This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
OGDEN - While the George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park has imaginative displays of more than 100 prehistoric creatures on 6 acres adjacent to the Ogden River Parkway, sounds might be the first thing visitors notice when leaving their cars.
The roars coming from speakers hidden in the well-landscaped grounds are so realistic they might make young children a tad nervous - at first.
Then there are the squeals of the excited children wandering through the park. Some may play on dinosaur-themed playgrounds while others may sit in a covered "quarry" and use brushes to uncover fossils. More than a few might simply be shrieking in delight as they discover another replica around a new corner.
"There is nothing like it in Utah," said Sayla Buehler, assistant manager of the Dinosaur Park and its new Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart Dinosaur Museum. "We're unique because our museum is outside. People can bring a picnic and spend the day. We sell a lot of family memberships and people come back again and again."
One of the keys to that success comes with adding new attractions.
The new Stewart Museum, for example, recently started family and Pink Floyd laser shows in its auditorium. The shows are designed by Mike Mills, an artist who has worked in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles as well as at Salt Lake City's old Hansen Planetarium.
Mills resembles the Wizard of Oz as he operates a fog machine, runs the computer-programmed laser machine and audio and video equipment for the 45-minute Pink Floyd shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 6, 7 and 8.
The museum adds a new dimension to what was mostly an outdoor park filled with dozens of life-size dinosaurs, including triceratops, Utahraptor, parasaurolophus, diplodocus and allosaurus.
With 10,000 square feet of exhibit space, the museum includes replicas of dinosaur and mammoth skeletons as well as numerous fossils and dinosaur teeth. Hands-on exhibits allow kids to sluice for "gold" or dig for "jewels" in a "mine" as well as a place where visitors can buy geodes, which are cut on site.
A realistic scene of a robotic Tyrannosaurus rex attempting to do battle with a triceratops protecting its young is especially popular with young scientists.
On some days, scientists also can be seen preparing fossils in a dinosaur laboratory. Bones from the Dalton-Wells quarry near Moab and Kalico Gulch quarry in northwest Colorado are being prepared in the museum.
The outdoor scenes are impressive and use water features, landscaped gardens and walkways in an attempt to give dinosaur replicas a realistic setting. The grounds and their picnic tables and pavilions are used for birthday parties, family reunions and the many educational programs offered throughout the year.
Some of the dinosaur replicas have been incorporated in a playground, complete with slides and swings.
The Dinosaur Park, along a paved parkway next to the Ogden River, is open year round and sponsors a variety of special events throughout the year, including the upcoming Arts in the Park on Aug. 6; Carnival Day at the Park on Aug. 20; and a Labor Day Weekend Party. The Halloween Spooktacular, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 20-22 among the roaming dinosaurs, is especially popular.
On any day, this is the kind of place that will make visitors stand up and roar.
Eccles Dinosaur Park, Ogden
* Why go? This is a great family destination, with many hands-on activities for kids, including sluicing for "gold,"digging for "jewels," uncovering "dinosaur bones" or playing on dinosaur-themed playgrounds. There's also plenty of opportunity to learn something while having fun.
* How to get there? From Interstate 15, take exit 347 and drive about five miles east on 12th Street. The park is at 1544 E. Park Blvd., at the east end of the Ogden River Parkway near the mouth of Ogden Canyon.
* What will it cost? Entry fees are $4 for children 2 to 12; $5 for students with ID; $6 for adults and $5 for senior citizens 62 years and older. The park is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., with earlier closing hours in the off-season. Laser shows are $2 extra.
* Not to miss: There are lifelike robotic dinosaurs inside the new 16,000-square-foot Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart Museum.
* Where to eat? The Raptor Café on the grounds has snacks. The Timbermine, a fancy steak restaurant, is across the street and opens at 5 p.m. Rainbow Gardens is nearby and is a good bet for lunch.
* Weather: Expect hot summer weather with temperatures in the 90s most days. Shade, pools and the nearby river make the outside tolerable on summer days, or escape to the air-conditioned indoors.
* For more information: Visit http://www.dinosaurpark.org or phone 801-393-3466.