You can control how the dinosaurs move with the press of a button.

When you walk up to the main entrance, you're greeted by two life-size moving dinosaurs- a Triceratops and a 40-foot long Tyrannosaurus Rex. This exhibit is ideal for preschool age kids. My 18-month old loved the moving dinosaurs outside, but once we got into the darkly-lit exhibit itself, they were a tiny bit scary. That said, nobody was screaming or crying in fear, but he did grab on to my shirt a little tighter. It only took a few minutes for him to get used to it and by the end he was really loving it. Most kids were around 3-7 and were particularly fascinated with pressing the buttons that controlled the dinosaurs.  

 The touch and feel displays were lots of fun for little ones.

The exhibit offers more than just animatronics. There are some fossils on display in a glass case when you first walk in, but I must admit the table was a bit high even for a 3 or a 5 year-old. I think most kids will have to be picked up to see these. There are also touch and feel displays with buttons that reveal quick facts. Here, you can feel what dino claws, skin, and eggs felt like. This was the clear favorite for my little guy. There was also a big scale to step on where you could find out how you stacked up to dinosaurs (how many of you would weigh the same as an Allosaurus?). There were a few electronic dinosaur guessing games where you had to decipher whether dinosaurs lived in the Jurassic or Cretaceous time period and then find them on the screen. This one was a little tough, but offered clues. The video did, however, move a little too slow when it came time to find the dinosaur; I don't imagine it would hold the attention of little ones too well. There was also a Dino Detective quiz to see if you could tell the difference between dinosaurs and other animals. 

 There were also dinosaur skeletons on display. This one was a Gasosaurus.

The exhibit itself only took us about 20 minutes to walk through at a leisurely pace. This is great if you're not looking to spend a lot of time there, but I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a bit longer. If you want to make it a really dino-themed day, check out the Academy's Dinosaur Hall while you're there, too. Admission to Dinosaurs Unearthed is about $23 for adults, $19 for kids 3-12, and free for kids under 3. If you're planning on going with grandma and grandpa, seniors are $20. This includes admission to the whole museum (normally $12-$16), so take advantage of it while you're there. If you haven't been, definitely check out the butterfly garden, it's my favorite part of the museum. For tickets and more info, visit the Academy of Natural Science's website.

All photos provided by the author.