Roar, stomp, and chomp your way through summer thanks to dinosaur fun in San Antonio. Junior paleontologists of all ages will enjoy seeing new exhibitions, exploring prehistoric dinosaur worlds, and digging into all things dinosaur throughout the summer in San Antonio.
There’s year-round dinosaur fun in San Antonio (and we can recommend a few dino road trips as well), but don’t miss these new opportunities to learn, explore, and have fun this summer.
Dig into Dinos: The Witte
The Witte offers a variety of hands-on learning and fun year-round, but this summer the adventures are truly dino-sized. Travel back 66 million years and meet the whole Tyrannosaur family! This summer, the world’s most feared dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus rex, crashes out of the Cretaceous and into the Witte Museum. But the bone-crushing predator didn’t come alone—the entire Tyrannosaur clan is visiting San Antonio this summer. Created by the Australian Museum, Tyrannosaurs: Meet the Family features rare fossil specimens, cast skeletons—including “Scotty,” one of the most massive and complete T. rex skeletons on record—and incredible models of feathered dinosaurs. Kids will love the interactive aspects of the exhibit, including dinosaurs that dance around you before roaring their way across the screen, as well as videos showing dinosaurs taking over San Antonio. The exhibit is open through Sept. 4.
Then enjoy a dramatic adventure to Antarctica—one of the most isolated and dangerous environments on Earth—and dig into a breathtaking discovery in “Antarctic Dinosaurs.” Discover fossils from four Antarctic dinosaur species, and get hands-on experience with real tools to learn how paleontologists carefully extracted them from the now frozen landscape. Here’s a quick guide to enjoying everything while you’re there.
Go Exploring: Dino Safari
A walk-through adventure at the Shops at Rivercenter, Dino Safari features enormous animatronic dinosaurs, real fossils, interactive games, virtual reality, and a bit of science for dino fans to enjoy. Visitors meet and interact with more than 30 life-sized dinosaurs including Tyrannosaurus rex, Dinosuchus, and Spinosaurus. The realistic, moving animatronics transport visitors back millions of years to meet these prehistoric creatures in replicas of their natural habitats. There’s a scavenger hunt littles will enjoy, as well as a dig pit. It’s a great adventure for the under-ten set. And check out what else you can enjoy while you’re at Rivercenter.
Pro tip: Be sure to roam through the Shops at Rivercenter to catch a few dinosaurs stomping around. Kids will have a blast coming across the dinos as you walk through the mall.
Teenage T. rex: Dinosaur George Museum
Tucked inside Trader’s Village, the Dinosaur George Museum is free for dino lovers to enjoy. Right now you can see the world’s only teenage T. rex, “Tinker.” Tinker was discovered in 1998 from the Hell Creek Formation in northwestern South Dakota and is thought to be the first nearly complete juvenile/sub-adult T. rex ever found. Tinker is about two-thirds of adult-size, but only a fourth of adult weight. In “people years,” Tinker was probably a young teenager—about 13 years old—so imagine what it was like to get him to clean up his room!
The Dinosaur George Museum is free and open on weekends (when Trader’s Village is open). You can also check out Dinosaur George’s podcast for great listening during summer road trips. And join his Patreon Club for live monthly lessons that are good for all ages. Educating and entertaining, the lessons are engaging and followed by dinosaur fans around the globe.
