While the Brooklyn Children’s Museum is moving forward into the 21st century, with a major expansion planned, it is also going back in time to the Cretaceous Period with its new exhibit, Dinosaurs! The exhibit features animatronic dinosaurs, models of the kind that roamed the Earth 66 to 144 million years ago. The dinosaurs move very realistically, and a bit too enthusiastically for very young children; my 5-year-old’s friend was terrified when one of the dinosaurs started making noises and moving its head menacingly. The exhibit features a T-Rex, a 24-foot Apatosaurus, a Protoceratops with her babies, a Chasmosaurs with its babies, a Stegosaurus and a Pteranodon. Kids who have LEGO Robotics will understand the way computers are used to make the dinosaurs move in such a lifelike manner. The exhibit has a dinosaur dig, geared toward very young kids, who use shovels to ‘excavate’ bones from a large sandbox; it’s quite different from the dino dig in the Discovery Room at the American Museum of Natural History, where older kids use chisels and need to wear safety glasses. Still, this exhibit attracts a slightly older audience than usual at the children’s museum; even 10-year-olds will enjoy seeing the dinosaurs and taking a turn manipulating one of the robotic models. There is also an area where kids can make rubbings of dinosaur fossils. The museum offers many special events associated with the exhibit, which runs through August 31. Every Tuesday, from 3-4pm, the program “Did Dinosaurs Make Good Parents?” includes a dinosaur tale and a discussion of how they raised their young; kids can make their own baby dinosaur to take home. On Dinosaur Dig Thursdays, from 2-3pm, kids can become paleontologists and excavate bones and teeth; here, kids get to use chisels. Digs will also be held July 20 and August 9, from 2-3pm. Another special event, Eggs-citing Dinosaur Eggs, will be held July 6, 10 and August 8, at 2pm. Kids can examine dinosaur eggs and eggs from their descendants: birds and reptiles. They can also decorate eggs to take home.
Info: Where: 145 Brooklyn Ave., at St. Marks Ave. When: Tuesday-Thursday, noon-5pm; Friday, noon-7:30pm; Saturday, Sunday, 10am-5pm How much: Admission is $4 person; free after 5pm Fridays For more info: (718) 735-4400; www.brooklynkids.org
