What does a family of six do on a three-day-long winter weekend?
Get our-spendingalotoftimeinclosequarters-selves OUT of the house, of course!
And so it was we found ourselves wandering through a crowded forest and into a time long, long ago, where the Royal Botantical Gardens is playing host to two formidable creatures at the "Battle of the Titans" exhibit.
The exhibit is based on the dynamics of the T-Rex (Tyrannosaurus) and the T-Tops (Triceratops): meat-eater vs. plant-eater.
As you make your way through, there are stations to teach little learners about the traits of each of the players. The side-by-side Dinovision stations, which allow you to see through the eyes of both dinosaurs, provided good hands-on fun.
The information stations provided well-written and interesting information. My kids were especially delighted by the wheelbarrow of T-rex poop. If we hadn't gone on such a busy day (Family Day), we would have had more time to read and listen (to the video displays) before being ushered by the crowd to the next stop.
Saying that, I do think the exhibit is best geared to school-aged kids who can understand the content. That's not to say little brothers and sisters can't tag along (ours did), but there isn't a lot to see at their level. My three-year-old spent most of her time wandering around the cactus display.
However, once you've gone through the exhibit (and you may want to a couple of times to make sure you've had a chance to see/read everything), there are more family-friendly activities. There was a presentation given by a paleontologist in the auditorium and a Storysaurus gathering in the main atrium. You can also find a Cretaceous Crafts and Colouring table run by volunteers in an area outside the restaurant.
The Digital Dig Pit was a big hit for all four of the kids, especially the preschooler. They could brush away dirt to reveal dinosaur bones and then move them together to create a complete dinosaur. It was also a good pit-stop for me and my husband to step back and catch our breath (guzzle coffee).
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The "Battle of the Titans" exhibit is on until April 7th.
Thanks to our friends at RBG, I have nine Family Passes to give away.
The passes provide admission for two adults and two children.
To enter, just leave a comment below. Winners will be randomly selected on Feb 28th.
Good luck!
