My day at Field Station Dinosaurs, Secaucus, N.J.

So today my little companion (6 yrs old) and I had a field trip to Field Station Dinosaurs just outside of Manhattan.  http://fieldstationdinosaurs.com/index

WHAT A PLACE!!!!!

When we arrived we were given a calendar of events for the day and a passport looking card where we could collect stamps after each event we went to.....this helped frame our day and give us a helpful routine which was nice....but you didn't have to partake if  you didn't want to.














It is a very lifelike setting with dinosaurs in  wooded, grass filled areas (there is only one point where I noticed Manhattan in the background.....T-Rex (I think) with the Empire State Building behind him....very surreal).  All the dinosaurs make noises and move.

Dueling Pachycephalosaurus

Apatosaurus

Stegosaurus

Pterodactyl

Apatosaurus

Our first schedule of the day was a dinosaur 'meet and greet' where they brought out 2 baby dinosaurs nestled in blankets carried by their trainers and the children got to pet them.

And a rather more rambunctious fellow (please don't ask me the names of all these beasts)

Next was the archeological dig....a huge sand area where the children are given a shovel and trowels, brushes and magnifying glasses and they dig their way through the sand to discover various fossels.

Back to the 'Outback Steakhouse' Arena for a T-Rex (I think) feeding frenzy.  A 15ft very lifelike dinosaur comes over the hill and through the grasses into the small arena to gasping children.  Really very amusing.
The children are taught about herbivores and carnivores from a very bubbly Australian name Karen (I think) who did a terrific job.

 And here are the rest of the pics I took

Captured babies

Dryptosaurus

Dimetrodon

This is the biggest dinosaur there... a 90ft long Argentinosaurus.

T-Rex

Oryctodromeus

The various shows there all have great audience participation, one includes a memory game of tools that paleontologists use (I think the Executive Producer of Field Station, Guy Gsell was the host of this game), another bares a resemblance to family feud with the room split up into teams and asked certain dinosaur questions.  It really is a very informative place, I can see it being a huge hit with school trips.

What to know before you go
We got there when it opened at 10am which I would highly recommend.
A great thing about this place is that you can take your own food and drinks in (although they have the usual junk food stands there too).
Wear good walking shoes....we seemed to do an awful lot of walking even though the park didn't seem THAT big.
Today was hot and there is not a lot of shade.....umbrellas would help and don't forget sunscreen and a hat.
The outside rooms where they housed the games were crazy hot....not a lot of ventilation, I have to think that they must be working on that.

All in all this was an excellent day out.  The place is really quite incredible.  All the young people working there were very informative and friendly and always willing to answer questions and help you find your way.
I would definitely recommend this place for anyone close enough to get there.

If you would like a little taste of Field Station Dinosaur you can watch this you tube link....enjoy!