And now it has Field Station: Dinosaurs, an incredible travel-back-in-time experience in Secacus.
Being Jerseyites, we drove to Field Station: Dinosaurs, but New Yorkers can also get there easily via New Jersey Transit from Penn Station, and then a short shuttle.
We arrived in the morning, paid $10 for parking and took the absolute farthest away parking space as directed by the parking lot attendant. I was a little miffed, but decided someone had to park there, so it might as well be us.
When we entered the park we were given a Trail Map as well as a Passport, which can get stamped at various designated places. My kids were super-excited about getting stamps in their Passports.
The main attraction of Field Station: Dinosaurs are the giant animatronic dinosaurs, and they are seriously amazing. Their necks swivel, their eyes blink, and they roar - very loud, authentic sounding dinosaur roars.
My kids (ages 2, 6 and 8) were all equally enthralled, and I'm happy to report that the two-year-old was not scared at all.
In addition to the dinos, there are various activities. Several were not open the day we were there, which reduced the stamp-getting options for my kids who were on a Passport-stamping quest. There were also a few spots with stamp potential but for one reason or another my kids didn't qualify for a stamp.
Personally, I thought they could have been a little more loose with the stamps, but I will fully admit to also being of the everyone-gets-a-participation-medal school of parenting. My two older kids only managed to eek out a single stamp, and my little guy couldn't complete that activity so he couldn't get even one.
There was a lot of educational dino info throughout the park, which I think would be particularly interesting to dino-obsessed and older kids, as well as to visiting school groups.
Field Station: Dinosaurs was a truly a one-of-a-kind experience, and I'm glad that New Jersey is home to this latest piece of awesome. I would consider it a must-see for anyone visiting the area, and it would make a great day trip for folks on a New York City vacation.
However, I should also note it is an expensive piece of awesome. Ticket prices in advance are $17.50 for kids and $20 for adults, and at the park ticket prises rise to $20 for kids and $25 for adults. Kids two and under are free, and there are discounts for seniors and groups. However, for frequent visitors, season passes are $48-54 so that might be a good - and affordable - option for repeat visitors.
To learn more about Field Station: Dinosaurs visit their website, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter: @Jerseysaurus. You can also purchase discounted admission tickets online, as well as season passes.
Field Station:Dinosaurs is open daily from 10am to 6pm.
My family received free tickets to Field Station: Dinosaurs for review purposes from MamaDrama. All opinions are my own.
Other than the stamp aspect, I really like the place! The dinos are awesome indeed!
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