Dinosaurs -  A Reason To Travel With Kids

Who doesn’t get excited about dinosaurs? From the biggest and most frightening such as the T Rex to the tiny plant eater Albertadromeus syntarsus, dinosaurs have been inspiring children and adults to learn for centuries. The first discoveries of dinosaur fossils were made in the 1800’s. Not until years after they were first discovered, did scientists realize that these massive creatures no longer exist. After this realization, British scientist Richard Owen dubbed them “Dinosauria” which means “terrible lizards”.

Today, a sort of dinomania has swept the world. As more and more bones are found and more and more species named, museums and exhibits in honor of these terrible lizards continue to pop up. Today, every natural history museum has a section devoted to dinosaurs and their lives. If you and your family love dinosaurs, you too can be inspired. Plan a dino-vacation when you travel. To help you plan, we invite you to review 5 of the most amazing destinations for dino-travel this year.

Field Museum, Chicago – Chicago is filled with famous attractions however, one of the best is the Field Museum.  Home to “Sue”, the largest, most complete and best preserved T rex in the world. Since she arrived, almost 16 million have come to see her and have enjoyed the many other dinosaurs’ found throughout the museum as well.

Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado/Utah – Part of the National Park Service, Dinosaur National Monument offers visitors the opportunity to not only see and learn more about dinosaurs in a museum type-setting, but actually, see digs in progress. The Quarry Exhibit Hall is located over the world famous Carnegie Dinosaur Quarry and view over 1,500 bones from many different species including Allosaurus, Diplodicus and even Stegosaurus.

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, Alberta, Canada – The only museum in all of Canada which is entirely devoted to the dinosaurs, this museum, still actively digging dinosaurs just recently announced another amazing find to be added to the collection. A Hadrosuar fossil was uncovered at the Leduc construction site. This will be stored in the museum’s collections along with thousands of others. A day at this site is like going on an expedition. Family fun days allow visitors to learn how to cast fossils, learn more about dinosaurs and explore the badlands themselves.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta – Home to the only full Argentinosaurus, the largest dinosaur ever discovered, this amazing museum is another must visit. Its Dinosaur Plaza offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy a variety of features including an outdoor area, an amphitheater and even bronze recreations to give the viewer the opportunity to see what they may have looked like when they were still alive.

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C – Free in addition to being amazing, the Smithsonian is one of the most popular museums in the country. Currently featuring information about one of the ongoing finds in the Atacame Desert of Chile, the museum features a large number of permanent dinosaur exhibits. The current National Fossil Hall will be closing for renovations on April 27, 2014 however, the new Rex Room will be opening April 15^th and run till October 20^th 2014.

Travel more and be inspired when you travel with reviews from Island Trader Vacations.