I wouldn't want to floss those teeth!
At our home bedtime isn’t complete without at least one bedtime story. Saturday evening I was reading Curious George’s Dinosaur Discovery and as the story unfolded about George visiting a dinosaur museum with his trusty friend, the man with the yellow hat, Jack listened with such wide-eyed enthusiasm it was hard not to notice and smile. Trust me, for Jack it was a real page-turner.
When I put the book down and told Jack that we could go see dinosaurs at a museum just like George, he thought I was “joking him.”
“I’m not teasing,” I assured him and added, “We could go tomorrow.” I was referring to the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles where they recently opened Dinosaur Hall, a 14,000-square-foot gallery filled with, well, a heck of a lot of dinosaurs.
This was all very exciting and, in hindsight, probably a bit too much before bedtime but somehow Jack managed to fall asleep, dinosaurs dancing in his head. However, the next morning as I rushed around packing the camera, snacks and other necessities, Jack timidly approached me and said, “I really don’t want to see the dinosaurs.”
Surprised, I stopped packing and asked him why.
“I’m too scared of dinosaurs.”
After reminding him how much fun Curious George had and assuring him that the dinosaurs were not alive, he reluctantly agreed to go.
Of course, once we swung open the grand doors of the museum, my intrepid adventurer all but sprinted to the dinosaurs, his fears forgotten.
Just chillin' with the dinos.
Although we came to see the dinosaurs, Jack and I discovered that the Natural History Museum had so much more offer.
North American Mammals Gallery
Smile
Wetlands Exhibit
Gems and Minerals Exhibit
For more information about the hours of operation, parking (we paid $8), tickets and directions, go to the the Natural History Museum website.
Tags: Los Angeles, museums, Natural History Museum
Tags: California, photography
New Dora and Diego Exhibit
The Let’s Explore Exhibit featuring Dora the Explorer and Diego, favorites among preschoolers, opens January 28th at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.
Activities include exploring Isa’s Flowery Garden, helping Tico gather nuts, uncovering pirate treasure with the Pirate Piggies and helping baby animals in the Rainforest Maze. The exhibit runs through May 6th, 2012.
A special event, Breakfast with Dora, is scheduled January 28th & 29th. Contact the Discovery Science Center for details.
General admission into the museum is $14.95 for adults and $12.95 for kids age 3 to 14. Kids 2 and under are free. Parking is $4.00 (cash only).
The Discovery Science Center, a 59,000-square-foot museum with approximately 120 interactive exhibits that encourages visitors to search for answers, think and explore, is Orange County’s largest nonprofit educational resource.
If you’re traveling on the 5 freeway, it’s hard to miss its iconic architecture, a 10-story-high, 108-foot giant cube sitting on one of its points. Click here for driving directions.
Discovery Science Center has over 120 interactive exhibits.
