Kids dig dinosaurs at Burke

Kayla Webley
2004-03-08
The Daily

Families with kids of all ages lined up around the block to have the chance of coming face-to-face with prehistoric giants on Dinosaur Day.

Dinosaur Day was held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. The annual event is the museum's biggest family-focused event of the year.

According to Maryann Barron, director of external communications, the event was established to aid the museum's education goal.

"One of our big missions at the Burke Museum is education, we start really young; Dinosaur Day is an opportunity to bring in families with little kids, from around 2 up to 12," she said. "We introduce them to concepts of paleontology and the sciences in general, and we show them the cool stuff, like the giant dinosaur bones and the huge fossils."

According to Barron, 2004 was named the Year of the Fossil by Gov. Gary Locke to recognize the important role that Washington state fossils play in developing the knowledge of the Earth sciences regionally. Dinosaur Day is the first event in the museum's 12-month celebration of fossil appreciation.

The event featured many activities, including looking at fossils of dinosaur bones and other dinosaur-era vertebrates, invertebrates, microfossils, plants and minerals and learning from members of the Northwest Paleontological Association and Northwest Shell Club about their collections. The event also included a special area for children, called the "Kid Zone."

The Kid Zone featured many hands-on activities for children, including digging for fossilized dinosaur toys, a coloring contest, materials to make paper chains and flip books, face painting and the opportunity to draw dinosaurs with professional dinosaur-illustrator Mark Orson. Children were also able to learn more about dinosaurs through fact sheets posted throughout, the museum.

The event catered to dinosaur-lovers of all different ages and interests.

One 6-year-old named the dinosaur bones as his favorite. "I like the Allosaurus bones," he said. Another child favored a large fossil of a dinosaur's tooth.

Visitors were also given a chance to watch paleontologist Bruce Crowley dig, clean and arrange real fossils on site.

Crowley hopes his demonstration will teach kids about the field of paleontology.

"I hope they learn more of what a real paleontologist does; most people have only the vaguest notion of that," he said.

The event entertained families all day.

"They stay all day, and we have so much for them to do that they are not leaving," said Barron.