Is it worth visiting? How much are the tickets? How long does it take to hang around? What can you expect from the expo? What about opening hours and ticket prices?
Last Friday, I visited the pre-opening show in Järvenpää with my family! My kids, who are 5 and 7 years old, were excited to see the dinos! You can watch a spoiler video here!
Last year, we visited the Dino Expo in Oulu, and I’m not going to lie, it felt small! Nevertheless, we also visited Lasten Messu (Children’s Expo), and we were told this is bigger and better, so we went!
Dinosaurusket Expo in Järvenpää
Yes, at Dinosaurukset in Järvenpää the dinos are bigger and different! They have twenty moving and vocal dinosaur figures, made to look and be the same size as their prehistoric counterparts. In my opinion, the coolest are Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops, but for my husband, the Pterodactylus. The Brontosaurus is also quiet tall!
VR- videos area
For my kids, the coolest part of the exhibition are the VR videos—each one has a different video, and you can watch them all! Be patient, as the line can test your patience, but remember all expos and museums are the same, even amusement parks! And you’re already there! At this point, you will realize “it’s the end of the expo,” so I’m going to tell you now, it’s better to watch all the videos you can! No need to rush! It’s also fun and cool for us adults!
The VR- video themes are:
- Jurassic Predators
- Jurassic Fight
- Jurassic Flight
- Jurassic Close Encounters
- Jurassic Extintion
- Jurassic Jungle
The immerive room
I must say we really enjoyed the immersive room next to the big T-Rex. How cool is it for kids to enjoy this tech at such an early age!
Times are changing, and despite the dino machines being super cool, humanity is evolving, and we adults and kids also need different displays to keep our dopamine active! Once we were back home, I showed one video to my older kid, and I said, “It was like you were running next to them,” and he said, “Yes, how cool is that, Mom!”
The sand area for paleontologist
Let’s keep moving through the expo, the sand area is also very nice. As much as a sandbox area is familiar to them and for us parents can feel is the same sand box they have in the park near home, this time kids felt like paleontologists and made new friends while finding some ‘fossils’ buried in the sand together. I also saw older kids having fun here, wondering if they could really find more fossils and talking to my kids about building a dino like the one at the expo entrance and wondering how they put them all together!
Paleontologist in action!
The interactive wall, the cafeteria and dino shop
The interactive wall, which might feel small and hiden in the corner, is actually a place where kids can spend hours playing! Games are changing all the time! Once more, older and younger kids can play together!
Just be prepared with money for the store they have at the entrance—they have plenty of dinosaur-themed items, and when I say plenty, believe me, you will find super cool things! You don’t need to worry about getting hungry, as there is a cafeteria where you can buy your favorite treats.
Going around the expo the first time took us about an hour! Then we took a break in the sandbox and interactive wall, and then we made a last round and stopped at the VR section, and the boys watched them all again! We spent a total of 2.5 hours there!
As always, we had a bottle of water and some snacks and cookies with us, enough to get back and eat a proper dinner at home! The exhibition will run from the 6th of July to the 11th of August. Note: The exhibition is closed on Mondays.
Opening hours and ticket prices
Opening hours:
- Tuesday to Friday: 9 am to 7 pm
- Saturday: 10 am to 6 pm
- Sunday: 10 am to 5 pm
Note: As an exception, on Sunday, August 4th, the exhibition is reserved for private use from 10 am to 2 pm and will open to other visitors from 2 pm.
Tickets:
- Adults: €20
- Children and young people (ages 2–16), senior citizens, students: €18
- Family ticket (2 adults + 2 children or 1 adult + 3 children): €68
- Children under 2: Free (no separate ticket required)
- Day ticket for an open arrival time: €23
Location:
Aino Areena
Maamiehenkatu 14
04400, Järvenpää
Final toughts about the Dinosaurukset expo
Is it worth to go? I’d say yes! It’s a good way to spend time with your family!
