Review/ Dallas Zoo Giants of the Jurassic

The dinosaur scales & spiked 'BIG' sign teases at the entrance. The girls couldn't resist striking a pose :)

Perched on top of the information booth, this nest is super impressive. Such a creative presentation!

Don't miss Erth's dinosaur show. Not only are the puppets spectacular, you can touch them after the show and meet the puppeteers backstage. Then visit their pop-up shops to buy cool dinosaur swag. 

So Jurassic Park! The girls and I got a real kick out of this car-crushing dinosaur.

All smiles! She really did love this one.

Meat eater for sure.

Giant claws and teeth. So ferocious!

This one spits just like in Jurassic Park. Thankfully, it only spews water instead of poison. Expect to get wet! 

Dinosaur baby and parent talking to each other. Adorable.

At Picnic Ridge, enjoy digs and interactive games. Pushing buttons at the console animates the dinosaur.

The absolute best? T-rex, of course!!!!

We loved this exhibit. It is not be missed! There is no additional charge to see the dinosaurs at the Dallas Zoo, it is included in your daily admission. For zoo members, it's free! We will definitely be back many times. 

The view from the train is fantastic! Well worth $2/ride. If you are a Passport Zoo member, you get free train rides until the monorail is fixed :)

Because many school groups pack the zoo in the mornings, we arrived about 1:30pm. If you can make it in the afternoon, your experience will be much more enjoyable. Expect mornings to incredibly packed with school field trips by the busload.

The Zoo also has a free dinosaur page with facts dinosaur facts by each species. Learn about the habitat, diet, size, and adaptations for that specific dinosaur. Awesome and educational! Next time, I'll bring a printed copy with us and do a scavenger hunt, asking the kids to identify each.

What an incredibly fabulous day!

Animals Inside Out ~ Anatomy Exhibit

Madeline just loves science and animals, so we decided to visit the Perot Museum for a homeschool field trip.

We waited until after lunch to head to the Perot. As we were walking  in, all the school field trips were heading back to their buses. It is so awesome to tour exhibits and museums at the least busy times :)

Smiles at the start of the exhibit

The exhibit Animals Inside Out was very interesting. Each animal is painstakingly preserved by the Plastination process, invented by Dr. von Hagens. 

A post at the exhibit entrance stated that no animals were harmed in during the process. But they are all preserved in some fashion, so they had to die by some means...Nonetheless, it was an incredibly fascinating look at the anatomy of animals!

As homeschoolers, we could never hope to amass the collection of specimens in this exhibit. 

So we couldn't let this field trip opportunity pass! Madeline's favorites were the animals that were completely intact or just skeletons. But I found them all fascinating:

Octopus

Shark

Giant squid

Squid detail

This exhibit was amazing, fascinating, and thought provoking! 

Our rating:  5 of 5 stars. Find out more information about the exhibit online at Animals Inside Out.

We just love exhibits, how about you? Isn't it a great way to enrich your homeschool learning? Please share your favorite exhibit you've seen this school year.