam but reminded me of legos in a sense because of looking at the suggestions and then putting the pieces together to make the creature.


The coolest part in my opinion, though, was the fossil dig.

They had little scientist coats the boys could have worn (but opted not to, sigh) and goggles for fun. With tiny little brushes, we 'dug' through this box of what I'm guessing was rubber tire bits (almost like what I've seen at some playgrounds) to find various fossils. There was a paper there to say what fossils were in the box, and we found the head, an arm bone, a piece of a tale, etc. The boys LOVED this area! So did the other kids - it was a happening spot!

After we found them all, we covered them back up with our same brushes to make sure the next kids could have fun finding them. There were other exhibits about bones and dinosaur discoveries, but the boys were about done by then.

We went downstairs (a complete waste of time, in my humble opinion) and saw several different speces of birds (BO-RING!) and then went upstairs where there's a whole lot of nothing.

We felt that we definitely got our money's worth, though, since the pass was free and all it cost us was the gas to get there. :) :) :)

When we left, I suggested that we take the kids to Burger King with a playground. If I'm remembering correctly, we had a coupon and I just thought the kids would enjoy playing. I wasn't ready for our fun family date to be over yet. Shawn reminded me how far away Ephrata was, and I agreed to drive. It was further than I remembered (can't believe we used to live up that way!) but the boys had a GREAT time!

Of course I had to get the crowns - what's a trip to BK without them?

We got the boys chicken nuggets. They've changed their nuggets since the last time we were there, and they are AWFUL! Even the kids wouldn't eat them - GROSS!!!

Shawn was impressed, however, with their new soda machine. It was an experience I didn't get to see because I stayed behind with the kids while he got our order.

The playground was packed (what was I expecting on a Saturday?) but the kids had a great time!

Ryan wanted to play with his older brothers, so I said okay to him going up. Then I read the sign that all children must be between the ages of 4 and 10 for safety reasons. AHHH!!!! I was appalled that I didn't notice it sooner. Joshua was a HUGE help in coaxing Ryan back down to us.

 We left after Ryan came back down, but the kids had had plenty of play time by then. We had started the day at Universal, then went to the North Museum and then BK for play time and lunch. We swung by our old house just for fun and then headed home. It was mid-afternoon until we arrived, but it had been a great family day! If I'm remembering correctly, that night we did a family movie night and watched "Wreck It Ralph" which the boys highly enjoyed. I love spending time together! We are blessed to have three wonderful little boys to enjoy and raise. :) They are an awesome gift from God!