This fall, you don’t need a time machine or fossil brush to embark upon a prehistoric adventure right here in Gainesville — the Florida Museum of Natural History is bringing it to you and your family! At the Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies exhibit, you and your little one will be able to learn about young dinos via lifelike models, photos, videos, and illustrations, as well as actual dinosaur bones! The exhibit runs through Jan. 9, so it’s the perfect fall or winter activity to put on your calendar.

Just read on as we share a few fun dinosaur facts to prepare for your museum outing — plus, ideas on how to pair your trip with a delicious meal at Peach Valley Café Gainesville!

Dinosaurs In The Sunshine State

Though this exhibit will bring dino fun to Florida, the prehistoric animals never really called our state “home,” as paleontologist Gary Morgan confirmed to the Sun Sentinel in 1993 (amidst the Jurassic Park craze). This is because Florida — or, the land we now know as Florida — was actually underwater for a large period of time. This is why you can find many fossils here, but not of the dino sort — rather, we have whales, sharks, and other marine treasures.

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, the dinosaurs that did roam the globe could have looked very different than we imagine them today — since colors and other appearance attributes don’t carry over to the fossil record. So use your imagination, because anything is possible!

Living History

Even though dinosaurs never roamed Florida, you can still see living descendants of prehistory in our state. The most likely dino-descendant would appear to be the alligator, of course, though this reptile is not actually a descendant of dinosaurs — but it does share common ancestors with them. For an actual descendant, look no further than Florida’s many feathered friends. According to Scientific American, today’s birds come from two-legged dinosaurs called theropods — which included the fearsome tyrannosaurus rex and velociraptors! Who knew?

It seems super surprising, but if you watch the way ducks and other bird scuttle on the ground in Gainesville and across the state, you’ll start to see the similarities.

Power Up Your Prehistoric Adventure

Whether you’re bird-watching or spending a day at the museum, you need some flavorful fuel to keep you going! Stop by Peach Valley Café Gainesville to power up with eggs (which, in a weird way, are connected to the prehistoric dinos you’ll be learning about!). Steak and Eggs or our Kick Hash Breakfast are two hearty options to enjoy, but the options are endless. You can even make it a prehistoric-themed meal and try to eat foods that would have existed tens of millions of years ago — think fresh fruits or one of our flavorful, leafy salads!

We hope that today’s dive into all things dino inspires you and your family to keep on learning! The Florida Museum of Natural History is one of many local attractions we love to pair with brunch or lunch at Peach Valley, so we hope to see you super soon.