City: Oakdale, CT

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (860) 443-4367

Address: 1650 Hartford–New London Tpke.

Description: The main attraction at the Dinosaur Place is a trail around a pond (called Raptor Bay) with life-size dinosaur replicas. They never fail to astonish children, though the erupting volcano will probably wow them as well. In summer the 10,000-square-foot water-spray park that has been added is probably where your kids will spend most of their time, with countless dinosaur-themed water features. So, bring the swimsuits (they have changing rooms outside). Inside, the Fossil and Mineral Gallery has a collection of real artifacts, like petrified wood, real dinosaur eggs, and fluorescent minerals. The life-size dinosaur skeleton casts are impressive to kids of all ages as well. There are other activity areas, too, like Thunder Creek where you can pan for gold. You can buy ice cream in the Cobalt Cafe and buy hundreds of stuffed dinosaurs in the gift shop. Or rather, you can buy one stuffed dinosaur among the hundreds to choose from. Your kids, on the other hand, might want them all.