I can safely say we’re in the middle of a dinosaur phase in our household. It started with the movie Jurassic World, which the boys saw three times at the cinema; we now have plastic dinosaurs all over the house; and there’s really no knowing when it will all end now that Son1 goes by the name of Raptor.
For little boys, it all makes perfect sense – dinosaurs are huge and powerful; they’re monsters, but dead monsters, so not scary; and when my boys get into character they can growl and fight and chase each other.
The fact that dinosaurs are MILLIONS of years old (yes, older than mummy and daddy) fascinates my kids. And, really, what’s not to dig? It’s an entire alien world that actually existed, with endless weird information that they can rattle off and long complicated words grownups can’t pronounce.
Of course, every time we go through these phases, it influences how we spend our time as a family – which would explain why a trip to the UK’s Isle of Wight this summer turned into DH and I spinning a yarn about visiting Dinosaur Isle (actually not far from the truth – they’ve found tonnes of fossils there). While on the island, we braved rain and fog (in July!) to attend a dinosaur night at a theme park. When T-rex glances down from a height of 20 feet in swirling mist and flicks his tail it’s surprisingly effective.
But all this was trumped last weekend in our very own neighbourhood when the dinosaurs were delivered to a 1.5 million square ft indoor theme park being built not far from us. Traffic was brought to a halt as a convoy of ferocious dinosaurs made their way to their new home in IMG Worlds of Adventure (opening early 2016). “They were moving around in their cages and roaring at passing cars … well it was either that or our Xanax,” my friend, who saw them coming down the 311, told me.
Roaring through the roads: Thankfully avoiding causing a tyrannosaurus wreck
And then, despite being escorted by police, one went missing, and a hunt to capture the fugitive dinosaur exploded on social media using the hashtag #SpotTheDino. Those clever marketing people … kudos!
There is a library in Southern California where the children’s section has a real T-Rex dinosaur display installed in it. Yes, it’s a very affluent area and the library screams “we’ve got money”. There are other amazing features but that one said it all to me. To be able to afford to purchase one and put it in the children’s section!!! I cannot even fathom how much dinosaur fossils cost!! Yes, it’s a hit with the kids. They also have a HUGE floor to ceiling saltwater aquarium which encompasses one whole wall and a mini-light house with a dock. They children walk the raised dock to the lighthouse where they can curl up and read their books.
This library sounds absolutely amazing Cherry! My children are obsessed with T-Rex – to be able to see a real skeleton in a library would blow their minds! I really want to come and see this place!