Vacation!

No posts for a week - I'm on vacation. But, our wonderful staff is here at all our locations ready to take care of you and your family. So, why not take a little vacation of your own and come see us?!

Things to remember this week:

• You have until August 31 to pick up your Dino Days pass. This means if you visit any day in August, you'll get a free pass to come back any day in December. (except Christmas Day in Kentucky and Texas)
• September begins Teacher Month - this means teachers receive FREE ADMISSION the entire month of September. Just show your school ID and come see what great educational and fun oppotunitites we can offer your students.
• $1 Admission Weekend in Kentucky and Texas is September 25& 26. If you live in Kentucky and are a local resident of Allen, Barren, Edmonson, Hart, Metcalfe, Monroe or Warren counties, you'll get $1 admission on September 25 & 26 with a valid ID. If you live in Texas and are a local resident of Somervell, Hood, Erath, Johnson or Bosque county, you get the same!

$5 Florida tickets

Here's a great deal for our Florida location - $5 tickets! This is today only through Tampa Bay Online and the Tampa Tribune.
http://dailydeal.tbo.com/deals/5-for-One-Ticket-to-Dinosaur-World-Good-for-one-adult-or-child

Dinosaurs in your classroom

I took my little one to school today for the first day and that makes me think about our school programs. Our Kentucky location offers outreach programs. So, if you cannot bring your class to Dinosaur World, let us bring our dinosaurs to you!

Outreach programs start at $200 per program. They are deisgned for preschool to 4th grade. Like any teaching setting, they work best with smaller groups, but can work up to 75 students. We bring fossils to the class and let them get hands on and we talk about what makes a dinosaur, a dinosaur. It's a great program. For more information call 270-773-4345 and ask for Chris Randall.

Unearth a dinosaur!

Our Boneyard is one of the most popular exhibits. Enter a unique prehistoric structure and find a giant sand pit. Once inside, you can unearth a life size dinosaur skeleton. There is seating to watch our paleontologists at work. Or, just play in the sand!

The Boneyard is an exhibit at our Florida and Kentucky locations.

take a trip!

I wanted to give you yet another excuse to visit Dinosaur World.

Here's some great coupons for many attractions in the Kentucky location area
http://www.mammothcavefun.com/coupons.htm

Here's some information on the Texas location and things to do in the area
http://www.glenrosetexas.net/

And Tampa is a very cool place as well. Dinosaur World is about 20 minutes outside Tampa.
http://www.visittampabay.com/

So, plan a trip to Dinosaur World. Make a day of it, and see some other cool places as well.

Facts about a lesser known dinosaur

Protoceratops was called “first horned face”and was a relatively small dinosaur with a proportionately large skull.

It had large orbits (the holes for its eyes), which measured around 50 millimeters in diameter. Protoceratops was an herbivore, a plant eater.

Protoceratops had a large head, a bulky body, a parrot-like beak, cheek teeth, and a well developed neck frill at the back of its head. This frill may have served to protect the neck, anchor jaw muscles, impress other members of the species, or combinations of these functions.

Protoceratops was about 6 feet long (2 m) and weighed roughly 400 pounds (180 kg). It was about 3 feet tall (to the top of the shoulders). It walked on four short legs, and was a relatively slow dinosaur.

Protoceratops was probably a herding animal. This hypothesis is supported by the finding of bone beds, large deposits of bones of the same species in an area, and large groups of nests. Each nest had 12 or more eggs, laid in a spiral fashion.

It's Mid August

It's the middle of August - know what that means?

You only have half the month left to come visit so that you can get your free pass to come back any day in December? So, you're really getting two visits for the price of one.

Calling All Teachers...

August means school starting - school starting means FIELD TRIPS!

Kentucky schools have already returned. We've already had some field trip bookings, but we'll be glad to take more. $5 per person for educational group. And, it's educational too! Here's one of our educational activities tying into core content and state curriculum...

Program of Studies: SC-P-UD-U-2 – Students will understand that plants and animals have features that help them live in different environments.
Program of Studies: SC-P-UD-S-4 – Students will analyze structures of plants and animals to make inferences about the types of environments for which they were suited.
Corresponding Activity
On the Dinosaur Walk, the students will see many different types of Dinosaurs. One of these dinosaurs is the Spinosaurus. An important feature of the Spinosaurus is the teeth. Scientists believed this dinosaur lived near water and used its spear like teeth to spear fish. Examples of the Spinosaurus tooth can also be found in the Prehistoric museum.
Another animal found on the Dinosaur Walk is the Ultrasaurus. This dinosaur was a plant eater. Unlike the Spinosaurus, this animal’s teeth were more suited for chewing and sawing plants instead of stabbing fish. Also notice the long neck, which would have been perfectly suited for eating the tops of trees. These examples will help the students understand certain features in animals help them adapt to their environment.

Trilobites

Trilobites were among the most numerous and varied marine animals of their time, ranging in length from about a quarter of an inch to over three feet. Like other arthropods, they could grow only by casting off their old shells. (The best known example of an arthropod outgrowing its shell today is the soft-shell crab.) So, many trilobite fossils are actually the cast off shells and not the animal itself.

The name trilobite refers to the three (tri-) sections of the body, the easiest way to identify a trilobite fossil. Trilobites also are known for their extremely well developed eyes.

Check out this video on our Florida location!

BIG DINOSAURS!

In case you were wondering how big our dinosaurs are, check out the picture. Bring the family and check out our dinosaurs for yourself. Walk thru the native wildlife and enjoy nature, spend time with your family and see our giant prehistoric friends.

Reasons to visit in August

You haven't seen a post in a bit becuase I've been at a tourism meeting learning how to better serve all you wonderful people! So, come visit and let me know how we serve you.

School will be starting soon so make sure to get in that last summer outing. We're open every day and will make a great back to school trip.

Also since school is starting soon, go ahead and book that field trip! Our field trip rates begin at $5 per person with advance reservations.

Don't forget - when you visit in August, you'll get a free pass to come back any day in Decmeber (except Christmas Day in Texas and Kentucky).

Don't worry about the August heat - our dinosaur walk is very shaded. And, you can always cool off in the giftshop.

What do you want to see?

We're trying to decide what new dinosaur we want to add to our Dinosaur Walk. Let us know what you think. Email dinosaurworld@scrtc.com with the subject "name" and let us know.

Texas just added an Acrocanthosaurus. This was appropriate because this big dinosaur's footprints can be found in the nearby Paluxy River. Kentucky added some baby dinosaurs this year and a Mammoth Garden last year. Florida just got an entire face lift for all their dinosaurs.

Let us know what's next!

IT'S DOUBLE DINO DAYS

August is a great time to visit Dinsoaur World!

Why?

Visit in August and get a FREE pass to come back any day in December!

We're open every day of the year (except Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day in Kentucky and Texas) and we want you to come back. And our giftshops are the perfect place to purchase Christmas gifts!