Dinosaur Museum

The first week I was in UT, I got to babysit my cousin's kids so that she could be with mom in the hospital.  (She's a nurse & would do much better than I would there.)  I enjoy having kids around so I loved having them.  Friday Naomi & I took all the kids to the Museum of Ancient History at Thanksgiving Point.  I had never been & since Bladen is a dinosaur fanatic, I thought it would be fun.

I loved this museum.  It was completely hands on & the kids had a blast touching EVERYTHING they could get their hands on.

They had some fun exhibits where you could use your imagination to help create your own dinosaurs.  My kids spent almost an hour here creating their own dinosaur by sticking Velcro dino parts onto this big fabric blob.  By the end we had a 2 headed spiky guy.  Bladen supplied all the dinosaur sounds for us.  They were SO funny.

The museum has a HUGE amount of dino skeletons.  I've never seen that many in one museum before (& I've been to dinosaur museums all over the world.)  Bladen loved it.

Another fun exhibit was the magnetic wall.  Kids could put together their own dinosaur skeletons by themselves using magnets.  Lorien loved this area more than any other in the museum.  She was SO cute.

They also taught the kid about erosion & what happens when water & sand meet.  The museum had a whole room dedicated to erosion & they allowed the kids to get their hands right into it.  There were tables full of sand, plants, water, & dinosaurs which allowed the kids to experiment with erosion & how water can change the landscape of an area.  They loved this.

Taya wasn't necessarily interested in the sand, but boy did she enjoy washing her hands in the automatic hand washing sink they had in the room.  Naomi & I were laughing at her because she washed her hands for 30 minutes straight.

My favorite exhibit in the museum was the giant shark room.  ha ha ha.  The kids thought it would be hilarious to pose in front of it screaming.

And I thought it would be hilarious to put Craiger in front of it.  He didn't think it was such a great idea.

(I know I am a horrible mom for taking a picture of him freaking out, but it was HILARIOUS.)

The last room of the museum was a GIANT SANDBOX where the kids could dig up dinosaur bones by themselves.  All my kids enjoyed the hands on fun.  Bladen just liked playing in a giant sandbox.

I have to admit. . . I was unsure I'd enjoy a little dino museum in UT County.  After being all over the world & seeing some of the best of the best museums, I forget that sometimes 

the greatest treasures are in our own backyards.  

For anyone living in or visiting UT, this is a MUST-SEE for any dinosaur lover in your family.  We had a BLAST.