Event lets kids visit prehistoric petting zoo

This exhibit is the kind you can touch, if you dare.

“Discover the Dinosaurs” is a two-day traveling attraction that puts about 40 dinosaur replicas on display.

Some of the beasts, touted as “museum quality,” invite touching and feeling. Others are animatronic – they “breathe,” move and roar at a child’s push of a button.

Kids “eat it up,” said Mike Henschel, of Blue Star Productions, the event’s Minnesota-based promoter. “They absolutely love it.”

The main part of the show is a series of dino-centered scenes, each representing a period in the Mesozoic Era. Along with animatronic and static dinosaurs, exhibit designers use lighting, sound effects, fog, rocks and plants to set the mood.

Tickets cover one day of the event, which will stay in town Saturday and Sunday. Blue Star is selling tickets at two price levels for kids: a lower price for the dinosaur exhibit only, and a higher price for the “exhibit plus.”

The “plus” ticket includes dinosaur-themed activities, such as rides, a scavenger hunt, mini-golf and art-making. The “Dino Den” is home to friendly-looking and sittable dinosaurs for the youngest children. The “Dino Dig” lets kids brush away sand to reveal fossils.

“It’s both learning and lots of fun,” Henschel said.

Adrian Rogers

When: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.

Cost: Children 2 to 12, $16 for exhibit only or $22 for “exhibit plus.” Ages 13 to 64, $18. Age 65 and older, $16. Free admission for kids 1 and younger.

Tickets: Buy tickets online at www.discoverthedinosaurs.com or at the door.