Looking for Something to Do During School Vacation?

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection at Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill will sponsor a series of programs for families during April school vacation weeks.  The programs include:

• View a Film:  Three different films are shown each day.  There are seven show times beginning at 10:00 a.m.  Last showing begins at 3:30 p.m.
• Make a craft: A craft area will be open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Meet the park’s animals.  There will be animal demonstrations daily at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.  Weather permitting; a guided nature walk may be substituted for the animal demonstration.
• Track Talks will be held daily at 11:30 a.m.  A staff member will answer questions about the tracks and discuss what Connecticut was like in the early Jurassic period.
• Mining for gems and fossils –The very popular mining area will reopen on Saturday, April 9 (weather permitting).  There is a materials fee to participate.

Special Programs: 

• Ask-A-Geologist, Thursday April 21 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.     The park’s geologist will be on hand to identify rock, mineral or fossil specimens from your collections.    
• Celebrate Earth Day at the Park on April 22 The park will sponsor a “Modern Dragons” show featuring live lizards at 11:00 and 12:30 p.m. Seating is limited to 100 per show.  Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the show.  
• Dinosaur Egg Hunt April 24 at 2:00 p.m.  The park will sponsor a dinosaur egg hunt for children under 12.  The hunt will take place outside on the lawn, please bring your own basket. 

The special programming and crafts during school vacation weeks are sponsored by the Friends of Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum. 

Dinosaur State Park is located on 400 West St. in Rocky Hill.  Visitors can view 600 early Jurassic dinosaur footprints under the dome, along with museum exhibits. 

The park has a Discovery room that features a small live animal collection, coloring and book-mark making stations, puzzles, puppets and fossil and mineral collections that visitors can touch and examine.  There are 2.5 miles of outdoor hiking trails.  The park also has a bookshop that has a wide variety of unique items for sale. 

All special programs are included with your admission.  Adults (13 and up) are $6, Youth (6-12) are $2 and children under 6 are free.  The park accepts MasterCard, Visa and Discover.  Charter Oak Passes are available for seniors (65 and over) who are Connecticut residents.  Picture ID must be presented to acquire a pass.  

For more information, call the park at (860) 529-5816 or visit our website at www.ct.gov/dep/dinosaurstatepark.