Owning a pet pterodactyl is considered to be both a completely rewarding experience and fundamentally impossible. Attempt to outsmart extinction with admission to Dinosaur World in Cave City. Based on the explorers' ages, purchase one of the following Groupons:

• $4 ticket for children age 3–12 (a $9.75 value)
• $6 ticket for adults age 13 and up (a $12.75 value)

Dinosaur World creates heart-thumping, cup-of-water-shaking exhibits with more than 100 life-sized beasts. Interwoven with tree-lined paths, these looming mammoths stand conveniently still for photographic moments, and each provides a new nugget of prehistoric knowledge. If seeing is believing, then feeling is beyond reality itself at the fossil dig site, where future paleontologists dig and potentially take home authentic fossils like dino bone fragments, shark teeth, fax machines, and more. For anyone older than 12 or younger than three who wants to dig, the price is $2 extra. This local Dinosaur World also hosts a massive full-scale boneyard, where curious children can collectively dust the shoulders of a gentle giant.

In between devourings of knowledge, take a break for a picnic on-site, or test the evolutionary endurance of any active toddler on the children's playground. With a wide range of dinosaurs to see and a wide selection of contemporary prehistoric toys available in the gift shop, Dinosaur World is an open-ended opportunity for families to honor the past while thoroughly enjoying the present, T-Rex–free era. Leashed pets are welcome at Dinosaur World for no additional fees.

Reviews

DisneyFamily.com names Dinosaur World in Cave City an Editors' Pick, and AirTran magazine calls its Texas location one of 50 Places Every Kid Should See. Seven TripAdvisors give the Cave City locale 4.5 stars:

• Dinosaurs in Kentucky? There were none (as far as we know) in this part of the state, but Dinosaur World is an over-the-top, fun romp nonetheless for toddlers to elementary school-aged kids. – DisneyFamily.com
• My 3 year old is crazy about dinosaurs and this was the perfect outing for him. There are over 100 life size dinosaurs and information/facts about them, the "dino walk" is so nice...shady, mostly paved, wooded, and quite an "adventure" as he called it. – kyoung08, TripAdvisor