Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, open until May 30, 2022, at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, is an interactive exhibition that offers an astounding array of authentic dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all across the globe, in addition to great hands-on play experiences! Kids can dig for eggs, dress up like a parent dinosaur to brood their nest, and feel the texture of dinosaur eggs. Cute babies and fun dinosaur facts will keep the whole family playing and learning. The exhibit is divided into four sections based on the different families of dinosaurs: Ceratopsians, Sauropods, Theropods and Ornithopods. Each space provides visitors with a bevy of interesting information and activities about that particular type of dinosaur.
The Kansas Children’s Discovery Center announced today the museum set a single-day attendance record on Thursday, March 17, 2022, with a total of 1,152 visitors. The previous single-day attendance record was set on June 20, 2019.
A number of factors contributed to the record-breaking attendance. The museum is one of the three major Topeka Dino Days venues and is hosting the Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies exhibition from Feb. 24 to May 30, 2022. Tiny Titans is sponsored by Visit Topeka and the Topeka Lodging Association and has been a major attraction for regional spring break visitors. Tiny Titans is a hands-on exhibition offering an array of authentic dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all across the globe, in addition to interactive play experiences.
Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, open until May 30, 2022, at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, is an interactive exhibition that offers an astounding array of authentic dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all across the globe, in addition to great hands-on play experiences! Kids can dig for eggs, dress up like a parent dinosaur to brood their nest, and feel the texture of dinosaur eggs. Cute babies and fun dinosaur facts will keep the whole family playing and learning. The exhibit is divided into four sections based on the different families of dinosaurs: Ceratopsians, Sauropods, Theropods and Ornithopods. Each space provides visitors with a bevy of interesting information and activities about that particular type of dinosaur.
What are Theropods?
Theropod means “beast foot.” These dinosaurs were bipedal, meaning they walked on two feet. Each foot had three large, clawed toes.
• Most were meat eaters
• Most Theropod eggs are elongated with a length three times longer than their width. The eggs could be quite small, the size of a walnut, or quite large, the size of a loaf of French bread.
• Theropod dinosaurs were altricial, meaning they needed parental care when they hatched.
• Birds are living descendants of Theropod dinosaurs.
What can kids do at the Theropod section in Tiny Titans?
• Dig for Theropod eggs in a Dino Dig pit.
• See real fossilized Theropod eggs.
• Dress up like an Oviraptor and guard your nest from predators.
• Create your own dinosaur postage stamp.
• Learn how to draw a T-Rex.
• Read dinosaur-themed books in the reading area.
What do kids learn at the Theropod section in Tiny Titans?
• Learn about “Baby Louie,” an embryonic dinosaur found in 1993 in a nest in Central China.
• Find out why Oviraptors, meaning “egg thief,” were incorrectly named.
• Learn what characteristics Theropods share with modern birds.
• Find out why animals make nests and why the shape of the nest is important.
• Find out why Theropod babies stay in the nest after they hatch.
Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies is a traveling exhibit series created by Silver Plume Exhibitions and featuring artwork from Luis V. Rey and Mark Hallet, as well as stunning photography by Louie Pshioyos. The exhibit is generously sponsored locally by the Topeka Lodging Association and Visit Topeka, Inc. Tiny Titans will be on display at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center from February 24 to May 30, 2022, and is included in regular admission.
MORE DINO INFO: Find out more about the Ornithopods here.
Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, open until May 30, 2022, at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, is an interactive exhibition that offers an astounding array of authentic dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all across the globe, in addition to great hands-on play experiences! Kids can dig for eggs, dress up like a parent dinosaur to brood their nest, and feel the texture of dinosaur eggs. Cute babies and fun dinosaur facts will keep the whole family playing and learning. The exhibit is divided into four sections based on the different families of dinosaurs: Ceratopsians, Sauropods, Theropods and Ornithopods. Each space provides visitors with a bevy of interesting information and activities about that particular type of dinosaur.
What are Sauropods?
Sauropod (SAWR-o-pod) means “Lizard Footed” and is made up of a herbivorous group of long-necked dinosaurs that had small heads with a small brain and long tail.
• Sauropods were the physically largest group of dinosaurs.
• Sauropods were probably precocial — meaning they were ready to fend for themselves when they hatched. There are a few likely reasons for this: parents were enormous compared to their babies and it would have been hard for parents to see them.
• Tracks show juveniles were half-grown before they joined the herd.
What can kids do at the Sauropod section in Tiny Titans?
• Dig for Sauropod eggs in a Dino Dig pit.
• See real fossilized Sauropod eggs.
• See and touch egg structure models of Sauropod eggs and see how the baby dinosaurs fit inside the eggs.
• See a magnified view of Titanosaur embryo skin.
• See a magnified view of a Sauropod eggshell.
• Compare dinosaur eggs to modern bird eggs, such as chicken, ostrich and hummingbird eggs.
What do kids learn at the Ceratopsian section in Tiny Titans?
• Some Sauropod eggs, like those found in the Patagonian Desert, had thick shells, while other Sauropod eggs found in France, Argentina and India had thin shells. The exhibit shows eggs of varying shapes and sizes. When children compare and contrast they are learning to observe, classify and describe objects — all critical skills for learning science and math.
• The exhibit’s touchable fossil replicas and dig pits let children use their sense of touch to explore. Sensory play that lets children touch, squeeze, smell and feel helps build connections in the brain.
• Which came first: the dinosaur or the egg? Find out at Tiny Titans!
• Sauropods grew to huge sizes during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. One species, the Argentinosaurus, grew up to 130 feet in length and is considered the longest and heaviest land animal of all time.
• Sauropods have been found on every continent, including Antarctica.
Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies is a traveling exhibit series created by Silver Plume Exhibitions and featuring artwork from Luis V. Rey and Mark Hallet, as well as stunning photography by Louie Pshioyos. The exhibit is generously sponsored locally by the Topeka Lodging Association and Visit Topeka, Inc. Tiny Titans will be on display at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center from February 24 to May 30, 2022, and is included in regular admission.
MORE DINO INFO: Find out more about the Theropods here.
From left, Ainsley Schimmel, a junior at Topeka West, creates a cat using a Rigamajig Basic Builder kit as Topeka West senior Emma Banka-Bayless watches her. The students are part of a group of volunteers from the Topeka Center for Advanced Learning and Careers, better known as TCALC.
A tightly knit group of high school students from Topeka Unified School District 501 have been volunteering their time and energy to make the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center a better place for its young visitors, as well as honing their skills as potential future educators.
These six student leaders are members of the Topeka Center for Advanced Learning and Careers, or TCALC — an innovative program created through business partnerships to help teach youths about different career pathways they are interested in following. TCALC has several different professional pathways it offers to students, with this group representing the teaching pathway.
“These students are juniors and seniors in high school,” said Diane Kimsey, elementary math consulting teacher for TCALC. “They represent Highland Park, Topeka High and Topeka West. We meet every day for half a day and they all think that perhaps they would like to be teachers eventually. We have those who want to work with elementary, we have middle school dreamers and we have high school dreamers.”
So far in the four weeks they have been volunteering at the Discovery Center, the students have helped clean up the Discovery Center’s outdoor nature area, as well as creating educational materials for children. Last Wednesday, March 2, they taught young visitors of the Discovery Center about engineering using Rigamajig Basic Builder kits.
“Covid has kept us from being in the classrooms as much as we’d like to be, but at the same time we’ve had incredible opportunities,” Kimsey said. “For the last month, we’ve been here (at the Discovery Center) on Wednesdays, and we’re looking forward to this partnership to continue through the rest of the school year.”
The students came to the Discovery Center after contacting Visit Topeka to support Topeka Dino Days, a communitywide dinosaur exhibition. Staff at Visit Topeka connected the educators to the Discovery Center to support the museum as they opened the traveling Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies.
WNGE’s mission is to create a community of future educators who engage in collaboration, volunteer opportunities and learning from one another.
Kansas Children’s Discovery Center offers high-quality, interactive experiences to inspire a lifelong love of learning for every child. Volunteers support our mission by creating these memorable experiences for every family that walks through our doors. Volunteers engage children in fun, educational activities, pitch in at special events, maintain our outdoor space and keep exhibit areas ready for play. If your organization is interested in a fun volunteer day at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, call our volunteer coordinator at (785) 783-8300. We have indoor and outdoor projects for any size group.
A new program with a special guest educator will help get kids playing outside.
Fresh Air Fridays will take place each Friday at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, with special guest educator Farai Harreld leading instruction on the second and fourth Fridays of each month with Discovery Center educators leading on the other days. Harreld is a post-partum doula, folk herbalist, urban homesteader, writer and caregiver. She was born in Zimbabwe and raised in Botswana before moving to Kansas. She is an educator on topics ranging from plants, motherhood, food, race, fashion, gardening and more and runs Faraiharreld.com.
The programs will take place rain or shine, as outdoor play is an essential part of a child’s day. Open spaces give the freedom to run, leap, explore, take risks and make memories. Play will be guided, and there will be different themes each month.
There is no additional cost to attend other than regular admission, which is $9 for children and adults, $8 for seniors and free for infants under 12 months and Discovery Center members. Admission also lets you play all day at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center.
According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, outdoor play is vital to children’s growth for a number of reasons. It invites children to learn science through exploration, creates opportunities for social interaction and collaboration and also promotes physical health through exercise while helping to build motor skills. Additionally, outdoor play promotes better sleep, gives children a chance to take appropriate risks and leads to better learning outcomes once children return to other activities. Perhaps most importantly, it anchors children to the real world.
Playing in the elements is also an important part of the program, as weather is an important part of growing as a child. For instance, playing in the rain or snow helps with a child’s motor skills and balance and exposes them to different sensory experiences.
Other benefits of outdoor play include getting plenty of Vitamin D through sunlight to help stabilize a child’s mood and boost their immune system and giving them an appreciation of nature that they might not have otherwise gained being inside.
The Discovery Center has an abundance of opportunities for children to learn and play outside with several outdoor design features, including a 4.5-acre certified Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom and a native prairie grass and wildflower habitat. The Discovery Center also has installed several outdoor play spaces at parks and community centers across Topeka, as well as one in Marysville, Kan., that features design elements inspired by the city’s history.
For those looking for more ways to get their kids outdoors instead of sitting in front of a screen all day, another great resource is 1000 Hours Outside, a global movement to get kids playing out in nature for at least 1,000 hours of outside activity a year. The website offers free, downloadable tracker sheets to keep a record of how many hours kids are outside each day, as well as a free pack of outdoor activity prompts for each month of the year to help motivate you to get outside with fun activities. There is also an official 1000 Hours Outside app for both Apple or Android products, as well as other merchandise to help aid in outdoor activities.
The Discovery Center’s gift shop also offers merchandise that can help promote outside play, including butterfly nets, penguin and polar bear ear muffs, water bottles and other outdoor-related items.
Photographs courtesy of JoAnn Shum/The Marysville Advocate
A recent Kansas Children’s Discovery Center project is helping kids in a rural community find ways to have some serious fun close to home, thanks to generous funding from the Children’s Cabinet.
The Discovery Center this year used a grant from the Children’s Cabinet to plan and construct an educational play area in Marysville – the county seat of Marshall County – called Discovery Play Space, with Marshall County Partnership 4 Growth partnering to help inform citizens of the project. It is located at Seventh and Elm Street in Marysville, along the Seventh Street Corridor.
The Discovery Play Space opened to the public on Nov. 17, and is free and accessible to all families. It is part of the Discovery Center’s goal of becoming a more regional resource for children and families as it expands its outreach beyond Topeka’s city limits.
The holiday shopping season is upon us, and it can often be difficult to find gifts for children that are both developmentally stimulating and fun.
The Discovery Center’s gift shop has a wide array of items available for purchase that meet both needs, while also offering some products with local ties, such as A+X Puzzles.
Shoppers who are looking for A+X Puzzles are in luck, as the gift shop is stocked up with puzzles from the Black-owned company, which was started by Topeka native Amanda Wilson as a way to create better representation for the Black community for children’s puzzles. The puzzles are made up of cartoons, rather than pictures, and feature characters of color that are drawn by Wilson. Her puzzles have been sold across the nation.
In addition to being fun, the puzzles are also important tools for developing fine motor skills in children, such as hand-eye coordination, shape recognition and concentration.
For those with a scientific mind, the gift shop has a large assortment of educational gifts, including robotic hands, night sky projection kits, dinosaur bone excavation kits, butterfly nets and a Superhero Science Discovery Kit, which comes with instructions in both English and Spanish.
For children who are more artistically inclined, items such as ballerina doll-making kits, bath blocks, wooden slide whistles and different types of putties – including sea foam and Crazy Aaron’s products – are great gift ideas. There are also containers of slime with various winter-based mix-ins available, including snowflakes, ice bergs and a penguin, as well as instant snow powder. The wintry products tie directly into the Discovery Center’s current exhibit, “Snow-Ventures: A Winter Fun Exhibit!”
Other Christmas gift ideas available at the gift shop include Ty Beanie animals, honey from the Topeka Zoo and plastic dinosaurs and hatchable dinosaur eggs, which also tie into the citywide Topeka Dino Days showcase planned this upcoming spring. The Discovery Center will play a role in hosting the showcase, with its “Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies” exhibit set to run from Feb. 24 to May 30 at the center.
The gift store’s offerings will change throughout the year, so be sure to check out what the store has in stock periodically for even more fun and educational toys, games and kits.
And don’t forget, members get a 10% discount on all merchandise!
