If you are looking for somewhere to take the kids in the next few months, then I can not recommend enough Dinosaurs in the Wild at the Greenwich Peninsula, London. The whole experience is like going on the greatest safari ever – except you’ll travel back in time with expert guides (actors – but the kids have no idea) to see with your very own eyes what life was actually like 67 million years ago, surrounded by prehistoric animals.
It is recommended that children should be five years plus, but we have a very robust dinosaur loving three year old and I knew he would get so much out of the experience – plus I really didn’t want him to miss it. So with a little friend of the same age in tow we all boarded the time machine and were transported back an astonishing 67 million years to meet living dinosaurs.
We were on a journey to visit the incredible research station, TimeBase67 where scientists are studying dinosaurs in the past. When we arrived the children’s faces were a picture as they fully believed everything they were being told, it was just the cutest thing. As we were guided through the research station we learnt some amazing facts about dinosaurs and the kids even got to plunge their hands into piles of poo to discover more about a dinosaurs diet!
In each room we discovered more about how dinosaurs lived and the children got to see prehistoric animals in cages, watch babies hatching, and even witness an autopsy on a giant dinosaur. We had a few ‘I think it’s time to go home now’, but both children were fully engaged and mesmerised by everything they were seeing (and were both so good at wearing their 3D glasses when told too).
The whole experience climaxes in the ‘lookout’, where you view amazing panoramic views of prehistoric life all around you as you get to witness mighty creatures like Alamosaurus and Triceratops roaming free in their natural environment. What happens next I won’t spoil for you, but it will definitely get your heart racing – nothing beats the thrill of suddenly finding yourself in the presence of a 70-tonne giant Tyrannosaurus!
When we arrived back in 2018, my little boy said ‘We made it, we are back’ and continued to talk about his experience for many days to come. I am so glad that I took him, as he really believes that he travelled back in time and saw real dinosaurs – it’s not often you can give your child an experience and memories like that.
Sadly the time machine will depart on 31 July, so make sure you get down there before it leaves for the final time.
