When you walk in a dinosaur skeleton stretches in front of you up to the top of the vaulted ceiling. The American Museum of Natural History is a special place and one of my favorite in New York City.

It is not lost on me that we are fortunate to have this window of time to explore New York City up close and personal. The benefits this has on our Dinosaur Unit are an added perk.

Wherever you live, your local Natural History Museum or Science Museum is an ideal place to start if you are doing a unit on Dinosaurs. Many of them have an exhibit about Dinosaurs, paleontology, or something related.

If you can take a field trip to the American Museum of Natural History, here are my top tips for this museum but many apply to a dinosaur exhibit anywhere.

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7 Tips for Visiting the American Museum of Natural History

1. Scope out the museum’s website beforehand to get an idea of the exhibit. It is a huge place and it’s unlikely you will cover it all in one day with little kids.
2. Also check out their online educational resources about dinosaurs.
3. If you are learning about dinosaurs (like we obviously are right now!) then I would recommend starting on that floor of the museum.
4. Bring clipboards with paper and pencils or cameras to help your child document what they see and to encourage them to slow down. We use our adventure journals for this.
5. Pack a lunch or snack to eat in the cafe when you need a break.
6. Read books about dinosaurs before you go. This new ladybug girl adventure follows her trip to this very museum with her grandpa.
7. If you need to run off steam before or afterwards, Central Park is right across the street. Here is everything you need to know about their playgrounds.

Field Trips like this bring a topic to life. They make an abstract concept meaningful, real and alive for young kids. On a field trip kids will be able to touch things, ask questions of experts, and more.

This dinosaur exhibit helps kids appreciate the vast size of the dinosaurs. It also has several interactive computer stations where you can learn more.

More Field Trip Ideas

• Go on a Fossil Hunt (this post has tons of other great unit ideas too!)

Dinosaur Unit Activity Ideas

Below are fun learning ideas to use before and after your field trip. They are divided into developmental or curriculum areas.

Literacy Activities

• Compare and contrast your visit to the Natural History Museum with Ladybug Girl’s trip with her Grandpa.

• Read more Dinosaur books like this incredible Lift the Flap Dinosaur Atlas from Lonely Planet or one of these other Dinosaur Children’s Books to Read Aloud

Art Activities

• Super Fun Dinosaur Craft Ideas

STEM Activities

• Dinosaur Addition and Subtraction Game (details below)

Materials: Dinosaurs. Number Rocks (make your own with at least 10 rocks and a sharpie). Cloth Bag.

Set up: Place the number rocks inside the bag and spread out some dinosaurs on a table top or the floor.

To Play: 

1. The first person reaches into the bag and picks a rock. They read the number and then choose that many dinosaurs. Do this around the circle until everyone has dinosaurs.

2. Next, reach into the bag and choose another rock. Read the number and ADD that many dinosaurs from your pile. Count your dinosaurs to determine your new total. Repeat this around the circle.

3. Finally, reach into the bag and choose a last rock. Read the number and SUBTRACT that many dinosaurs from your pile. Count your dinosaurs to determine your total. Repeat around the circle.

Optional: You can write out the math problems as you go or show them with number rocks or manipulatives. If you are feeling competative, the person with the highest number at the end could win. Put everything back to reset and then you can play again.

Gross Motor Activities

• Move and Groove to We Are the Dinosaurs (watch on YouTube)

SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM for More Awesome Unit Ideas Below!

Current Learning Objectives

• Retell key details in a story.
• Ask questions to clear up any confusion about topics or texts.
• Relate counting to addition and subtraction.
• Add and subtract within 20 using a variety of strategies.

Find All of our Thematic Units HERE