While I was in France, I went to a dinosaur park called Paléopolis. There, it was more interactive than the last dinosaur park. When you entered the park, there was a large Velociraptor on top of a truck. It felt like it was going to eat me, so I watched it out of the corner of my eye. There were a few canopies and some fossil models were buried in the sand there. The weather was nice, so I was fine walking around. Under the canopies, there were the tools that scientists would use during an expedition. Sand was everywhere and there were some tools for little kids to use so that they could go on their own practice dig. Near the picnic area, there was an obstacle course; so that kids would have something to do while food was being set up.
A bit away, there was a building where art projects happened occasionally. One of the activity’s when I came in was making a fossil model; but, I missed it because I came in to late. There were lots of interactive panels that had games that you could play. It was fun to go around and interact with the panels. Some had information about dinosaurs, and others had information about geology or extinct animals. One panel had a match up game where you had to match the date when certain fossils where discovered. One large building had an exhibit on all gems found in France, there were examples of all the gems too. The gems were all very pretty or interesting, some gems looked like bubbles frozen in time. Other gems were large and covered in crystals.
The last space I went to was a space where my friend got to practice digging dinosaur models. Here’s how it worked: everyone got a pail, a small brush, and a large brush. You would then walk up to one of the large and pits, then it would be time to start digging. Anyone at the pit would help each other dig, and you would try to finish digging the dinosaur out. My friend got part of the spine, which is pretty much the hardest part to dig out. Once that part was done, you would move on to another block. The next block that my friend went to had the beginning of the arm. Since my friend knows the main skeleton form of dinosaurs, it was easy to know what you were currently digging out. Sadly, soon it was time to stop digging out the dinosaur. My friend knew the name of the dinosaur, and if you complete the dig, you get a little certificate of accomplishment.
I had a lot of fun at the dinosaur park, and I highly recommend it. There were lots of things to do, and I found it very interesting. The gift shop has lots of different dinosaur and geology related things. If you go to France, this would be another good stop. Until the next post.
The Beary Good Adventures 