Dinosaurs Will Pop Up in Wonderworld of Puppets

What better place for a dinosaur puppet show than the Natural History Museum? After touring the serious fossils and replicas in the museum halls Sunday, families can enjoy a lighthearted show that asks the question: “What would happen if a group of dinosaurs found themselves transported to modern civilization?”

Ric Morton and his Wonderworld Puppet Productions will entertain at Ralph M. Parsons Discovery Center in the museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., at 3:15 p.m. (after the center closes its doors for the day). He will arrive an hour early to set up the puppet theater and welcomes curious onlookers and their questions. The performance will take place on the rug under the center’s “oak tree.” Afterward, Morton will invite the kids in the audience to inspect the stage and puppets to see how it all works.

The Discovery Center is a hands-on, interactive cross between a science class and a children’s museum. There are taxidermied animals for kids to touch, an aquarium, an X-ray machine to view human and animal X-rays, live bugs and a simulated stone quarry to do rubbings of fossils. The center is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., free with museum admission. The puppet show is part of the free bimonthly Whale’s Tales program. No reservations required, but arrive early as space may be limited.

Museum admission is $3 for adults; 75 cents for ages 5-12; 4 and younger are free. Information: (213) 744-3335.