Welcome to Pre-K Dino Day at the Florida Museum of Natural History! The Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County and WUFT-TV joined forces with us to create a special dinosaur day for pre-school aged children and their families.

Dr. Scott Sampson, dinosaur paleontologist and host of the PBS television show "Dinosaur Train," treated audiences to a fascinating presentation about dinosaurs.

We learned a lot about dinosaurs and the importance of playing outside and making our own discoveries.

Buddy, the baby T. rex, made a guest appearance much to the children's delight.

The museum was filled with educational activity stations to teach the students about dinosaurs.

How can you tell if a dinosaur was a carnivore or an herbivore?

Now where is that other Tyrannosaurus Rex? Students learned dinosaur names as they searched for matching pairs in the memory game.

Practicing fine motor skills while tracing his favorite dinosaur.

Practicing gross motor skills while doing some dino stomping. Students also measured the number of footsteps it took to walk the length of a Stegosaurus vs. an Apatosaurus.

Pre-schoolers released their inner dinosaurs by playing some outdoor games.

How many preschool feet can fit into a dino track?

Thanks to grants and partnerships with the Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County, Head Start and the Alachua County Public Library, every VPK and Head Start student was able to choose and keep their very own book.

The fossil dig was a big hit for future paleontologists.

They practiced using tools to search for and clean fossils.

Once the fossils were found, they were sorted them into similar groups.

Although Florida was under water during the time of dinosaurs, it was home to many other fascinating prehistoric animals. Students examined the remains of animals such as mammoths and mastodons, the giant ground sloth, and the Megalodon shark that once lived here.

A BIG thank you to Dr. Scott, Buddy and all of our partners - from us and potential future paleontologists!