Dinosaur Day is celebrated each year on 1 June, and it’s a great chance to explore palaeontology and learn fun facts about your favourite prehistoric reptiles. Dinosaurs walked the earth for over 165 million years, and their fossilised remains have been found all over the planet, from North America to China. If you want some fun ways to celebrate Dinosaur Day this year, here are some of our favourite ideas.

Go fossil hunting

The UK coastline is full of great spots to try and find your own prehistoric creatures. Yaverland Beach on the Isle of Wight is known for its dinosaur bones and teeth, while ammonites and marine fossils (like ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs) can be found in Robin Hoods Bay in Yorkshire, Penarth and Lavernock in South Wales, and along Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. Remember to check local guidelines before you take anything away as some sites are protected.

Visit a museum

The UK is home to some wonderful fossil collections and dinosaur exhibitions where you can really dive into what life was like during the Mesozoic era. The Natural History Museum in London is famous for its Dinosaurs Gallery, while the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge also have prehistoric collections. The Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester and the Yorkshire Museum’s Jurassic World are also a great place to learn about dino life. 

Make your own fossils and host a dig

Mix up some salt dough with a grown up and use pictures online or in books to shape it into dinosaur bones. Bake them for 2-3 hours until solid then bury them in a sand pit. Invite some friends over to ‘discover’ them with you and try to work out what sort of dinosaur they belonged to. You could even present your findings to a grown up.

Bake dinosaur biscuits

Biscuits are simple to make and delicious to eat, so why not create some dino shaped treats in celebration of Dinosaur Day? Dinosaur cookie cutters are available online, and you can decorate your biscuits with coloured icing, sprinkles, edible glitter and more.

Create a dinosaur garden

Did you know that some plants have been around as long as the dinosaurs? If you like getting outside, why not create a dinosaur garden with prehistoric plants? You can pop Staghorn Fern, Boston Fern, Martens’ Spikemoss and Horsetail Restio in a planter with some small rocks and add a selection of toy dinosaurs to bring your Mesozoic era garden to life.

Visit Dinosaur World Live this summer

If you’re fascinated by dinosaurs, don’t miss the chance to see Dinosaur World Live this summer. This walking with dinosaurs show is one of the best dinosaur attractions in the UK, introducing kids aged three and up to Triceratops, Giraffatitan, T. rex and more with stunning puppetry and plenty of roarsome facts. It’s playing at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre in London from 28 July - 6 September 2026 - book your tickets today and enjoy a dinosaur experience you’ll never forget.