CT DEEP Announces Dinosaur State Park Museum Hours Expansion

From DEEP: Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced today that Dinosaur State Park will be expanding its Museum hours back to a Tuesday – Sunday schedule beginning April 1st. The museum will be open from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Please note that there will still be no public access to the museum or trails on Mondays.

Dinosaur State Park, Rocky Hill, will sponsor a series of programs for families during April school vacation week. The programs take place April 8-9 and April 11-16.

The programs include:

• View a film: 10:00, 10:30, 12:00 1:30, 2:00, 3:00 and 3:30. The park will be showing a brand new animated film for children 5 and under called “Steeping through Time.” This 15-minute film was created especially for the Park’s youngest visitors and will be shown 3 times daily.

• Interpretive Programs: Park staff will lead short, family friendly programs including track talks, animal demonstrations and nature walks. Programs are at 11:00, 11:30 and 1:00.

• Mining Activity – The very popular mining for gems and fossils activity will reopen in early April. The exact date is weather dependent. There is a materials fee to participate.

• Craft area: Each day during school vacation the craft area will be open from 11:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The Friends of Dinosaur Park and Arboretum are sponsoring the following three special programs:

• April 12

Riverside Reptiles will present two - 45 minute live animal shows.

11:00 a.m. Snakes

1:00 p.m. Reptiles and amphibians

Tickets will be available with admission on the day of the show. Space is limited to 100 visitors per show.

• April 13 at 1:00 p.m.

Massachusetts Birds of Prey will present a 45-minute live raptor show. Tickets will be available with admission on the day of the show. Space is limited to 100 visitors per show.

Dinosaur State Park features a display of 600 early Jurassic dinosaur footprints preserved in place. There is also a bookshop and a Discovery Room under the Dome. Outside there is a picnic area and 2.5 miles of hiking trails. No food or beverage is permitted in the building. Please note that no dogs are allowed in the museum or on the hiking trails.

Admission

All special programs are included with your admission. Adults (13 and up) are $6, Youth (6-12) are $2 and children under 6 are free. The park accepts MasterCard, Visa and Discover. Charter Oak Passes are available for seniors (65 and over) who are Connecticut residents. Picture ID must be presented to acquire a pass.

For more information, visit Dinosaur State Park website at www.ct.gov/deep/dinosaurstatepark or contact the park at (860) 529-5816 or at margaret.enkler@ct.gov.

From DEEP