Dinosaur themed attractions in Kent including Wingham Wildlife Park and Port Lympne Reserve
Give your family a roar-some outing with a dinosaur themed day out.
Kent has a growing number of places perfect for fans of the prehistoric era.
We've rounded up some of the best:
Wingham Wildlife Park
Some of the scariest creatures to walk the earth are now moving around at the brilliant wildlife park, near Canterbury. As well as the T-Rex – complete with Jurassic Park type vehicle – there are scary raptors, pterosaurs and a huge diplodocus, as well as numerous other species. Kids can also dig for dinosaur bones in a sandpit and have their picture taken in the car or peering out of giant dinosaur eggs. The robotic dinosaurs moved into their enclosure in 2016 and have been a big hit with visitors to the park ever since.
Dino Land, The Panic Room, Gravesend
Instinct or extinct that's the predicament facing those in Dino Land at the Panic Room. Described as the 'biggest attraction Gravesend has to offer' the dazzling 75 minute challenge experience brings contestants face to face with prehistoric predators.
The game involves being a new ranger in a stare-of-the-art facility but the sirens soon start blaring because the dinosaurs have escaped. Can you get to safety and restore the park's security before the dinosaurs take over the park? Over 1,000 teams of rangers have so far taken on the challenge which has been a roaring success. The experience is suitable for children aged eight and over but they must be accompanied by an adult. Booking in advance is required.
Howletts Wild Animal Park
Discover a world lost in time with one of Howlett's newest attractions Animals of the Ice Age. It opened this Easter and its recreated forgotten land has been amazing visitors ever since who have come to marvel at the life size prehistoric creatures which have taken over the Woodland Walk. Wonder at the mighty mammoth, stare at the savage sabre toothed smilodon and delight at the sheer size of the giant sloth, plus many more. The new outdoor exhibition is set to be one of the coolest things in east Kent this summer and is definitely worth a visit.
www.aspinallfoundation.org
Maidstone Museum
The remains of some incredible creatures that lived and died in Kent over the last 145 million years are on show in the Earth Heritage Gallery of the museum
. Both on display and in store, the geology collection at Maidstone Museum includes the most important collection of fossil material in the South East outside London. The superb fossil collection is described as one which 'reflects the importance of Maidstone to the history of palaeontology (the study of fossils)' and it's a little-known fact that the town has the only coat of arms in the world to feature a dinosaur which commemorates the pioneering work of two 19th-century amateur scientists.
An iguanodon fossil found by the pair is currently displayed at the Natural History Museum in London but notebooks with reconstructions of the Iguanodon in it and a cast of the fossil itself are highlights of the museum's palaeontology collection.
Mr Mulligan's Dino Golf
Tee-off into the world of the T-Rex with this fantastic themed mini-golf course in Tonbridge. Explore the Jurassic lands, fear the dastardly dinos and face the formidable obstacles as you work your way through 18-holes of miniature golf with a difference.
The action-packed day out in the lands of the dinosaurs is perfect for both experienced adventurers and mini explorers.
Port Lympne Reserve
Come face to face with prehistoric creatures in the UK's largest dinosaur forest at Port Lympne, near Hythe. Through three acres of natural woodland you'll discover the life-size dinosaurs together with amazing facts and information about them and the prehistoric world in which they lived. You can try your hand at being a palaeontologist, as you dig for fossils while the Dinosaur App will bring all of the life-sized creatures to life with amazing virtual reality technology.
