Worth the drive

Six great dino destinations worth the drive (and it's not AMNH)

March 3, 2026

SUE: The T. rex at Liberty Science Center

If your child loves dinosaurs, you probably know the American Museum of Natural History by heart. But there are plenty of other great dinosaur and science spots not that far from the North Fork. Some are so impressive they're worth visiting even if dinosaurs aren't your child's favorite. Here's a list, starting with the closest option on Long Island and moving on to longer day and weekend trips.

Center for Science Teaching & Learning

Rockville Centre, NY (1.5–2 hrs from the North Fork)

You don't have to leave Long Island for a great dinosaur exhibit. Set on a 17-acre nature preserve, CSTL is home to New York State's largest permanent animatronic dinosaur collection: 12 full skeletal mounts, 18 partial skeletons, and over a dozen moving, sound-making dinos. There are also 40+ rescued live animals, including owls, alligators, and emus. Staff are enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and no advance tickets are needed.

Tip: visit on a nice day so you can enjoy the trails and pond at Tanglewood Preserve as a lovely bonus.

Yale Peabody Museum

New Haven, CT (2.5–3 hrs)

The museum reopened in March 2024 after a $160 million renovation, which was the largest gift ever made to a natural history museum in the US, and admission is now free, forever. The Burke Hall of Dinosaurs is truly impressive. The very first Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops specimens ever found are now displayed in new, scientifically accurate poses under the famous 110-foot Age of Reptiles mural. In the new Central Gallery, a giant Archelon - the largest turtle that ever lived - hangs from the ceiling mid-flight, escaping a mosasaur.

Tip: the Yale Art Gallery is on the same campus and is also free - one of the great university art museums in the country, and very manageable with kids.

Dinosaur State Park

Rocky Hill, CT (2.5–3 hrs)

Instead of bringing fossils to a museum, they built the museum around the fossils. A geodesic dome covers one of the largest on-site dinosaur trackways in the world: 500+ three-toed footprints left in Jurassic mud 200 million years ago. This museum is great for kids, with its interactive exhibits, an animated sandbox, reptile tanks, and 2.5 miles of trails. In season, visitors can cast their own plaster footprint to take home.

Tip: from May to November, the park lets you cast your own dinosaur footprint to take home. Bring 10 pounds of Plaster-of-Paris, ¼ cup of cooking oil, and a 5-gallon container; the park provides the mold.

Liberty Science Center

Jersey City, NJ (3-3.5 hrs)

One of the biggest science museums in the region, and right now it's home to SUE: The T. rex Experience (through May 25, 2026). SUE is the most complete T. rex ever found: 40 feet long, 13 feet tall, and displayed facing a full-scale Triceratops. It's high-tech, immersive, and very interactive - you can even smell what T. rex's breath might have been like. While you're there, check out the largest planetarium in the US and a permanent outdoor fossil dig pit.

Tip: SUE has timed tickets, check lsc.org before you go.

Edelman Fossil Park & Museum

Mantua Township, NJ (3.5–4 hrs)

Brand new (opened in March 2025), architecturally stunning, and built inside an active fossil quarry. Visitors can watch real Rowan University paleontologists at work, then pay to dig for fossils themselves and take home what they find. There are full-scale dinosaur galleries, free-roaming VR, live animals, a touch tank, nature trails, and an outdoor Pterosaur playground that could be a destination on its own.

Tip: quarry dig is seasonal, from May to October.

Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA (3.5–4 hrs)

This is America's oldest natural history museum, and its Dinosaur Hall is remarkable. Think 30+ species, fully mounted skeletons, fossil eggs, footprints, and a T. rex greeting you at the door. Kids can excavate replica bones with real tools in the Big Dig, and you can watch scientists working on real specimens in the Fossil Prep Lab.