Family day out: Isle of Wight Dinosaur Isle
They don’t call the Isle of Wight the dinosaur isle for nothing. Fossils, skeletons… if you could travel back in time far enough, this chilled-out island would be full of toothy terrors.
review visit*
As Minnie currently has an erratic approach to dinosaurs (some scary, some friendly, not always obvious to me which is going to be which as the Natural History Museum proved), I decided to limit the dino theme for our recent trip.
For fans, you can take special walks to find those fossils, download an app to track dino locations and a lot more – check the tourist board website for more dinosaur suggestions. But one thing we weren’t going to miss was the Isle of Wight Dinosaur Isle museum.
In Sandown, it was only a short drive from our cottage at Nettlecombe Farm and as well as being Britain’s first purpose-built dinosaur museum and visitor attraction, it had the added bonus of being a perfect indoor option for rainy days on the Isle of Wight.
And while it’s even better for slightly older children than my two and a half-year-old, there’s still plenty to entertain – and terrify – toddlers and preschoolers.
We had picked a very quiet day, so the echoing main room with its roaring moving models was slightly unnerving at times. But it’s also set up very cleverly to keep kids interested, including activity sheets and clipboards to take round.
To start, there’s a smaller room which takes you back in time with an imaginary time machine dropping you off in different eras to give a sense of how life evolved and where the dinosaurs fit into the whole scheme of things.
A bit over Minnie’s head, inevitably, but a great way to set the scene.
A layered ‘jig-saurus’ next to one of the displays and some curly ammonite models helped keep her happy as she got hands on too.
Then into the main room, where models, skeletons and bones give you an idea of what has been unearthed on the island, as well as the variety of dinosaurs that have existed.
And for every toothy skull, there’s something a bit more interactive, from the chance to make up your own dinosaur colour on a spinning wheel, make a model using foam shapes, do some colouring or a tactile display where you put your hand into a box to feel different textures.
That, at least, was the theory. Minnie flatly refused, presumably deciding that once distracted, these enormous creatures around her might pounce. When you consider them from toddler height, it’s not that surprising.
It also meant I only had the quickest time to read all the information before we had to move on, but I could have spent far longer meandering around.
Our final stop was the Education Room upstairs, and easily the highlight of the visit for Minnie. The room is often used for school groups so we were lucky that it was open and unoccupied, but there’s lots to play with.
Minnie’s eye lit up when she spotted some furry mammoth toys, plus a crocodile which was instantly commandeered, only to be dropped when the prospect of dressing up was discovered.
Throw in some painting (splodging?), one or two puzzles, and a very non dinosaur-related train set and she was happy to stay almost until the museum closed.
10 days later, she’s still talking about the dinosaurs – and has apparently decided we need another holiday on the Isle of Wight to see them all again…
For our review of a dinosaur walk on nearby Yaverland beach, or ideas of the best Isle of Wight beaches with kids who love dinosaurs, check out my posts
Need to know: Isle of Wight Dinosaur Isle
Dinosaur Isle is open seven days a week year-round. The museum opens at 10am and closes between 4pm and 6pm – opening hours at Dinosaur Isle vary throughout the year but last entry is an hour before closing.
Adult tickets to Dinosaur Isle cost £5, children aged three to 15 cost £4. Under threes are free. Family tickets and annual membership are also available.
There is some parking nearby but you need to pay between April 1 and October 31, with a minimum charge of 4. £2.50 is redeemable against entry to the museum if you bring the voucher part of the ticket.
For more ideas of things to do on the Isle of Wight with kids, check out my top 15, as well as my family guide to the Isle of Wight
PIN FOR LATER: DINOSAUR ISLE, ISLE OF WIGHT
Disclosure: My visit to the Isle of Wight was courtesy of Wightlink Ferries. Entry to the museum was courtesy of Isle of Wight tourism and Dinosaur Isle. All opinions and easily scared toddlers are my own.
Images copyright MummyTravels
LIKED THIS? SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER
this looks really cool! My kids are still to little but in a couple of years time they would surely enjoy it very much and so would my husband!! xx
Thanks – and absolutely, there’s something for little ones but I think better for big kids (and even bigger ones!)
I’ve never heard of Dinosaur Isle but it looks so cute. My son is obsessed with dinosaurs. And I’ve always wanted to visit the Isle of Wight. #triedtested
The island is such a lovely place for a family holiday – and this does sound perfect for your son…
We went here last year. It was ok for half an hour but I wasn’t overly impressed. I guess it just adds up when you have older kids and you expect a bit more. I wish I had known that they did fossil walks as I would have liked to have tried that.
Oh that’s useful to know – it’s certainly not huge but maybe there’s a perfect age where they’re old enough to enjoy it but not so old that they’re done in half an hour. We were there for just over an hour, although went through the main sections more quickly than most but then spent a bit longer upstairs.
What an amazing day out, my dinosaur loving son would adore it there! Thanks for linking up with #TriedTested
Definitely – I think if there’s a mini dinosaur obsession going on, this is just the perfect combination. (And my pleasure)
That looks like a fantastic experience for a dinosaur fan!
Thanks for linking up with #TriedTested this week x
Definitely – quite a few very excited boys visiting when we were there! And my pleasure.
We’re lucky enough to live on the island, and I visit with my son (coming up to 9 years) all the time. He’s totally obsessed with dinosaurs so we try to visit every week and always have a great time at Dinosaur Isle.
The staff are all so friendly and helpful, and willingling spend time talking to my lad about anything and everything to do with dinosaurs, prehistory, evolution, geology, and, on the odd occasion, super heroes!
I love visiting too, and have learned so much from the museum and staff. It really is an incredible place, and, you can spend several hours wondering around reading all the information and closely inspecting the amazing exhibits, which are all relevant to the island.
We often go on the fossil walks as well, and they really are a lot of fun and so educational. We generally come back armed with bits of bone and fossils of all sorts of weird and wonderful things. The staff who lead the walks are so knowledgeable, approachable and helpful.
They hold the walks in sevaral different, and seriously gorgeous, locations, and the times are arranged around the tides for obvious reasons. We absolutely love going on them, even though we’ve done quite a few now. There is always something new to learn, and different things are discovered each time you go out.
It really is the most amazing experience for budding ‘ologists, and really interesting for their parents as well.
I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Lucky you – it’s such a gorgeous place. And I can imagine that this is just heaven for dinosaur fans. The fossil walks do sound brilliant though, great for kids who might get bored in a museum as well. Thanks for commenting!