You’re probably going to want to start the winter break week with a visit to Liberty Science Center. The museum has several interesting exhibits going on now (especially for dinosaur fans!) , and a slate of special activities from Saturday, February 13 through Monday, February 15, when other museums are generally closed.
Start with the car that your kids will be driving when they grow up. On Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Liberty Science Center will have a Nissan LEAF on display. This car runs on the same kind of batteries that power your laptop and produces no pollution. Though it’s not one of the cars competing in the Automotive X Prize, it will be a good way to for your kids to explore some of the concepts in that competition.
Then on to an exhibit that did not arrive at LSC under its own power, the Tyrannosaurus rex fossil that was dubbed “Sue” by its discovers. At 42 feet long and 12 feet high, “Sue” is the largest, most complete, and best-preserved T. rex fossil ever found. The museum has planned a full weekend of dinosaur activities, from fossil hunting for shark’s teeth on Saturday afternoon (noon to 4 p.m.), to paleontology talks, all of which are free with your admission.
On Saturday and again on Monday, February 15, there will be a live animal show, “Reptiles: Cousins of Dinos”, that will show kids what snakes and lizards have in common with dinosaurs. There are shows at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. both days and you need to pick up a free ticket for one of the show’s 100 seats at the museum’s Jennifer A. Chalsty Center entrance starting at 11 a.m.
On Sunday, February 14, the show is “Demise of the Dinosaurs”, which will focus on what might have caused dinosaurs to become extinct. Again, you need to pick up a free ticket in advance; the show is at 12:30 and 2:00 p.m. The New Jersey Paleontology Club will be at LSC on Saturday, Sunday and Monday afternoons, showing their fossil finds and talking about fossil hunting around here. What if not everyone in your family is a dino-maniac? Try Infection Connection, Eat and be Eaten and Bubblemania exhibits.
Liberty Science Center tickets are $15.75 for adults and $11.50 for children ages 2 to 12. You can buy them online a few days ahead of your visit. But if you buy them in person, you can take advantage of the discount coupon in your KidStuff book. [mappress]
