Megasaurus Park (plus Parks Week magic!)

http://livingstoncranbourne.com.au/why-livingston/dino-park

Corner of Newington Drive and Haddington Way,
Cranbourne East, 3977

*If you just want Parks Week info scroll about half way down the page*

Did you know that Dinosaurs were still alive in Cranbourne? Roaming in the outer south-eastern suburbs, hidden away within a small housing estate. Well, welcome to Megasaurus Park!

The entire Megasaurus Park is dinosaur themed, and constructed in a way that is truly beautiful. It is tucked away so well that it is a little hard to find, but once you find it you’ll be surprised this gem is in the ‘burbs. I think this park could belong in a Museum’s playground, or at the zoo…it is very well done.

20170304_182823 — The 25m long Brontosaurus (containing an awesome flying fox)

So the good bits..

It’s original!
It’s great to visit a park that has so many different elements going on; so many parks are just the same old, same old. The theming goes throughout the park, from the plants to the signage, and it comes across clean and inviting with all the elements representing prehistoric animals or their environment. From the cracked dinosaur eggs, to the stegosaurus, it is a welcome change from the standard swings and slides in primary colours you usually see.

playgroundplayground-finderplaygrounds-near-meplay41 — Stegosaurus rock climbing wall…. and typo!

20170304_183838 — The pterodactyl inspired swing.

Shade and seating.
There’s a good amount of seating throughout the park and a little bit of shade. You can see that many trees are young, so in time shade will increase even more.

Areas for improvement.

Amenities.
This park is really just within a suburban housing estate, so there are no local toilets or shops. I’d love to see some toilets built there because it would be a lovely space to spend a few hours with a picnic lunch etc.

Grammar/spelling.
Come on City of Casey, come on! (lose the ‘ ). Also, did you notice the stegosaurus sign above? I mean seriously…

For a stand alone park I’d give it a 8.5/10…add in toilets and fix your signs and you’d get a 10!

But wait…there’s more!

Bonus activities!

As part of Parks Week (March 4th-12th 2017) the City of Casey has injected some magic into 5 local parks:
• Megasaurus Park, Newington Dve, Cranbourne
• Carlisle Park, Majestic Blvd, Cranbourne
• Waratah South Reserve, Frawley Rd, Doveton
• Brookland Greens Reserve, Brookland Greens Blvd, Cranbourne
• Wilson Botanic Park Berwick, Princes Hwy, Berwick

This magic (otherwise known as Augmented Reality) involves using your smart device to explore the parks, and playing some games. So, naturally, while at Megasaurus I had to check it out.

Firstly, you need to download an app called Magical Parks. It’s free, yay!
Androids click here
Apples click here

Once your app is ready you’ll need to add your email and answer an extremely challenging maths questions. Good luck. Nothing above G rated is about to happen, I guess it is just a warning because you’ll be using data. Although… all the dinosaurs are naked!

Now we’re ready to hunt! There were 3 games to choose from at the Megasaurus Park. The sign says it is from ages 6+, but I would say a switched on 3 or 4 year old could do this very easily, especially one who is savy with smart devices.

The games generally involved walking around for a little bit to find/collect something. It wouldn’t be that ideal using a phone between a family (because of the screen size), so you’d be best to have one device each or take it in turns.

If you do have multiple children, don’t worry though as the playground near all the “magic” is really just right there. Your kids will be well amused between this imaginative screen world, and the real world (of dinosaurs lol) right next door should they need to take turns.

The app was heaps of fun and would be a lovely little activity to do together as a family. Good luck and stay safe amongst the dinos…