Photo by Lisa Fardella/Field Station: Dinosaurs
[MORE: Your Ultimate Guide to Summer Fun in New Jersey]
Ever wish you could visit Jurassic Park? You can experience all of the amazement (and none of the danger) at Field Station: Dinosaurs in Leonia’s Overpeck County Park. This outdoor theme park is designed to educate and entertain budding paleontologists—or just plain kids (and adults). Visitors encounter more than 30 life-sized robotic dinosaurs as they meander through the park’s walking trails. There’s a sense of time travel as you stumble upon triceratops, Tyrannosaurus rex and New Jersey’s own Hadrosaurus. The animatronic reptiles are programmed to make (presumably) realistic noises and subtle, lifelike movements. Informational signs along the pathways augment your self-guided expedition. Live shows, games and activities further explain the history of the dinosaurs and their mysterious extinction. New this year: a live musical, The Great Dinosaur Whodunit, and a museum exhibit, “Movie Dinosaurs: From Gertie to Indominus Rex.”
40 Fort Lee Road, Leonia, 855-999-9010. · Open 10 am–6 pm, Tuesday-Sunday; daily admission, $16.95; season pass, $60–$99.