Long Island Children's Museum Debuts Dinosaur Exhibit

Long Island Children’s Museum, located in Garden City, unveiled the Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice™ exhibit on Jan. 27. The exhibit, which features two distinct environments—the Land of Fire and the Land of Ice—is a hands-on learning experience geared toward children ages 3-10.

A Field Research Station allows children to pretend to be paleontologists by uncovering fossils with brushes and creating drawings of the dinosaur environment using fossil rubbings and tracings. Kids can also examine a touchable T.rex and triceratops, climb into a mock Troodon’s nest and play with dinosaur eggs, help put together an oversized puzzle, and put on insect costumes and buzz around a swampy bog.

“One of the reasons we were interested in this exhibit is because of its focus on intergenerational learning,” says Maureen Mangan, director of communications and marketing. “What happens frequently, in the case of dinosaurs, is that the child is the expert on the topic, so it gives them an opportunity to show off what they know to family members. Kids feel incredibly confident and it lets them become both the learner and the teacher at the same time, which is one of the great things that we want to happen at a children’s museum.”

Long Island Children’s Museum will also offer a workshop called Ponder with a Paleontologist on Sunday, April 8 from 12:30-3pm. Visitors will learn what a day in the life of a paleontologist entails and meet Dr. Mike D’Emic. He will explain his job, why he chose to study dinosaurs, and what he hopes to discover. Visitors will be able to touch a real fossil and learn about its excavation, and hear stories of the latest fossil finds. The workshop is for children 5 and older and is free with museum admission.

Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice™, created by Minnesota Children’s Museum and sponsored by the David B. Jones Foundation, will be on view at Long Island Children’s Museum through Sunday, May 13.

Photo: Kids can climb into a mock Trodon's nest and play with its eggs as part of the Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice™ exhibit at Long Island Children's Museum. 

Courtesy: Long Island Children's Museum