The Oregon Zoo has a new exhibit called Prehistoric Predators that opened a week ago that we have been really excited to take the kids to. Rowan is thrilled with anything dinosaur lately, especially after we took her to see the T-Rex skeleton at OMSI a few weeks ago. Killian is having fun learning with (and from!) Rowan, so we knew that they would both have a great time checking out the 17 animatronic dinosaurs that were on display. Matthew had taken the day off work to extend his 3 day holiday weekend to 4 whole days off work. The kids and I were so excited to be able to spend so much time with him! Killian stayed home from school, and after breakfast we headed up to the Zoo. It started drizzling about 10 minutes before we got to there, and we had a hard time finding parking because it was SO crowded. We had thought for sure the place would be dead on a Friday morning, but apparently a bunch of other families had the same plan we did! There was a dinosaur there to greet us as soon as we entered the gates of the Zoo. It was the skeleton like one of the dinosaurs that would be on display, and it was set up so kids could control the head and arms:
Rowan was very pleased because she was sure it was a T-Rex, and that's her favorite dinosaur. We continued down the rainy path, and went straight towards the entrance of the exhibit. It was in an area off to the side of the animals, and it felt like you weren't really in the Zoo anymore. Along the winding path we found lots of neat dinosaurs to check out. We didn't stop to read the signs describing each dino because it was raining so much, but Rowan is pretty well versed in dinosaur facts, so she was able to tell us a lot about them without the help of the signs. Killian did make sure to find on each sign what size the model was in relation to the real dinosaur size. This guy was pretty close to actual size - he was 3/4 of the size of the real Styracosaurus:
Not small, but certainly not as impressive as the next stop - the Allosaurus! This display was also 3/4 the size of the real thing....but its a much bigger dinosaur!
We had read the information booklet that the Zoo had sent us the night before, and when it mentioned the Allosaurus would be on display, Rowan got really excited. She told us how the Allosaurus belonged to a group of dinosaurs called Theropods, which happens to be the same group that her beloved T-Rex belongs too. Theropods generally had short arms with 3 clawed feet - Rowan had fun pointing out all the Theropod dinosaurs during our walk through the exhibit. Its really neat to see my little girl have so much passion for something, she has really been soaking up dinosaur facts, and easily knows more about them than the rest of the family...combined!
Just look at how excited she is to see each new dinosaur along the trail!! This one is a called a Quetzalcoatlus (who comes up with these names?!) and if you think its big in the picture:
You will be amazed to find out that this model is only 2/5 the size of the real dinosaur!! The Quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of nearly 40 feet, and was the largest animal to ever fly the skies. Its really mind blowing to think of just how huge many of the dinosaurs were.
Rowans second favorite dinosaur is the Pteranodon, here is Killian standing in front of a poster showing the wingspan - 30 feet!!
But those flying dino's were tiny gnats compared to what was waiting for us further along the trail. We heard his roar long before we saw him.....the Gigantosaurus!
One of the largest dinosaurs to ever roam the planet, the Gigantosaurus had a head as long as an adult human male, and razor sharp teeth that were 8 inches long! The model was full size, and he towered over us. The kids wanted to have their pictures taken with him, but they were both a little freaked out at the idea of turning their backs on such a fearsome predator!
We saw a few more dinosaurs before winding down to the exit of the exhibit. The kids had a great time, but it probably would have been more fun if it wasn't rainy and cold. Judging by the smiles on their faces, I don't think its going to be hard to convince them to go back another time or two this summer!
Rowan was very pleased because she was sure it was a T-Rex, and that's her favorite dinosaur. We continued down the rainy path, and went straight towards the entrance of the exhibit. It was in an area off to the side of the animals, and it felt like you weren't really in the Zoo anymore. Along the winding path we found lots of neat dinosaurs to check out. We didn't stop to read the signs describing each dino because it was raining so much, but Rowan is pretty well versed in dinosaur facts, so she was able to tell us a lot about them without the help of the signs. Killian did make sure to find on each sign what size the model was in relation to the real dinosaur size. This guy was pretty close to actual size - he was 3/4 of the size of the real Styracosaurus:
Not small, but certainly not as impressive as the next stop - the Allosaurus! This display was also 3/4 the size of the real thing....but its a much bigger dinosaur!
We had read the information booklet that the Zoo had sent us the night before, and when it mentioned the Allosaurus would be on display, Rowan got really excited. She told us how the Allosaurus belonged to a group of dinosaurs called Theropods, which happens to be the same group that her beloved T-Rex belongs too. Theropods generally had short arms with 3 clawed feet - Rowan had fun pointing out all the Theropod dinosaurs during our walk through the exhibit. Its really neat to see my little girl have so much passion for something, she has really been soaking up dinosaur facts, and easily knows more about them than the rest of the family...combined!
Just look at how excited she is to see each new dinosaur along the trail!! This one is a called a Quetzalcoatlus (who comes up with these names?!) and if you think its big in the picture:
You will be amazed to find out that this model is only 2/5 the size of the real dinosaur!! The Quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of nearly 40 feet, and was the largest animal to ever fly the skies. Its really mind blowing to think of just how huge many of the dinosaurs were.
Rowans second favorite dinosaur is the Pteranodon, here is Killian standing in front of a poster showing the wingspan - 30 feet!!
But those flying dino's were tiny gnats compared to what was waiting for us further along the trail. We heard his roar long before we saw him.....the Gigantosaurus!
One of the largest dinosaurs to ever roam the planet, the Gigantosaurus had a head as long as an adult human male, and razor sharp teeth that were 8 inches long! The model was full size, and he towered over us. The kids wanted to have their pictures taken with him, but they were both a little freaked out at the idea of turning their backs on such a fearsome predator!
We saw a few more dinosaurs before winding down to the exit of the exhibit. The kids had a great time, but it probably would have been more fun if it wasn't rainy and cold. Judging by the smiles on their faces, I don't think its going to be hard to convince them to go back another time or two this summer!