To want a dino museum...with less skeletons? any ideas?

[BoyMeetsWorld]

Yes, I know skeletons are v educational. And awesome. Believe me, if it was me or older DS I'd love the full blown bony experience.

But littlest DS is 3 and dino mad. For his bday he wants to go to a dino museum. Trouble is, he really isn't v interested in skeletons, in fact they frazzle his teeny brain. & whilst I realise he could do with educating in this respect, I don't feel his birthday is the time or place.

Peppa Pig Dino Museum episode has a lot to answer for. I think he's expecting reconstructions, interactives etc.

Anybody know anywhere? Here's the catch....preferably not London. Although if NHM is reeeeally our only option, I guess we would brave it.

What about just going to a local natural history museum with lots of those old stuffed animals? Even if not dinosaurs, children are fascinated by them.

We have giant concrete ones over here in Crystal Palace Park, London but not central London. Being refurbished at the moment so not the greatest time to visit but they are going to look amazing when they're finished.

National History museum in London has animatronic ones! I wonder if the walking with dinosaurs thing is still touring?

Dinosaur Isle on the IoW is great, I don't recall any skeletons...some fossils but mostly huge models and interactive stuff.
The ferry ride is exciting too

Where about are you?

I'd recommend All things wild in honeybourne by eversham. All models. Not really any skeletons. And other things there too. A big sand pit with a Dino dig, a helicopter base, a dinosaur train, a trail, mammoths. Loads of stuff. They have animals there too but the dinosaurs are the big attraction.

www.allthingswild.co.uk/step-through-time/
Here you go.

Evesham. Not sure why that random r was there.

Another vote for Dinosaur Isle on the Isle of Wight. May be a bit of a trek for this particular occasion, but thoroughly recommend a visit if you are in the area.

Paultons park (with Peppa Pig World) has a Dino section with some huge models and themed rides. My three year old loved it.

Paultons would have been perfect but Jurassic World is closed for winter :(

It looks like you are more southern based but the world museum in Liverpool has more 'real' dinosaurs it's not a big exhibitions but there are bugs, space etc and its free and close to the other free museums. Small enough for a 3 year olds attention span
(Although I prefer the museum of Liverpool )

I was going to suggest knebworth house

www.knebworthhouse.com/new-dinosaur-trail-and-adventure-playground

It's got an adventure playground as well. There isn't a single dinosaur skeleton.

I think that the natural history museum in London is still your best bet. It's not like when we were children. There is loads of hands on stuff and the science museum is next door.

Paradise Park in East Sussex has an indoor and outdoor dinosaur area along with a pretty random range of other stuff - a couple of outdoor play areas, a soft play/arcade type area, a miniature train, an "earth museum" with fossils and stuff, and outdoor gardens with miniature models of Sussex landmarks and fish ponds. It also has a garden centre and a cafe (a pretty mediocre one - there's a McDonald's and a whacky warehouse type pub nearby). It's a pretty random place, but only a few miles from us so we go quite a lot. I'm not sure I'd travel miles, although you could combine it with a trip to Brighton or Eastbourne I suppose. They do a pretty good santa grotto as well.

The Oxfordshire Museum (Woodstock) has lots of dinosaur models - my DS wanted skeletons so was most disappointed.

Make sure to go into the garden - lots of models out there too.

m.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/public-site/oxfordshire-museum?utm_source=FURL-1&utm_medium=the_oxfordshire_museum&utm_term=nil&utm_content=&utm_campaign=the_oxfordshire_museum

Yeah it's still skeleton and fossils and eggs and the like, rather than models, there are just fewer an it's less daunting and massive when compared with th Natural History Museum. My DS loved it, but of yours is mainly into models I guess it might not be quite right for them.