July 05, 2025
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Children 12 and younger admitted free to Jurassic Gardens on Columbus Day

Indoor dinosaur park offers thrilling way to spend day off school

By Lake County Journal staff report

Several members of the Natschke family of Woodstock and Hebron take in the sights and sounds during a visit to Jurassic Gardens in Volo. Families with children 12 and younger can bring them in for free this Columbus Day, Oct. 11. (Photo by Richard Coyne Schultz | Volo Auto Museum)

VOLO – No adventure on a day off from school can compare with a journey through Jurassic Gardens.

On Oct. 11, children 12 and younger are invited to enjoy Volo Museum’s all-new indoor dinosaur park for free. Up to five children will be admitted for free with each paying adult.

Hours at the Volo Museum and Jurassic Gardens are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The museum is at 27582 Volo Village Road in Volo.

Featuring tail-waving ceratosauruses, breathtaking T-Rexes and a theater-quality sound system that brings it all to life, Jurassic Gardens boasts an unparalleled wow factor, according to a news release.

“We have built something truly special here,” Brian Grams, director of the museum, said in the release. “With Columbus Day being a day off school, we wanted to show it off and encourage even more families to come and experience it.”

Jurassic Gardens opened in mid-May after Volo Museum crews spent about a year transforming a former mercantile mall into an animatronic dinosaur-filled spectacle. Against the chatter-and-screech backdrop of watchful velociraptors and pterodactyls, budding paleontologists may enjoy the skeleton dig area, one of the available hands-on activities, the release stated. There is a sluice mine for fossil or gem panning, a gift shop, an arcade and a dino-themed outdoor playground.

Grams said visitors have been amazed by the lifelike exhibits.

“I like to go over there and just watch kids taking it all in sometimes,” he said. “Adults, too, for that matter. We really hope the public takes us up on our Columbus Day offer.”

Regular admission for those 5 and older to visit Jurassic Gardens is $15.95. Those 4 and younger are free. Combo tickets, which permit entry to both Jurassic Gardens and Volo Museum and allow for a free return on the second consecutive day, regularly are $31.95 for adults and $24.95 for children ages 5 to 12. On Columbus Day, combo tickets for children ages 5 to 12 will be available for $9.

The Volo Museum is following the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. Masks will be required when indoors.

For information, visit volocars.com, find Volo Auto Museum or Jurassic Gardens on Facebook or call 815-385-3644.