Dinosaurs Unleashed – The Eden Project

Dinosaurs Unleashed – The Eden Project

Dinosaurs Unleashed - The Eden Project

The Eden Project is one of those attractions that I had heard that if I were in Cornwall was a must-visit place to go. So when we heard that there summer holiday fun was Dinosaurs Unleashed it seemed a sure thing. Of course I love dinosaurs and our 6 year old had been studying them at school too. The full exhibition is on until Tuesday 2nd September 2014.

Dinosaurs Unleashed - The Eden Project

Before we even got from the car park there were signs about telling us about the lost dinosaur. When we arrived the boys were given an adventure journal where they could record their adventures. It had activities and things to find in it; I was really impressed with my youngest’s ability to visually match the things we were looking for.

At Base Camp we discovered our explorer names, as well as tying knots and reading about inspirational explorers and their achievements. We learnt about plants and how fragile life is. How some plants are good to help sustain life and others are poisonous. We later returned to the base camp and helped to collect fire wood for a real fire. The staff encouraged the boys then to roll down the big hill (which is one the 50things list).

Dinosaurs Unleashed - The Eden Project

The Crater of the Tyrant King

Here there was a lot of information to read. I have to admit I had trouble slowing the boys down enough to let my husband try to absorb as much as possible. They did like finding things in their adventure journals, but even still there was a lot. Of course they could hear the T-Rex and were keen to find him. They were not at all scared but it is not the first time they have come face-to-face with a dinosaur having been to The Natural History Museum in London a couple of times before. The detail where it had started to eat the Triceratops is really quite incredible.

Dinosaurs Unleashed - The Eden Project

The Dig Pit

This was an amazing activity for the whole family (there was a smaller pit for the under 5s) – and my husband certainly had a good time. All the materials required were provided (a geological hammer, googles and brush).It is was a really great hands-on way of teaching the children about fossil hunting and how we discovered more about dinosaurs. There’s a webcam picture of how it is progressing each day, and my husband would love to go back again later on to see how it has progressed (as we went on day 2 of the exhibition). The clothes did get really dusty but nothing that didn’t just brush off (eventually).

Dinosaurs Unleashed - The Eden Project

The Core Building

In here there was the dinosaur exhibition. This had many interesting facts about what scientists think about dinosaurs. There were fossils of a real dinosaur eggs, a fossilised brain, a whole skeleton and a real T-Rex tooth. There was plenty to keep the children occupied here, such as the Design-a-saur where children could make their own dinosaur picture (from templates or their imagination) and pin it on the wall.

Other things we liked at The Eden Project

I have to admit the Biomes were really interesting for us adults but think they were a bit boring for the youngsters. Not to mention that they found them too hot. I think if we were to do it again we would leave The Rain Forest until last, and then go home, as it really did wipe them out. The Story-teller in the Mediterranean Biome was fantastic. We loved the Bare foot trail (especially our Sensory Seeker). The Core had some great inventions inside – I am particularly interested in one about Sensory Processing Disorder and was given a card to contact the inventor. The WEEE man – showing our children about what electrical and electronic equipment is just wasted. We also got some seeds to help teach the children how to grow their own food.

Dinosaurs Unleashed - The Eden Project

Also running is a chance to win an Asus Transformer Book T100 2-in-1, in the Twitter Photo Competition. Just tweet #EdenPhotoComp with your best photo.

Dinosaurs Unleashed - The Eden Project

Tips for visiting The Eden Project as a Family

In hind-sight we should have seen the dinosaurs in the middle of the day to help the youngest cope. He has Sensory Processing Disorder and it became a bit much. I advise that you take plenty of water with you – especially if you are intending on going in the Rain Forest Biome. It is cheapest to walk to The Eden Project (even cheaper than buying online). Do not be tempted to park by the houses nearby and walk as the residents are not happy about this. Do bear in mind that The Eden Project is a charity and that your entry price is going back into helping it grow and develop. Next time we would take a picnic, and there are plenty of places to eat. If you do not fancy carrying food around there are plenty of places to eat, and the food looked delicious. Our ticket allowed us to return for free for the next 12 months too. There was plenty to do and we were there for hours (it was open until 8pm when we went). Plan your day – there’s times of sightings of the Lost Dinosaur – we ended up missing this as we decided to go for the late night time but had to go as the youngest was no longer able to cope. Take a proper camera or battery pack – both our iPhones completely drained of battery before we were ready to stop taking photographs. We bought the adult guide book, but saw later that there was a children’s edition that we felt was much better to determine where best to go for the children.

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

 

The Eden Project is easily accessible from Coombe Mill – please read what we thought about our morning there.

This is not a sponsored post. We paid full-price to visit The Eden Project which allows free returns for 12 months. All words and opinions are my own.

19 thoughts on “Dinosaurs Unleashed – The Eden Project”

  1. My two are dinosaur mad and would LOVE this!! I remember visiting the Eden Project myself when I was quite a bit younger and it had only been open a few years and it was fantastic. We really must find out way down to Cornwall with our two one year and revisit 🙂 x

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  2. I am so so jealous Joy.I went just the once with my dad 12 years ago.I’ve always wanted to go back with my 3 kids as I think it’s one of the best places in Britain to visit.

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  3. oooooh now i am feeling even more excited about our trip tomorrow Joy! Thanks for this some great tips and the fact the kids will get to do some fossil hunting / unearthing sounds amazing. we visited the biomes last summer so i am only really going to take them to see the dinosaurs, have a picnic and an ice cream! yay it will be fun 🙂 xx

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  4. I have never been but always wanted to as I’ve heard great things about it. The Dinosaurs unleashed sounds like a brilliant way to keep the kids engaged

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  5. Amy loves dinosaurs, she’s got this huge plastic dinosaur that she takes to bed every evening. She’d be in her element here x

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  6. We went to the Eden Project last year and loved it. Looks like a great day. I think my big hurls would gave loved the dinosaur activities 🙂

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  7. One of our favourite places to visit too! They are great at putting on events all year round and we particularly love the ice rink in winter. It sounds like you all had a fun if not tiring day on your dino experience. Thanks for linking up and sharing with Country Kids.

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  8. It’s a shame your youngest found it a bit much-we visited last week and managed to see the lost dinosaur and a baby dinosaur-it was very cool. I agree though, it is a busy place and can feel overwhelming so planning beforehand can be helpful. There’s so much to explore in the gardens surrounding the biomes and we’ve found them good places to go for some quiet time as there are less people around higher up.
    I’m glad you still enjoyed it though.

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  9. Reading this post word for word as this is one of the place that I wish to visit. Such a lovely time. Always an awesome place =) #countrykids

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  10. Oh we loved the Eden project! But it can be bloomin hot. We made the foolish mistake of not taking a picnic with us and then spent a million pounds on some very yummy soup. The dinosaur thing looks fun! Can’t wait till mine are older to enjoy it xxx

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