The Best Must Visit Dino Land Safra Yishun

Dinosaurs are the best way to teach kids, and adults, the immensity of geologic time.
Robert T. Bakker

Mom told me that we were going to see (and touch!) some animals that were bigger than any I had ever seen in my five years on earth. We had an amazing day among some super-large (and I mean SUPER-LARGE) friends at DinoLand in Singapore. She said that I could tell Janiqueel’s readers all about it, and I will – with some spelling and vocabulary help from Mom. I mean ‘tyrannosaurus’, ‘pterodactyl’, ‘Mesozoic’ and more. Those are not words I had heard before, but now I recognise them because of the tour we took. Mom said I learned a lot. Maybe so, but I know we had a super-large good time. I’d like to have one of these big critters for a pet. Mom explained that I was 66-245 million years too late. Oh, Well.

To lead us around this weirdly wonderful adventure our guide – a young chap – started out at the Brontosaurus and ended at the fossil digging exhibit where we could see how modern scientists come to know so much about these big old creatures. Then, we were off to see the first of several dinos that live in Dino Land. Here’s a list of all that we met in the order of our trek:

The Velociraptor – is about the size of a big chicken, but much more fierce. Just look at those rows of sharp teeth and claws. She/he walks on its hind legs like a bird. The name means “swift attacker”. I can see why.
Deinosuchus – this bad boy/girl looks like a crocodile or an alligator. No surprise that its name means “terrible crocodile”. This would NOT be my first choice as a pet!
Megatherium – Do you know what a sloth is? Well, this hard-to-say animal is like a giant sloth – slow and careful in its movements. So slow, experts guess, that it may have died out because it was so easy for other animals to catch and eat.
Pterodactyl – Its name means winged finger because it could FLY. Yes, fly – like a very large bird. Its wings spread out are as wide as my early childhood classroom. That’s big! With its long, sharp beak and a pointy thing on top of its head, it became one of my favourite dinos.
Brontosaurus – today, it is often called Apatosaurus because that was what the first discoverers called it. Our expert guide explained this all to us. The “thunder lizard” is huge. Like all of the ANIMATRONIC (thanks for the spelling on that one, Mom) dinosaurs, it moved and made some amazing sounds. I’d have this one for a pet and take ALL of my friends or a ride on its really big back.
Triceratops – With three horns on its rhino-loke head, this was one fierce vegetarian. The ‘frill’ behind its head looked like a collar to me. I liked this guy/girl maybe because it was so wild and different from the others.
Tyrannosaurus Rex – I like to call this really big one “T-Rex”. It walked around on its hind legs leaving the front ones ready to fend off attackers or scrape for food. The huge head with many teeth was really cool, and a little scary to be close to.

In between the dinosaurs were activities like the Underground Cave, the Swamp Crossing, the Mining Cart, and the Rock Cliff.

So pack a lunch, a bottle of water, and a friend (I took Janiqueel, my mom). And try out the Mesozoic Era for an afternoon an evening. We had a prehistoric good time. And it gave me an idea. Maybe someday I could go to a big school and learn how to be a dinosaur researcher scientist. Just an idea …

For more information, please visit dinoland.com.sg