Monday, March 30, 2015
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Prairie Fire Museum
5801 W. 135th St.
Overland Park, KS
image courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL.
We are heading to Prairie Fire to learn more about dinosaurs and how fossil hunters search for them! From the early days with shovels and sharp-eyed fossil hunters to today’s use of satellites and scanning microscopes, the search for fossils and our understanding of dinosaurs has changed and improved. In this exhibit, we will learn about the technology used by modern fossil hunters, study the biomechanics of certain dinosaur species, explore the reasons some dinosaurs had distinct plates, horns and other characteristics, and more!
Our tour will begin at 10am in the Discovery Room which is full of hands-on activities for learning about natural history and science. At 11am we will then move on to the Dinosaurs exhibit for a self-guided tour. Afterwards, use your hand stamp to return to the Discovery Room for a second visit (if not sold out). Families can also explore the Great Hall. For families who would like to break for lunch, there is an option to order lunch at the museum cafe, or to leave and come back to the Great Hall after lunch. The Great Hall is free and open to the public, so return visits are welcome and encouraged.
Tickets are $5/child ages 3-12, $5/adult, children under three free. Registration is due by February 15; Paypal due by March 1. Minimum headcount, 15 tickets; maximum headcount, 40 tickets (or more at the museum’s discretion). Your spots at this event are only reserved once you have paid your event fees. Register for this event by clicking HERE.
A note about museum parking: there is very limited street parking in front of the museum. Families are encouraged to park in the free parking garage located 1/2 block east of the museum.
The Discovery Room
The Discovery Room is a hands-on, interactive space where children ages 3-12 and their accompanying caregivers learn about the world around them through inquiry based exploration and discovery. Everything within the Discovery Room is meant for visitors to touch, hold, play with and use. Children are encouraged to learn about natural history and science through reconstructing a dinosaur skeleton, wearing masks from cultures across the world & time, holding a hissing cockroach, flying over Mars, tracking animals and more.
Divided into eight areas (paleontology, anthropology, invertebrate zoology, field biology, geology, astronomy, central microscope, and the free play area), the space includes a continuously growing range of real specimens, replicas, models, interactives and activities that offer open opportunities to learn about nature, life and the universe and to playfully explore the scientific method.
The Great Hall has several sections:
Paleontology Gallery
The Paleontology Gallery features one of only three casts in the world of the very first Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered. You’ll also find information about T. rex, Kansas’s own Barnum Brown (one of the past’s most prominent paleontologists), how and where some of today’s paleontologists dig and how the popular image of T. rex and other dinosaurs differs from scientists’ perspectives.
The Big Fish Story
The alcove area (located adjacent to the Museum Cafe) and entry way currently hold The Big Fish Story, an exploration Kansas’s maritime story. Millions of years ago, Kansas and its neighboring states were known as the Western Interior Seaway. It was a shallow, narrow ocean home to sea life and flying reptiles, both native fossils to the state. Discover fossils of some of the largest creatures to roam these shallow waters and learn who really was the Big Fish.
ALIVE
Visitors entering the Museum will be first welcomed by ALIVE, our augmented reality creation experience. Users can approach four screens behind the ALIVE wall and create and learn about their own prehistoric or mythic creature that will be brought to life in the Great Hall.
Science Theater
The Science Theater is currently showing a series of Science Bulletins. Produced by the American Museum of Natural History, these mini-documentaries provide an in-depth look into current events and phenomena to help viewers understand the science involved.
Sprint Gallery
Now home to Picturing Science, a two-dimensional window into the scientific methods, technology and procedures scientists of various subjects use to better understand our world.
Registration for this event is now full. We are adding families to a waitlist.