Field Trips

2023-2024 School Year Field Trips 

Fabulous Field Trips at Dinosaur State Park (in-person at the Park only)

Visit Dinosaur State Park where you can explore a paleontological museum and enjoy the outdoors...all in one trip. The Park features over 750 Early Jurassic dinosaur footprints preserved in place inside the museum, alongside exhibits about dinosaurs, fossils, and Connecticut geology. The Park has facilitated programs throughout the school year for grades 1 and up. Your visit will begin with a presentation, followed by a guided tour of the trackway and an activity with the following themes:

Grades PreK-1st Fossil Discovery -
How do we know dinosaurs existed? Join us as we travel to the past to discover all of the different clues left behind by the dinosaurs and other ancient animals. Together, we will investigate fossil bones, teeth, and other surprising clues that provide evidence on what these animals looked like, and how they lived.

Grades 1-5 Fun with Fossils -
How do we know that ancient life, including dinosaurs, existed? Students will examine a variety of fossils from different time periods to explore how scientists use fossils to learn about ancient life, and what fossils can tell us about the change in the environment over millions of years.

Grades 3-5 Rocks & Minerals Around Us -
The rocks and minerals around us tell a story of dramatic changes in Connecticut over hundreds of millions of years.  We use many of these materials in our lives today.  Students will examine samples of rocks and minerals from around Connecticut, explore their distinctive properties, and discuss ways we use these materials.

Grades 9-12 and College Layers Through Time- 

Piece together the existence, extinction, and changes in life forms over 400 million years, from trilobites to mammoths, by digging through layers of “rock” to discover animals that lived in the American West. Use the fossil record to investigate environmental changes over time, gaining an understanding of the history of the area from the Devonian period to today.

  

Program Cost:
Students ages 5 and under: $1
Students ages 6-12: $3 
Students ages 13 and up: $7 
Adults: $6 ( 1 adult free for every 10 students)
Minimum fee for a facilitated program (1.5 hours in length) is $50; Minimum group size is 10, maximum size of 60 students (call for options for larger groups).

To Register, please complete the 2023-2024 Museum Program Reservation Form

Virtual Field Trips (online only using video conferencing software)

Dinosaur State Park is offering live virtual programming for the 2022-2023 school year! Each of the virtual programs provides a dynamic and interactive format with staff at multiple locations throughout the Park! Students and educators have the opportunity to make observations and ask questions throughout the 30 to 45-minute program. These virtual programs provide a bit more depth than what would normally be available for in person activities due to the ability to show different aspects of the Park within seconds. The following topics are available:

Connecticut’s Geologic History
Be a geologist! Learn about the geologic history of Connecticut. Discover how Connecticut’s rocks allowed dinosaur tracks from the early Jurassic to be preserved until the modern day. Learn about Connecticut's minerals and explore how they can indicate the different geologic events that happened in Connecticut through time.

Dinosaurs of Connecticut
Meet the incredible creatures that roamed Connecticut during the Age of Dinosaurs!  Looking at real fossils from the State of Connecticut, students will learn about the amazing variety of dinosaurs and other animals that once called the area home some 200 million years ago. 

Fossil Discovery (PreK-1st Grade)
How do we know dinosaurs existed? Join us as we travel to the past to discover all of the different clues left behind by the dinosaurs and what each can tell us about their lives. Together, we will investigate fossil bones, teeth, and other surprising clues that helped these creatures survive!

To Register, please complete the Virtual Program Reservation Form

2024 Summer Field Trips

Dinosaur State Park is a great destination as a summer field trip for summer school, youth groups, and summer camp groups. Summer groups can explore the exhibit center, watch a movie, go for a walk on the trails, meet a few live animals during the animal demonstration, learn more about fossils and ancient life during our live programs, and "mine' for gems and fossils in our mining sluice. Please note that most summer programming is first come, first served. Each activity is prescheduled and is available to the general public as well. We do not have the ability to schedule activities or programs specifically for summer camp groups. However we do require registration to schedule the mining for gems and fossils and to spread out large groups so that we can accommodate as many groups as possible. To start the reservation process, please complete the form below. Please email questions using the link at the bottom of this page.

Summer Group Reservation Form



Also available at the Park:

• Outdoor Casting Area - Make a plaster cast of a dinosaur footprint (seasonal -bring own materials).
• Mine for Gems and Fossils in our outdoor mining sluice (seasonal - additional fee applies).
• Outdoor Picnic area 
• 2.5 miles of hiking trails
• Museum Shop - Contact us for information about pre-purchased "Treasure Bags" for your group.

To learn more, call the Park at (860) 529-5816 or email at deep.dinosaur@ct.gov.

Location

Dinosaur State Park

400 West Street Rocky Hill, CT 06067
(Directions) 

 (860) 529-5816

 

State Parks Contact Information

Email:

deep.stateparks@ct.gov

Telephone:

(860) 424-3200
(866) 287-2757
(Toll Free in CT)

Fax:

(860) 424-4070

Content last updated August 2023