Dinosaur Encounter at the Staten Island Zoo

If your kids are too young to see Jurassic Park, pay a visit to some friendlier prehistoric creatures instead at the Staten Island Zoo's "Dinosaur Encounter," Eight life-sized, robotic dinosaurs—on loan from Field Station: Dinosaurs—educate and entertain kids with growling sounds and movements generated by motion detectors. Dilophosaurus and Triceratops welcome you, and pet dinosaur puppets teach children about everything from the Mesozoic Era to extinction. The exhibit offers little ones the chance to see and even touch living relatives of the dinosaur, like emus, chickens and snakes. These friendly dinosaurs are only visiting for the winter so hightail it over the the heated tent they call home before they head back to New Jersey. Ages 3–10.