For many young children, dinosaurs are more than a subject they are attracted to – they are an obsession. In northern New Mexico, it is easy to fuel and encourage that scientific curiosity with several museums where dinophiles can see fossils and models up close. In fact, our state is a young paleontologist's dream. Recent discoveries by hikers in Abiquiu led scientists to Dromomeron romeri – a dinosaur precursor that is only the latest of New Mexico's contributions to uncovering and understanding the prehistoric world.

According to Michael Sanchez, naturalist center supervisor at New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, there are several dinosaurs unique to New Mexico. "The Jurassic giant, Seismosaurus, is known from only one specimen that was found north of Albuquerque near the town of San Ysidro,” Sanchez says. “The Late Cretaceous frilled dinosaur, Pentaceratops, and an as yet unnamed tyrannosaur, known as the "Bisti Beast," are known only from our state. A new species of pachycephalosaur, Sphaerotholus goodwini, is also unique to our state."

New Mexico also has a state dinosaur, Coelophysis, pronounced see-low-FIE-siss which means "hollow form." This mid-Triassic dinosaur was a carnivorous biped and in 1947 a "graveyard" of several skeletons was found near Ghost Ranch, allowing scientists to study several well-preserved specimens. To show your youngsters Coelophysis or a number of other dinosaur fossils or models up close, plan a trip to one of the region’s excellent museums.

Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari is home to the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum. In the exhibit hall, visitors will find – among real fossils and casts – the 40-foot-long skeleton of a Torvosaurus, a relative of the T-Rex. Within the exhibit hall is a children's activity area with plenty of seating for grown-ups. Most of the exhibits throughout the museum are child-friendly and some can even be touched. Visitors will also see murals and sculpture and the world's largest collection of bronze casts of skeletons and fossils, poured at the college itself. Visit the museum's retail shop for books, teaching aids and gifts. Summer hours, starting in March are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Children under 5 are free. Call 575-461-3466 for admission prices and general information, or visit www.mesalands.edu and click on Dinosaur Museum.

The Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology in Abiquiu is home to about 800 fossils, including skeletons of dinosaurs like Coelopysis, all from the Ghost Ranch Dinosaur Quarry and surrounding area. The museum is also home to an extensive art collection and photo archives as well as a mounted Phytosaur skeleton. Check out the gift shop for archaeology and paleontology related books, T-shirts and more. The museum is in the Ghost Ranch Conference Center on U.S. 84 in Abiquiu. Summer hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is a suggested donation of $2. Call 505-685-4333 for more information or visit www.nmculturaltreasures.org/cgi-bin/instview.cgi?_recordnum=RUTH.

In Santa Fe, you can plan a visit to Dinosaurs and More, a "meteorite, mineral and fossil gallery" of objects found by proprietor Charles Snell. Open in downtown Santa Fe since 1996, at 102 W. San Francisco, No. 5, the gallery is focused on educational presentations of fossils and meteorites. Call 505-988-3299 for hours and information or visit meteoritefossilgallery.com.

Next time you are at Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque, stop into the reptile house to see a cast of a Coelophysis and run your hands along the enormous thigh bone of a Hadrosaur.

The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque is a fantastic place for exploring all things dinosaur. Visitors are greeted by two life size models of a Pentaceratops and an Albertasaurus outside the main doors. Once inside, visitors can wander among models, casts and actual bones of dinosaurs, such as the giant Seismosaurus and the fierce Tyrannosaurus rex. In the New Mexico Seacoast exhibit, you will find specimens of Parasaurolophus, the Bisti Beast, Pentaceratops, a baby Pachycephalosaur, a juvenile Daspletosaurus and several more from the Cretaceous era, many of which were collected in northern New Mexico. Visitors can also peer through the windows of the museums prep lab, Fossil Works, and watch scientists extract fossils from rocks. The Museum provides many educational opportunities for children of all ages.
In May, the museum will open North America's only Triassic exhibit hall. "Dawn of the Dinosaurs: New Mexico's Triassic" is dedicated to the animals and plants of the Triassic age in New Mexico and around the world. Both dinosaurs and mammals emerged during this period millions of years ago. This highly interactive exhibit will be free with regular museum admission starting May 17. For a list of programs, see the Museum's web site, www.nmnaturalhistory.org, and click on Education. The Museum, located at 1801 Mountain Rd. N.W., is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days. Call 505-841-2800 for admission prices, membership information and special events.

Can't get out to one of these museums to see fossils first hand? There are plenty of informative and entertaining dinosaur books out there as well. The "Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Book” series published by HarperCollins has over five titles recommended for preschoolers and early readers. “My Visit to the Dinosaurs” by Aliki introduces children to many dinosaurs they are likely to see at museums and “Digging Up Dinosaurs,” also by Aliki, takes readers behind the scenes with paleontologists and other scientists as they work with fossils. In the same series, Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld's “Dinosaurs Big and Small” puts the size of dinos in perspective. For more imaginative reading check out the "How Do Dinosaurs...?" series by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague. In “How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight” and others, Yolen's simple text is paired with Teague's expressive illustrations. By far the most fantastic and beautiful dinosaur tales are in the “Dinotopia” series by James Gurney. These books will enchant older children with the "land apart from time" where dinosaurs are still alive and interact with humans. A trip to the local library will provide you with dinosaur books for every day of the year.

For a more hands-on dinosaur experience why not create your own dinosaur fossils and footprints at home? This craft is an easy, inexpensive and fun way to play paleontologist. All you need is plaster of paris, bakeable modeling clay, a small container (the bottom of a used plastic water or soda bottle works best), and some some (preferably plastic) dinosaur toys.

Step 1: Cut the bottom off your bottle so it is about 4 inches deep (or find another plastic container about the same depth and diameter).

Step 2: Fill the bottom of the container with about a half inch of modeling clay.

Step 3: Press some of the dino toys into the clay leaving a deep impression. The feet work best but you can experiment with different parts as well as with other objects or toys that could be "fossilized."

Step 4: Pour wet plaster on top of the clay, letting it fill the impression, about quarter of an inch.

Step 5: Let dry per the plaster instructions.

Step 6: When the plaster is dry, carefully remove both the plaster and clay from the plastic container. If you have used a bottle, you can carefully cut it away.

When you separate the two parts you have a "fossil" made of plaster and one made of clay. You can bake the clay and use it as a permanent mold or reuse it. Children can paint the plaster fossil or bury it in sand in order to dig it up again, paleontologist-style!

Children seem to be naturally drawn to dinosaurs. Michael Sanchez sums it up: "Dinosaurs were the biggest, baddest animals to have ever walked the earth. With bizarre looks and wild sounding names, like Saurophaganax, they capture the imagination of children and adults alike. Though monstrous, they are also extinct, making them safe."

But, ask a kid why they love dinosaurs and you'll get answers like these:

"Because I'm a brave girl!" says Lilith, 3, of Albuquerque. Four-year-old Zion from Santa Fe, who likes T-Rex the best, says its because they were meat-eaters who said "rawr!"