Mid-Week Mom Tip: Review of The Dinosaur Place in Montville, CT

My friend, Melissa, is a home daycare provider/owner and inventor of  Pick-Ease, a utensil that makes eating fun for children, including picky eaters.  She's also the mom of two young boys and likes to take them on fun-filled field trips. She writes about this trip and other topics of interest to parents on her Pick-Ease blog, so you can check them out at Pick-Ease.com.  I'm sharing her review of their recent trip to The Dinosaur Place in Montville, CT below:

This Summer, my family visited The Dinosaur Place for the very first time. The Dinosaur Place is located in Montville, CT, just minutes from Mystic Aquarium. Now, we’ve been to Mystic Aquarium numerous time, but I had never heard of The Dinosaur Place until last year. If you haven’t been yet, I highly recommend it! What an amazing day trip that’s fun for the whole family! 

The Dinosaur Place

At The Dinosaur Place you will find over 40 Life-Sized Dinosaurs on 1.5 miles of nature trails. You’ll also enjoy playing in Monty’s Dino-sized playground, finding your way through the A “Maze” asaurus, bouncing in the Jurassic Moon Bounce, splashing in New England’s largest splashpad, and much more!

Monty’s Dino-Sized Playground

When entering the The Dinosaur Place you will first see Monty’s Dino-Sized Playground. I love that the playground was designed for children of all ages. There are multiple Jungle Gyms of varying difficulties throughout Monty’s Playground, including a separate toddler-sized play area for little ones! My boys especially loved climbing on and through the 3 foot tall Pachyrhinosaurus (thick-nosed lizard) skull!

Splashpad

The Dinosaur Place is also home to New England’s largest Splashpad! Once again, accommodating children of all ages was considered during the design of this splashpad. My youngest son loves water but hates being splashed in the face, so I was very pleased to find that there was an area that he too could enjoy! In the Splashpad area you will find over 30 dinosaur-themed features including dinosaur head water cannons, a dinosaur “ribcage” waterfall, a spitting Stegosaurus, and more! There are also bathrooms and changing areas located right outside the Splashpad. 

Dinosaur Trails

Once again, at The Dinosaur Place you will find over 40 Life-Sized Dinosaurs on 1.5 miles of nature trails. To enter the Dinosaur Trails, you will walk under the belly of a life-sized Brachiosaurus. This dinosaur is 75 feet long and 40 feet tall! Walking through the Dinosaur Trails truly was an amazing experience for all of us. I had never seen anything like it before. The kids really loved exploring the trails and discovering all of the different types of dinosaurs! They also loved stopping at each of the “What am I?” touch and learn activity boxes located throughout the trails. In these boxes you will discover different objects including dinosaur teeth, seashells and more! Towards the end of the dinosaur trails you will find a life-like interactive animatronic Dilophosaurus hiding in a cave! We had to visit this dinosaur a few times during our visit, as it was a favorite for all of us!  

Raptor Bay

Upon exiting the Dinosaur Trails, you will come to Raptor Bay which is a seven-acre man-made lake. Along the edge of the lake there is a volcano that “erupts” every hour on the hour. When the volcano erupts you will feel the ground vibrate and see mist spray out of the top.

Jurassic Moon Bounce

The Jurassic Moon Bounce is a great addition to The Dinosaur Place. What kid doesn’t love jumping in a bouncy house? 

A “Maze” asaurus

If you go towards the right, upon entering the dinosaur trails, you will come to the A “Maze” asaurus. This is a large maze with lots of twists and turns than you have find your way though. I love that maze is raised so you can see your little one’s feet, making it easier to find them if they get lost! To exit the maze you will slide through the mouth of a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex!

Discovery Depot

Everything I’ve listed above is included in the admission to The Dinosaur Place, and it’s more than enough fun to fill your day, but if you’re up for a little more adventure, stop by the Discovery Depot, located right next door! For an additional fee, at the Discovery Depot you can mine for gems, pan for gold, and dig for dinosaur bones! Some of these activities are only done at certain hours of the day so be sure to check for times on the big board located in The Dinosaur Place gift shop, where you also purchase tickets to The Dinosaur Place.

The Bone Zone

In The Bone Zone your child will work along side other children to uncover the skeleton of a dinosaur. Dr. Bonz teaches the children a bit about paleontologists, and walks them through the proper techniques for digging for dinosaur bones. After about 15 minutes of digging, Dr. Bonz will talk a bit more about the dinosaur that was uncovered. She will then hand each child a small case with 5 real fossils in it. The fossils alone made this activity worth the price, and the kids had lots of fun digging in the sand! 

Jackpot Mine

The Jackpot Mine is Southeastern Connecticut’s only replica silver mine. Before you enter, you will be given a souvenir bucket to place whatever your find in. In the mine your child will dig with their hands to try find over 50 kinds of real gemstones, crystals and minerals. Best of all, you get keep everything you find! This was definitely one of my favorite parts of our trip. Just beware that you are not allowed to help your child dig, so if your child is on the younger side and will require help, make sure you purchase a ticket for yourself too!

Thunder Creek 

Unfortunately, we didn’t participate in the Thunder Creek activity. After an extremely long day, our kids were just too tired to keep going, but this is definitely on our to-do list for next year! At Thunder Creek your child will be given a souvenir pouch to keep all of the “fools gold” they find while panning for gold!

What’s to Eat?

Inside The Dinosaur Place, you can grab some food at Monty’s Munchies, located next to the Splashpad. There you can get traditional concession foods – burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, etc. Although the food was good, the wait was extremely long, so I would recommend you pack your own lunch. This has nothing to do with the servers, as they were working as hard as they could. There were just so many people ordering, that they couldn’t keep up with it.

Another food option would be to eat at the Cobalt Cafe, located in The Shops at Nature’s Art Village. We didn’t visit this restaurant but from their website, I see that they offer a bit more than Monty’s Munchies.

Lastly, there is an ice cream shop at The Dinosaur Place which is the perfect way to end an amazing day! On top of ice cream, they also offer Root Beer Floats and other beverages

Tips

Don’t forget your bug spray and sun block! Also, bring lots of water and wear comfortable shoes!

The NEW Tiverton Library - Children's Section

Teacher and Kiddo Rating:  * * * *  (out of 4)

I finally had a chance to visit the newly opened library in Tiverton, RI with two of my kindergarten-aged friends on our last day of school field trip.   I managed to capture some photos with my basic cell phone camera, but the photos don't do it justice.  The children's area of the library is clean, bright, and colorful with many places to explore and lots of comfy seating for adults and children.  Even though we spent almost two full hours there on our way to the beach, the kiddos really wanted to spend more time trying out everything there was to do.

Design in Motion Velcro-Type Activity

Soft, Vinyl Blocks with Velcro-Type Attachments

Also impressive, were the additional spaces geared toward toddlers and infants.  With plenty of space to crawl/walk around as toddlers like to do, the library makes use of wall space for interactive Velcro-type activities and a long desk area with toddler-sized chairs to work on puzzles or a computer.  Plenty of larger computers are available for older children in a separate, partitioned circular area (not photographed).

Crawling Infants Area with Rocking Chairs 

Toddler-Sized Desk Area with Puzzles and Computer

Stuffed Book Characters

Velcro-Type Activity and Knob Puzzles

Magnet Activity

Dry-Erase Table

The children's special event or story time area (I'm guessing, as we spied some big books on an easel and puppets in the corner) is still a work in progress.  A sign on the door stated that children were allowed in with adult supervision.  

Behind swinging glass doors, separated by a blue and lime green wall with circular port-hole windows, is a room filled with small tables and chairs (future crafts possibly) and bins with some quiet, construction/manipulative toys such as Duplo-type blocks and large foam blocks.

The projector hanging from the ceiling, spotlights facing the opposite wall, and stacked seating cushions all hint at the fun events to come!  

Story Time / Event Room

Foam Blocks in Event Room

Ball Maze in Event Room

My little friend wanted a photo of the bright and cheery restroom (one of two for families right in the Children's Area).

My personal favorite on the adult side of the library -- outdoor balcony with tables/chairs.  

More Info:

Tiverton Public Library in Rhode Island

Location/Map

34 Roosevelt Avenue

Tiverton, RI  02878

Phone:

1-401-625-6796

Hours:  

Monday - Thursday 10 AM - 8 PM; Friday 10 AM - 5 PM; Saturday 10 AM - 4 PM; Closed Sundays

Restroom Information:  

Two clean, bright family restrooms are available in the children's area, apart from the main library. They contain flip-down changing stations for diapers; auto-flush toilets, and motion-activated soap dispensers; water faucets, and hand dryer.  :)

Free Petting Zoo - Alderbrook Farm, Dartmouth, MA

Dwarf Nigerian Goat at Alderbrook Farm

Little M and Nanny Rating:   * * * * (out of 4)

Thanks to new friends we met at the Westport Community Playground, Little M and I learned about a free petting zoo just one town over at Alderbrook Farm in Dartmouth, MA.

This family-owned farm has a menagerie of happy and well-cared for animals (the guard goose is an exception, but we'll get to him later).  Some are in fenced-off areas, such as pygmy goats, dwarf Nigerian goats, a peacock couple, a very large rooster, a pot bellied pig, hens in a hen house, and larger pigs in a pen; but many of them will greet you at the fence so you can pet them or at least view them up close.  Painted wooden signs state the animal's name, breed, and date they were born or "hatched."

Note:  A farm employee told us that each day around 4:00 PM - 4:30 PM, the animals are brought into the barn for the night.  This gives visitors an opportunity to pet the animals that were behind fences. 

Male Peacock at Alderbrook Farm

Other animals in the open pasture areas are tethered to the ground so they can't go extremely far, such as donkeys, a sheep, and two very large steers.  My camera battery died half-way through tour, so I wasn't able to capture any of the larger animals. We weren't brave enough to do more than admire the steers from afar, but both M and I were able to pet the donkey and the sheep.  M also learned that everyone does indeed "poop" as some of the animals cared very little that we were standing there petting them as they did their business.



The tethered animals are moved around to new grassy areas each day, but the guard goose always seems to be near a donkey or two.  As soon as someone approaches anywhere near his fenced in area, he runs over honking very loudly and sticks his long neck through the fence in an aggressive way.  Both M and I had our pants nibbled at when we got too close.  M was very upset, and cried that the "goose bit me," which fortunately he did not. We learned that this goose is very protective of the animals and watches over them, so be warned if you hear him honking nearby!

Beware the Guard Goose at Alderbrook Farm

Seeing animals, flowers, and vegetable gardens in a wide open space on a breezy, sunny day was plenty enough to make us happy, but another bonus was found up a small hill off the dirt road (across from the hen house and pig pen) -- a small play area with swings (one baby swing also), a slide, and some climbing ladders.  There is also a riding horse on springs and a little wooden structure with toy trucks (M's favorite things).  We sat in a tiny dirt patch at the bottom of the slide to dig for awhile with the vehicles before heading back down the dirt road to the farm store.

M was a little distracted when he came upon a toy farm, toy tractor and farm animals (similar animals were on sale on shelves above) to play with in the store, but it gave me just enough time to look over the delicious-looking miniature pies and artisan breads from a local bakery in addition to the farm's fresh vegetables and plants.  In the end, I chose two chocolate-chip cookies and a loaf of crusty, sourdough bread while M picked out a pumpkin to bring home.

Another bonus near the parking lot were two rabbit cages containing one very fat rabbit named Bun-Bun and another spikey-haired Lionhead rabbit named Bean. We can't wait to go back!

Alderbrook Farm

Location/Map:
1213 Russells Mills Road
Dartmouth, MA 02747

Phone:  
(508) 636-4562

Hours: 5:00 AM - 5:30 PM year-round

Playground Review - Westport, Massachusetts

Little M and Nanny Rating:   * * * * (out of 4)

Each playground is special in its own way, but the Westport Community Center Playground is one of our favorites because of its many features (see photos below):

• 2 large sandbox areas complete with large trucks of every type plus pails and shovels

• A cool sand pulley contraption that really seems to capture the interests of older children as they work together to lift, hoist, and pour sand

• 4 slides - one small, two larger, and one covered tube slide

•  Swings - including two bucket seats for babies/toddlers

• Climbing steps, platforms, ropes, twists, and wobbly bridge to cross

•  Riding toys -- large dinosaur, small stationary elephant, a bouncing two-seater (like a teeter totter/seesaw, but stationary)

• Little Tykes equipment:  for younger children, there are several of these scattered around allowing them to climb and slide at their own pace.

Bonuses:  

• Completely fenced in with a chain link fence and latched gate.  Children can run around and have fun, but they can't run away faster than you can catch them.

• Porta-potty -- we haven't used this feature, however, I often see parents and children (including potty trainers) going in there, so it must be pretty well maintained. 

• Picnic tables and benches

M could stay at this playground for hours due to his love of cement trucks, excavators, and bulldozers!  Our first hour or so is usually spent in one or both of the two sand areas.  Once he notices the actual playground, there's so much more to do - slides, swings, climbing, and running from one end to the other.

All ages will enjoy this playground as there is something for toddlers to grade schoolers.

Update:  June 2017 - The few times we've visited over the last year, we have been disappointed in the physical upkeep of this playground.  The grass around playground is often six inches high, and the trash containers were spilling out onto the ground and attracting wasps.  The pulley system in one sand area was broken.  Since this playground is shared by the next door nursery school, I'm very surprised to see this decline.  I hope they remedy these issues soon.

Location/Map:  nearby 856 Main Road, Westport, MA

Diagonally across the street from Partners Village Store

entrance side of playground -- slides, swings, riding toys, stairs, ramps & bridge

opposite side with climbing options and tube slide

one of several smaller play structures for toddlers

sandbox with trucks and sand toys

another sand area with a platformed pulley station

Mid-Week DAD Tip - Walnut Boats

Creative Dad Blog Alert!  I'll never lose my affection for frugal kid crafts and love finding new sources of inspiration -- hopefully you do too!   Made by Joel approaches arts and crafts from a Dad's (and artist's) perspective. 

Walnut boats is only one of the fun projects found at Made by Joel.  Although there are many more, another post that quickly caught my eye was Cereal Box Marble Run. 

Thanks again to Money Saving Mom who posted a link to download Joel's Free Paper City -- another great activity that led me straight to Joel's blog.  Check it out -- hope you like it as much as I do!

Mid-Week Mom Tip - Ways to Save Money on Summer Entertainment & Activities

Another one of my favorite frugal blogs is The Thrifty Mama (Natural and Thrifty). Here's Crystal's great compilation post of ideas/links to thrifty family fun this summer:


Ways to Save this Summer Part I - Activities and Entertainment