Last Sunday I had the chance to take the family on an adventure to Field Station Dinosaurs in Secaucus, NJ. Field Station Dinosaurs is an outdoor exhibition of 31 life sized animatronic dinosaurs that features entertainment, workshops and games. It’s a walking park and you can participate in these programs at your leisure. Here is a little about how our day went and what the kids and I thought of the park.
Before you are even inside the park you can hear the dinosaurs roar, which made the boys jump with excitement. First I need to tell you, they don’t walk around. There heads, mouths and tails move, but not their legs. I just want to put that out there because I thought they’d be walking around. My imagination is off the charts I guess. The boys didn’t seem to care. They loved seeing and hearing the dinosaurs.
I think they were blown away by the size of some of these creatures. Each guest is given credentials, that resemble a passport and the guest can obtain stamps upon completing activities and visiting stations. My boys weren’t too interested in getting stamps and I’m glad because I only saw one place giving children stamps. Honestly, I wasn’t even looking for the stamps so this could just be my oversight. I don’t know.
Some of the dinosaurs are close enough that you can touch them. This guy closed his mouth right on my son’s hand! My son loved it. He told me he could feel his tongue!
We also attended the T-Rex feeding frenzy. We learned some dinosaur facts, listened to some songs about dinos and then witnessed a 15′ T-Rex get his tooth pulled and fed. The audience got involved and it was a lot of fun. I wish there was more room. It was very packed. The kids loved it even though they could see that this was a giant puppet. It was very cute and they even got some audience members involved.
At each station there is information about that dinosaur. You can see on a map where these dinosaurs were found and what year each dinosaur was discovered. This was perfect for my oldest. He’s a bit of a brainiac and had several questions. These boards gave him the answers he was looking to find. As a parent I loved the education aspect of the park, and even I learned a few things.
The largest Dinosaur in the park is 90 feet long and can be seen from the Empire State building. ( I’ll let you know we’ll be taking the boys soon!) You can actually reach up and touch the tale as it’s swaying back and forth.
My youngest also took part in a fossil dig. It is only open at certain times throughout the day and once again I have to say that I wish there was more room. There also was not enough shovels or brushes for everyone. My son had to dig with his hands and then we had to walk back over to the bathroom to wash them. We have never done one of these digs before so my son was a bit disappointed that he didn’t find anything. The park also features several educational workshop and other games. We didn’t participate in any as my oldest has sensory issues and too many people is never a good combination for us. They had a blast just walking around and seeing what was there, but there was so much more we could have done. You can make it a full day or a shorter day and still enjoy yourself. We did.
If you have a chance to visit this Summer you should, the kids all seemed enjoy it. Remember to wear comfortable shoes and bring sunscreen. Food is available there or you can bring your own. We packed our own lunch and ate at the picnic tables that are available. Tickets can be purchased in advance at a discount price online Field Station Dinosaurs is located at Laurel Hill Park, 1 Dinosaur Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094
Guess what? Field Station Dinosaurs has given offered to give one of my readers 2 tickets to visit them! Just wait for the form to load, entry is easy! Giveaway ends June 20Th.
Disclosure: My family and I received tickets from Mama Drama and Field Station Dinosaurs in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts are my own.
Melissaa Surprise says
Brayden has been a dino freak since age 2, this would be heaven to him.
Angela says
Gavin would be so thrilled to be so close to the dinosaurs! It looks awesome!!
melissa castro says
we would love to do this as a family!
Joann says
we would love to try this!!
Kristin says
My son would love to overcome his fear of the dinosaurs.
Marcia K says
Sounds like a great day~and not too far from the Hudson Valley!
jenn m says
Ava would just go nuts for this! She is A dinosaur freak.
Jenn says
This is great! I know my girls would love it!
Ethel says
Would love to take Stephen the dinosaur lover (and Claire), curious to see how this one compares to the one in Connecticut near Mystic.
Kathy Gross says
My Magosaurous is a dinosaur fanatic. At age 3, immediately after seeing Alive! at the Museum of Natural History, she earnestly informed me that when she grew up she wanted “to be a paayee-entolgis”. At her 4 year old dinosaur birthday party, the cake had an edible picture I created by overlaying the horse she was in front of, with her favorite dino, T-Rex. At age 9, Prehistoric Planet and Prehistoric Park are still her favorite “documentaries”. We were blown away to learn of this Park – her wildest fantasies come true ; )
Kate says
Lucas ‘s favorite is the T-Rex since he was 3.
Now at age 5 T-Rex still the one
He’s so exiting to go this week end
I can’t wait to see him with his eyes and mouth wild open of excitement…