Dinosaur World: exit I-65, enter the Jurassic
Driving south from Louisville on Interstate 65, it’s no surprise to see horses, cattle or sheep dotting the rolling landscape. But standing tall near Exit 53 at Cave City, one animal is sure to grab your attention: T. rex.
He looks real enough to chase your Jeep down I-65 and scare you through your rear-view mirror, but the Tyrannosaurus rex is made out of fiberglass, steel and concrete. He’s a resident of Dinosaur World, named one of the “best exits off I-65” by Southern Living magazine.
The family-friendly attraction in Cave City, 90 minutes from Louisville and nine miles from Mammoth Cave National Park, is home to a menagerie of life-size prehistoric models.
You’ll see more than 100 dinosaurs with explanatory signs in “the forests of Dinosaur World,” an indoor dinosaur museum with everything from dinosaur eggs to raptor claws, and a movie cave with a short educational film on dinosaurs in a distinctive setting.
There you'll also find a new herd of mammoths that are in “Mammoth Gardens,” and the kids will enjoy the fossil dig, where they can search for authentic fossils. Parents can relax in a covered picnic area while the kids play nearby. At the end of the visit there’s a gift shop, of course, with a selection of fossils, dinosaur eggs, educational materials, books, toys, artifacts and more.
Kentucky’s Dinosaur World is one of three in the nation. Its sister operations are in Plant City, Fla., and Glen Rose, Texas. The paleontological park is the brainchild of Swedish businessman Christer Svensson, who moved to the United States with his family in the early 1990s and purchased a former alligator farm in Florida for the first Dinosaur World.
On June 6, 2003, Dinosaur World opened in Kentucky. In constructing the dino models, park officials consulted with the manager of a similar open-air dinosaur museum in Germany, as well as with internationally known authorities on prehistoric life.
All dinosaurs are made on site by Dinosaur World employees and are up to 8 feet long. The models are arranged in groups of as many as 11 of a single species, in a variety of settings.
Admission is $12.75 for adults, $9.75 ages 3-12, and $10.75 for seniors over 60. Children under 3 and friendly pets on leashes are free. Season passes are $25.50 for adults, $19.50 ages 3–12 and $21.50 for seniors over 60. Group rates are available for parties of 12 or more.
School field trips are $5 per person, and other groups are $6 per person. All field trips are Kentucky Core Content related with corresponding activities available. Teacher’s guides are also available.
Birthday party packages are also available at $6 per person with reservations for 12 or more. The birthday child gets a free annual pass.
- by Bill Wolfe, Louisville Reporter for HelloMetro
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Bill WolfeBill Wolfe is an experienced journalist with a broad background in writing, editing and photography. He has worked as staff writer at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., and the Atlanta Journal & Constitution in Atlanta, Ga., covering beats ranging from consumer news to religion and business.
