We ventured up to Drumheller, Alberta, to see the Dinosaurs!!
We started our day out by attending story time. We read some silly and informative books about dinosaurs then we got to touch some fossils. Bee is holding a mammoth tusk. He loved feeling how hard and smooth it is.
At the beginning of the museum they have a bunch of interactive games that teach various things about dinosaurs and the world that they lived in. There was more information than I expected. Here Bee and "Pa" are learning about camouflage and how it keeps animals safe from predators. He enjoyed trying to catch the butterflies as the lights flickered on and off. I would say that most of the booths are geared towards 5+ however we enjoyed touching the buttons anyways.
I know. Not the best picture of Bee but he did not want to stop for a picture. He would have preferred to keep running and looking at all the "dinny's".
Sweets enjoyed herself but spent most of the day napping. I love that we can go as a family and that having a baby doesn't stop us from our adventures.
I loved the exhibits that displayed how the dig sights look. They did have some classes later on in the day that showed kids more about digging and how they piece together findings. We didn't stick around for that but if you have teens I would highly suggest it.
They even had some excavation projects that you could watch. You could see the delicate tools that they used and how careful they can to be. Most of these are behind glass but the gentleman was working at a booth and was answering questions and telling people what he was working on. I loved that he was interacting with the crowds. He brought life to his work.
Bee loved the displays and he understood more about them than I thought he would. He knew that the dinosaurs with long necks were looking for food high in the trees. He told some others that they needed a drink from the water. The observation that really surprised me was at a display where the dinosaurs were fighting. He told me that the dinos fought and now they are dead. The dinos are bones now. I was shocked. We don't watch fighting movies or play games that would introduce this concept often. Some of our friends and family members play with weapons and have battles but dinosaurs don't have swords or guns so I was surprised by the connection. I took the opportunity to tell Bee that not all the dinosaurs died because of fighting. We talked about weather changing and how the dinosaurs weren't prepared. We also talked about natural disasters like mud slides, volcanos and meteor showers. Some dinosaurs also didn't have enough food to eat. He is only 2 . 5 so he didn't grasp all of those concepts but he understands that when its cold we put on coats, when we need food we go to the store or fridge and that dinosaurs couldn't do that. They seem like silly ways to explain extinction but I tried to make the concept understandable. For the rest of the exhibits when Bee would say "Dinny Die," I would ask him why the dinny died. We guessed if it was food, he was sick or the weather. We love a good hypothesis, thanks to Dinosaur Train for introducing this concept.
Here we are feeling the teeth. Bee liked the points because our teeth are flat. He compared both our mouths to the Dinosaurs. Hooray for learning through exploring.
While we were in the souvenir shop I picked up some books about dinosaurs for Bee. My Mom picked up some too to add to our collection. I am grateful for her support!
We climbed up into this massive dinosaur at the tourist center. There was a crazy amount of stairs but it was cool to look out from the top. Inside they had a bunch of murals painted on the walls. We were blest to be able to go with my parents, my youngest sister, my uncle and aunt with their kids. We had a party!
The Royal Tyrell Museum was a huge hit. We will definitely be going again in the years to come. We had so much fun inside the museum that we didn't have enough time to play and explore the hoodoos'. That would be so fun for little explorers and climbers.
If your in Alberta I suggest making the trip. Especially if you have dinosaur lovers!
