dinosaurs

OK, so it was billed as a "blockbuster exhibit", so we paid the $3 per person fee (in addition to our admission, which was covered by our membership), to go see the Animatronic Dinosaurs on display at the Springfield Science Museum. Take my advice -- SAVE YOUR MONEY. It was far less spectacular than even my meager handful of photos depict. The Map Man and I were less than impressed.

The kids, however, were enthralled. Not so much with the dinos themselves (which they liked well enough, but I gotta tell you, they were a little boring, even for a 7 and 5 year old), but with the things they found to do there. Like donning safety glasses and paint brushes to go on an archaeological dig.

And running the dinosaur robot from it's control panel.






And climbing through a volcano.







And studying the finer points of large reptilian carnivore/prey relationships.

But seriously, I'm making it look MUCH better than it actually was.

Kid's review: 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars. (But these are MY kids -- they would have a blast all afternoon in an empty cardboard box.)

Parent's review: 1/2 star out of 5, and only because of that robot. We would have much rather been in the Planetarium (which WAS included in our membership admission!). If it was free, I wouldn't have whined. I'm just having a hard time trying to figure out what exactly we paid for. (The ridiculous electric bill those things must generate, I guess!)

I'm glad the kids had fun. But I warned them that this was the one and only time we were going to pay to see the dinosaurs. They took my warning to heart and visited the exhibit twice during our visit today. Meanwhile, The Map Man and I did our best to keep each other awake (not 100% successfully, either....).