Riverbend Raptor Roars into Riverbender

ALTON – Instead of digging up bones, youths will be making them Friday, Aug. 2, at the Riverbender Community Center Open Play event. And they’ll get help from a larger-than-life reptile.

In celebration of International Dinosaur Day, the Riverbend Raptor will visit the RBCC and entertain guests at 7 p.m. As youths learn about the extinct reptiles and create dinosaur bones from modeling paste, the Raptor will roam the Center posing for pictures and selfies.

Scientists believe dinosaurs first appeared about 245 million years ago, at the beginning of the Middle Triassic Epoch, and existed for about 180 million years, going extinct about 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period. The creatures lived in the Mesozoic Era. Some dinosaurs were bipedal, meaning they walked on two legs, and some were quadrupedal, meaning they walked on all fours. Some were covered with feathers, while others had what was almost like body armor. Some ran fast, and others were slow; most were herbivores, but some were carnivores. There were at least 700 species of dinosaurs, and possibly more than 1,000.

The event is from 6-10 p.m. and is open to all ages; students in fourth grade or lower must have an adult chaperone. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Youths who come with parents that stay for event and help volunteer are admitted free of charge. All of the regular features of Open Play are also available.

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