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For the kids who really dig dinos
International Dinosaur Month will be here before you know it in October. But if you have budding paleontologists, every month is Dinosaur Month. You know all the Jane Yolen books by heart (“How Do Dinosaurs …” do anything), and there might be a dinosaur costume still in the daily rotation a week or six months after Halloween. Sound familiar? You’ll want to put these great dino destinations around Seattle and beyond on your radar.
Up first: The Burke Museum
The new Burke Museum
At the Burke Museum, kids can get close to real paleontologists at work on real dinosaur bones. Dino fans should head straight to the Fossils Uncovered gallery on the third floor to check out the evidence of ancient life. And you might get the chance to see archaeologists continue their work on the Burke’s 3,000-pound skull of a Tyrannosaurus rex, which is one of the best T. rex specimens on display anywhere.
You’ll also want to cruise by the Burke’s two play areas.
Find it: 4300 15th Ave. N.E., Seattle, near the northwest corner of the University of Washington campus
Cost: $22 adults, $14 for youths ages 4–17, ages 3 and younger free
Money-saving tips: Street parking and campus lots are all free on Sundays. You can reserve a free museum pass (good for two people) through the Seattle Public Library, or visit on the museum’s free day, First Thursday. UW faculty, staff and students also get in free, so lucky you if there’s one of those among your crew. Military, AAA members and Microsoft Prime Passport holders get a discount.
Bonus: Archie McPhee (1300 N. 45th St., Seattle) is just a 10-minute drive west along 45th St., and it is stocked with all kinds of random plastic fun. Two-inch plastic dinosaurs start at $.50 cents each, so it won’t break the bank to grab a handful for the next airplane trip/long car ride/random toddler tantrum. Other goodies include plastic dino skeletons, a mini dinosaur viewer and dinosaur gliders.
Up next: Pacific Science Center
Pacific Science Center
At Pacific Science Center, where everyone gets an apatosaurus hand stamp at the ticketing window, you know you’ve brought your dino fans to the right place. Inside, find a dozen large-scale model dinosaurs — 13, if you count the one being eaten by a deinonychus. The kids will be thrilled to discover that some of these dinosaurs move! Creakily, yes, but not bad for robots over 30 years old. These dinosaur robots were purchased in 1987 for a traveling dinosaur exhibition. The pachycephalosaurus and deinonychus are full-size, and other robots are half-scale.
Below the big dinosaurs are interactive panels at kid height, and miniature dioramas at toddler height. Don’t miss the chunks of coprolite (fossilized dinosaur poop) you can touch. Climb into a duckbill dinosaur footprint to get a sense of just how humongous these creatures were.
Find it: 200 Second Ave. N., Seattle
Cost: General admission $27.95 adults, $19.95 for ages 3–17, ages 2 and younger free (buy tickets in advance online and save a few bucks per ticket)
Money-saving tip: Most science museums will have some kind of dinosaur exhibit, even if it’s just one little corner. It’s well worth the money to purchase a Pacific Science Center membership. Your membership will get you free admission into any ASTC museum more than 90 miles away — that includes the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland and Science World in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Up next: Fremont topiary dinos
Fremont topiary dinos
Fremont is famous for being quirky. There are the naked bicyclists at Solstice Parade, the Lenin statue, the Troll under the bridge… and mama and baby apatosaurus topiaries next to the Burke-Gilman Trail.
The 66-foot long metal frames were built in the 1980s for the Pacific Science Center, and purchased for $1 by some forward-thinking Fremont residents. The Fremont Rotary maintains these living sculptures in their current location; it took more than 12 years for the ivy to grow to Mama Apatosaurus’ head.
After your photo op, kids will love watching boat traffic in the busy Ship Canal.
Find it: N. Canal Street at Phinney Avenue N., Seattle
Cost: Free
Bonus: Kids get a free piece of fruit at the PCC Community Market a block away.
Up next: Dragon Park
Deane’s Children’s Park, better known as Dragon Park
Technically, it’s a dragon, not a dinosaur. But it is big and scaly. Kids can slide down its tail, climb into its belly and walk into its mouth. What’s not to love?
The 45-foot long dragon sculpture at Deane’s Children’s Park was designed and built by artist Kenton Pies. It was installed in 2013, replacing the well-worn original dragon which Pies built in 1965.
Dragon Park is in a wooded area, so it stays shady and cool on hot days. Parents of the newly potty-trained will appreciate that there’s a restroom in the parking lot.
When your kids are done exploring the dragon, there are three play structures in the park to explore, including a castle-themed one. Still not done? On a weekend, walk down a path connecting Dragon Park to nearby Island Park Elementary School, which has a giant play structure featuring five slides.
Find it: 5500 Island Crest Way, Mercer Island
Cost: Free
Up next: Where to see living dinosaurs
Where to see living dinosaurs
Wait, aren’t dinosaurs extinct? Yes, but a few creatures survived that mass extinction 65 million years ago. Birds are the only living dinosaur descendants — think about that the next time you’re eating a drumstick! Other creatures living today that are related to dinosaurs include alligators and crocodiles, lizards, snakes and turtles.
Monroe Reptile Zoo
Dinosaurs are in the reptile group, and this zoo is home to more than 85 species of reptiles, including alligators, lizards and snakes. The Reptile Zoo was founded in 1996 by a high school biology teacher and reptile evangelist. You can pet a tortoise here and see critters such as an albino alligator and a turtle with two heads.
Find it: 22715 State Route 2, Monroe
Cost: $9.95 adults, $7.95 for youths ages 3–17, ages 2 and younger free
Woodland Park Zoo
In winter, our favorite spot at the zoo is the large aviary in the tropical rainforest exhibit. It’s indoors and toasty warm, but you do have to watch out for birds pooping overhead. If you’re searching for a more prehistoric-looking creature, check out the Komodo dragons, which also live in an indoor exhibit. They are the world’s largest lizards and distantly related to dinosaurs.
Find it: 5500 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle
Cost: $29 adults, $18 for ages 3–12, ages 2 and younger free
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Sharks have been swimming since dinosaurs roamed the earth, and you can spy the sharks up close at the fantastic Pacific Seas Aquarium exhibit.
If you’re at least 8 years old, you can have a special tour and help feed the animals in the Tidal Touch Zone. Plus, PDZA has some nifty little reptiles and amphibians, including a green iguana, a black and white tegu, some frogs and a blue-tongued skink, among others.
Find it: 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma
Cost: $25 teens and adults, $18 for kids ages 3–12, ages 2 and younger free. Buy your tickets ahead of time online and save a few bucks per ticket.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published several years ago and most recently for 2023.
