Our two children are dinosaur mad. It’s an obsession that has continued from their nursery school days right up until now, and Millie is 12 and Toby is 10. Millie-Mae, the little brainbox, knows all the names and can hold forth about dinosaurs’ habits and behaviour at length. Toby is just fascinated by the strength and sheer size of these beasts. I think all kids love dinosaurs at some point and so while staying on the Isle of Wight before Christmas it was obvious that we had to visit the celebrated Dinosaur Isle in Sandown. The museum is situated near Sandown Fort, which now houses the Isle of Wight Zoo.
The Museum Building
Dinosaur Isle, which opened in 2001, is a purpose-built dinosaur museum designed by Isle of Wight architects Rainey Petrie Johns in the shape of a giant pterosaur. It is believed to be the first custom-built dinosaur museum in Europe.
An impressive building, it has a large carpark for visitors as well as landscaped gardens and a lake. The Isle of Wight has a rich history of dinosaurs with around 20 species having been discovered from the cretaceous period and several comprehensive fossil collections from local experts. Guests are often given the opportunity to speak to experts and watch them at work.
Our Visit to Dinosaur Isle
We visited out of season and so effectively we had the whole two-floor museum to ourselves. The entrance also has a very comprehensive gift shop. However, I managed to get the kids into the museum first!
There was an excellent display about the geology of the Isle of Wight and how this has made it such a rich area for fossils. Essentially, the Isle of Wight has layers of the Vectis and Wealden fossil-bearing beds exposed on the southern half of the island as the Yaverland Cliffs.
Then we went into the magnificent main hall of the museum. This has a huge number of displays with several replica fossils and life-sized models of Iguanodon, Polacanthus, Eotyrannus and the animatronic Neovenator (Neovenator was discovered and named by the museum’s curator Steve Hutt). The displays are very well done and lots of them were interactive.
Millie and Toby went around looking at everything, like the double act they are. Millie of course had something to say about all the fossils and dinosaur replicas and it all sounded plausible enough to me.
Upstairs
Before we got to the gift shop we went to the upstairs section. This area houses some massive fossil collections that have either been loaned or donated to the museum.
The displays also tell the stories of some great rivalries between Victorian fossil collectors.
The upstairs area also houses an interactive play area for younger children where they can dress up as dinosaurs, play with dinosaur toys, do some colouring and model building and generally take part in the many organised events hosted there throughout the season.
The Gift Shop
The gift shop actually has something for everyone. From pocket money toys and pens, pencils and erasers to fossils, minerals, models, books and 100s of dinosaur themed items.
The children bought a few pens and pencils as directed by me. Although, Toby fell in love, literally! With a huge inflatable Tyrannosaurus Rex. He had always wanted one apparently … Sadly, on this occasion, he had to be satisfied with some branded stationery. The gift shop has so much dinosaur themed products and will actually sell you anything they stock by mail order.
Is it worth it?
Yes, the visit was very much worth it. The museum is very well done. It has some great displays and certainly has enough to interest children for at least half a day.
The museum also hosts fossil walks at regular times throughout the year and these are well worth the effort. Booking for the walks is essential. Conducted by an expert you will learn a huge amount about fossils on the Isle of Wight.
Disclaimer
Dinosaur Isle invited us to visit them, while we were visiting the Isle of Wight courtesy of Wightlink Ferries, where we also received discounted accommodation at Tom’s Eco Lodge. Our opinions are our own, and haven’t been influenced in any way.
I loved the Isle of Wight as a child! This looks like a great fun day out.
If you like dinosaurs – this is definitely the place to come!
Ohhh this is why I need to go to the isle of wight! My kids are OBSESSED with dinosaurs!!
They’ll love it here then! They’ll especially like the shop (that’s a warning!)
This looks incredible. I have two dinosaur mad daughters who would love it here!
Oh yes, they’ll definitely love it! If you visit during the summer you can even join a fossil walk – maybe even find a fossil of your own
This place sounds like a great way to combine entertaining the kids with some learning. My son is just starting to develop a fascination with dinosaurs so he’d love to visit somewhere like this!
Once the fascination starts – it lasts a good few years (in my daughter’s case it’s been nearly 10 years now!) There’s lots of interactive elements to Dinosaur Isle, so lots for young children to do
What a fantastic place to discover dinosaurs and fossils! We must pop in on our next trip to the IOW x
It’s a really good day out – great shop at the end of the visit too!
My son would love this place. He is obsessed with dinosaurs.
Well, if you like dinosaurs this is THE place to come! There’s even the chance to find your own fossil down on the beach!
We are doing a fossil hunting tour of the IOW in March, so will add this to my list, along with the poo museum (I promised the kids I would take them)
Ah FANTASTIC! So jealous of the fossil hunt … we really wanted to do this but everywhere was closed down for Christmas
Oh this looks great!! We love dinosaurs too, it’s been ages since we went to the Isle of Wight – maybe one for the Summer bucket list! X
You should definitely go in the summer … we want to go back!
I’ve always wanted to visit the Isle of Wight. And as Oscar is dinosaur CRAZY I think he’d absolutely love this. It looks like you guys had a ROARsome time 😉
Louise x