dinosaur state park & museum

This is a very interesting place to visit, especially if you enjoy natural history and dinosaurs! It is great for young children as it does not take a long time to see the exhibits - as one reviewer mentioned, you can see the indoor attractions within a 30-60 minutes time frame. You may start your visit with a 15 minute movie on the history of dinosaurs. It is a claymation 1980s film and it is rather entertaining and informative. Just long enough that the kids don't get too restless. Some kids were mesmerized by the clay dinosaurs, although there are some roars that some kids find a bit scary. Adults found the narration interesting, a review of what we learned 30 years ago.Inside, under a dome there are genuine dinosaur tracks that had been discovered during excavation many years ago. Fascinating! Around the dome is a walkway with different exhibits. This takes no more than 30 minutes to see. One of the best features for the little ones (toddler - young child) is the craft room. There are exhibits and hands on materials and activities for the kids. For example, we were able to make bookmarks with dinosaur track imprints. There are also samples for identification and viewing under a magnifying glass. Of course, there is a gift shop with many cute stuffed dinosaurs and other goodies that kids love to have, so, be aware and bring your wallet.Overall, this was a great activity on a cold snowy day. The cost was reasonable (I believe it was $6 adults and children under 5 were free!). We are looking forward to returning this Spring or Summer in order to enjoy the nature trails and to take advantage of the outdoor activities, such as mining for fossils!

It was nice to see the tracks inside the dome. One of the kids got scared of the loud dinosaur noises but it was nice otherwise. There is a room to explore fossils, coloring pages and check live reptiles.

Not a place for teens or adults but the little ones will like it if they are into dinos but don't plan on a lot of time. Takes tops half an hour

Good for about an hour trip. The footprints are astounding. Look sharp to see the fossilized rain drops! Looks like it might be good for young kids. Our group was all young adult. We took a walk through the gardens and nature trails too. Frogs, snakes, spiders!

My 2 years old adores dinosaurs, so when I happened across the park.....we had to stop. The main dinosaur "claim to fame" are some memorialized dinosaur foot prints you can see from a distance. Apparently that location was an discovered to be where a large herd of dinosaurs traveled from point A to point B. Its a large area you can see from a many feet below you; cast in concrete. To be honest.. isn't too interesting unless your a paleontologist. My kids were not to interested in that exhibit, but when you go further into the complex, there was a nice research room for the younger ones to color and engage in activities. I lucked out because my kids really enjoyed it. I saw some other families come and go from there, because their kids just weren't interested. Other than that area, there really wasn't much more related to dinosaurs to be seen. It is a lovely state park, and there are long hiking trails. If hiking and walking is your thing, then you will really enjoy it. There was a butterfly garden and some other outdoor activities to see near the hiking area. Its certainly not all about dinosaurs, but its a really nice outdoor facility, but would be a bit of a bust if the weather wasn't nice. It takes quite a little time to negotiate all there is to see. but overall it was a nice stop.

We'd been passing this park for years on the freeway, and finally decided to take the time to visit. It exceeded our expectations in every way. The grounds are beautiful, and the small but effective visitors hall is very well designed. We were welcomed and quickly guided into the main exhibit hall, which is built right over the real footprints. They are very easy to see, and are surrounded by useful and interesting exhibits. After our visit, we spent some time walking around the grounds, and enjoyed watching school children make plaster casts of a few outside footprints. We had fun, and look forward to stopping again!

Tons of fun and a well educating experience for any age! I love going there to look around, buy some necklaces and most importantly buying crystals! It's truly a gift to be able to go there and have multiple options! I'm sure kids enjoy going there, I'm an adult and I STILL enjoy going there! There really are so many things there that you can learn, its truly amazing!

If you love full size dinosaur skeletons and animated dinosaur simulations (e.g., Dinomania) but really aren't all that interested in the science, you might not enjoy this museum too much. But if you do like the sciences of geology and paleontology, at least a little, there is a lot here in a modest sized area, and plenty to learn.The tracks are interesting, and the explanations about why there are tracks here but no bones are helpful. The exhibits show how scientists determined what kind of dinosaurs made the tracks and there is one full size model of what that dinosaur may have looked like.Be sure to see the video as it gives helpful background. Some older children might find this interesting for a little while, but don't expect it to keep their attention for very long unless they have strong interests in science.

My son was a huge dinosaur fan when he was around 8 years old, so we included a stop in Rocky Hill when we were doing a tour of MA and CT this past spring. Even though he is a bit past his infatuation, he really enjoyed seeing the tracks and walking around the grounds.The museum is inexpensive ($6) and a fun stop that is not too taxing for even small kids to walk around. The outdoor trails are lovely and a nice break from the more urban places we had been. It is amazing to see the very large field of tracks which is partially enclosed in the museum's dome. I found it more interesting that the usual fossil skeletons just because it was something different.I think this site is especially nice for smaller kids, since it is not too large, there are lots of activities for them in the building and, if your child tends to be more timid, they won't be put off by just seeing the tracks. It was nice for all of us and well worth the stop.

Dinosaur State Park is both a park with hiking trails and outdoor picnic tables all for free, as well as a small and well-organized exhibit center where you can see and learn about actual dinosaur tracks. The exhibit area is well-worth the $6 admission.One of the coolest features is the outdoor sidewalk timeline, which really puts into perspective the length of time dinosaurs roamed the earth especially when compared to both the earth's existence and human existence-- don't walk past it too quickly, stop and take it in.While you're in the area take a ferry ride across the Connecticut River on the Glastonbury Rocky Hill ferry-- the ferry landing is just a few miles upriver.And for extending your trip here are more suggestions: http://traveltodos.blogspot.com/2014/09/central-connecticut-drive-ferry-train.html

We have visited there several times with our grandchildren, it has an activity room and nice walking trail along with a very interesting dinosaur exhibit.

My wife and I were in Rocky Hill, CT for a wedding. The Dinosaur State Park & Museum was next door to our hotel, we had a few hours to kill, and we decided to go see what the museum was about. The museum is about dinosaur footprints, not dinosaurs. That said, the grounds are very park like with nature trails (free) and the museum is a competent display of "in situ" dinosaur footprints that were uncovered during local excavation. Handicap accessibility is good, but not great. If you are in Rocky Hill and staying at the Sheraton, don't miss the Dinosaur State Park & Museum.

One of the largest collections of dinosaur footprints in North American with great exhibits describing the local geology resulting in the footprints and how scientists study footprints. I learned a lot and enjoy returning. The trails are lovely and you wouldn't believe they are in the middle of a suburb--a nice way to experience nature without traveling too far off the beaten path.

This is an interesting area. The building covers a small percentage of footprints that were found here. You can make a plaster of Paris cast of a footprint and take a walk through the forest around the building,

This is a really neat thing to see (especially for the dino lovers in your family). The footprints are so interesting to see. A real step back in time! It won't take long for you to visit, but you could spend awhile exploring the trails on the grounds. A nice family afternoon.