Center for Science Teaching and Learning in Rockville Centre hosts Dinosaur Carnival this holiday break
Pin the Tail on the Dinosaur, anyone?
The Center for Science Teaching and Learning in Rockville Centre is throwing its first Dinosaur Carnival Dec. 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring carnival-style games, live animal demonstrations, face painting and characters in dinosaur costumes. All activities are indoors and free with regular admission to Dinosaurs! The Exhibit ($12 for children ages 1 to 12, $15 for ages 13 and older).
“Just like a carnival, there are booths of games,” says Ray Ann Havasy, executive director. In addition to Pin the Tail on the Dinosaur, there will be toss the ring onto the dinosaur’s tail, knock down the dinosaur cans, and throw a beanbag through a dinosaur’s mouth, all geared to ages 3 to 9. Winners will get prizes – “Dinosaur toys, of course,” Havasy says. “Dinosaur stickers, dinosaur toys, dinosaur tattoos.”
Kids can get tiny dinosaurs painted onto their cheeks and meet a costume character Triceratops, T-Rex and interact with the exhibit’s animatronic dinosaurs that teach about adaptations that allowed each dinosaur to thrive.
Dinosaur Carnival
WHEN | WHERE 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31 (venue is closed Dec. 28) at the Center for Science Teaching and Learning at the Tanglewood Preserve, 1450 Tanglewood Rd., Rockville Centre
COST Activities free with admission of $12 for children ages 1 to 12, $15 for ages 13 and older.
INFO 516-764-0045, cstl.org
Some of the center’s small live animals will be brought out for children to pet. “It’s very exciting to see a snake or a bearded dragon or a turtle,” says Michele Anselmo, lead teacher at the center. “Even our bunnies; everyone is excited to see a little bunny. There are many children who don’t have pets at home, certainly not these kind of pets.”
The center decided to try an indoor carnival activity because they get so many visitors during the vacation week from school, Anselmo notes. “A lot of people have been asking us are we doing anything for the holidays, especially after Spooky Fest,” Anselmo says, referring to the center's annual Halloween activities.
Refreshments including cotton candy and pretzels will be for sale.
If the inaugural Dinosaur Carnival is successful, it will be continued in future years, Havasy says.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
