Dinosaur Place!

Enter the TRex's mouth to go down the slide.

One of the major attractions that we wanted to see during our time in Essex was The Dinosaur Place. From what I read online, I had thought that the major draw of the place was going to be this huge outdoor area with life-size dinosaurs everywhere, a maze,  a playground and a lake with a working  volcano.  But I was wrong.  Now Drew and Katie did like that part of the day, but it was NOT the highlight. The highlight was all the interactive activities that we did inside.  And what we brought home.  We packed in EVERYTHING that this place had to offer in one trip, with only a short break at Five Guys for lunch.   Everyone went back to the condo exhausted, but happy.

Posing with the TRex.

Inside the store, Drew was able to pan for gold in a creek.  He loved it! He thought that the best part was that he was able to keep everything that he found. 

Grandmom taught Drew the right technique.

It was fun to find the "gold" pieces in the water and sand. 

Next he went into a cave to look for minerals, gems and crystals. Drew already has a small mineral collection at home and he was excited to add to it.

Drew digging in the cave!

Drew and Grandmom were able to identify all the rocks he found.

Drew was able to take a paleontology class where he helped to discover dinosaur fossils. He then received his own fossil kit!  I was so proud of him because he answered every question asked during the class. 

Fossil class! 

Drew used a brush to unearth the fossils.

Drew and Katie made dinosaur footprints.  They both really liked this section and did not want to leave.

Build your own dinosaur was also a big hit.