Extinct Animals and Titans Of The Ice Age 3D

This is a review post.

We have had lots of discussion recently about extinct animals. The preschooler had an incursion from the Melbourne Museum last week and they brought along a dinosaur exhibition for the kids.

Today we rotated some of the toys around and brought out the box of dinosaurs. I think it is the first time this year we have had them out, so the preschooler was very excited to have them out.

We played for quite awhile and the play provided lots of opportunities for vocabulary development and early numeracy skills:

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Sorting and classifying – he grouped dinosaurs by size, by type, by where they lived (eg water, land).

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Counting – counting how many of each type there were.

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Size – we talked about long necks and short necks.

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Once I left the play, it was gorgeous to see him using his imagination and creating little scenes with the dinosaurs.

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We left the dinosaurs set up during his nap time and when his older siblings came home after school, the 7 and 9 year old were keen to play too. He was happy for them all to play together and create a new prehistoric scene.

If you have a preschooler who is interested in numbers, you might also like this post – Teaching Number Recognition To Preschoolers (So they don’t know you are doing it!)

Titans Of The Ice Age 3D

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The kids and I were invited along to a preview screening of Titans Of The Ice Age 3D at IMAX.  A short film (45 minutes) featuring more extinct animals like saber-toothed cats, cave bears, dire wolves and woolly mammoths.

Please click here to see the trailer if you are reading via email. Go on – it is worth a look!

The younger three are fans of the animation Ice Age series and it was great for them to be able to see and learn about the actual Ice Age.

The film mixes computer-generated imagery to bring the extinct animals to life, along with current day footage of excavations and fossils of these amazing animals.

The kids loved watching about the discovery of a perfectly preserved baby woolly mammoth which was found in May 2007.

The film also explores the delicate balance that keeps the earth habitable and the consequences of when the balance is tipped.

The details

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Where: IMAX Melbourne Museum, Rathdowne Street, Carlton Gardens
When: Titans Of The Ice Age 3D will commence screening on JUne 20, 2013.
Film synopsis: Available here
Running time: 45 minutes
Rating: PG
Cost: $18.00 adult, $14.50 concession, $13.50 child, $55.00 Family (2 adults & 2 children)