Last updated: September 28, 2023
Last night I hosted a big Dinosaur Party for my friends in Austin, Texas.
I’ll show you how to host a dinosaur party for adults, including:
- Dinosaur facts
- Jurassic Park trivia
- Dinosaur games
- Exactly what to buy
Why You Should Host a Dinosaur Party
Perhaps you are wondering: Aren’t dinosaurs a kids thing?
Yes. But they can also be an adult thing!
Here’s why: Because dinosaurs are a gateway drug to science.
They are an access point to think and talk about life, science, and biology.
Dinosaur Decorations
Here are a few things that I bought to add to the dinosaur party theme:
- Dinosaur cups (for drinks)
- Dinosaur plates (for snacks)
- Huge Dinosaur poster / tapestry (for photos)
- Temporary tattoos (we didn’t end up using these)
- Small plastic dinosaur toys
Disclaimer: My Friend is a Dinosaur Expert
I invited my friend Dustin Growick to visit me in Austin. He is a world-famous dinosaur expert.
This was extremely helpful, to have someone smart about science, to help talk. But you don’t need to have a dinosaur expert to still have a great dinosaur party.
I know this is an unfair advantage: You probably don’t have a friend who goes by the name “Dinosaur Whisperer” online. (Instagram, Twitter)
But don’t worry. You can still host a fun party for your friends to talk about dinosaurs.
Dinosaur Party Invitations
First, we invited a few of our friends in Austin. We made these party invitations in order to tell people on my Instagram Story about the party.
Then we created an invitation to collect RSVPs. The platform that I like the best is Mixily, but many Gen-Zs use Partiful now.
It is important to collect RSVPs! It will let your guests know what to expect, give you an accurate headcount, and boost your attendance when you collect RSVPs for your party.
It turns out that many adults love dinosaurs. We received many RSVPs.
But then a LOT of people showed up. Everyone wanted to bring friends.
Name Tags and Icebreakers
Everyone attending the party received a name tag from me.
Name tags help me a lot!
I have a hard time remembering names. Name tags also help people who are introverts.
We also did icebreakers. Everyone went around the circle (a big circle!) and quickly said their name and what they do for work.
I wrote about why name tags and icebreakers should be used more often at social gatherings in a how-to book about party hosting. You can read some of my thoughts on icebreakers and on name tags here.
The big thing to know is this:
Icebreakers are good to help people make new friends.
You get to learn little bits about people to maybe network with later.
But the real friends are the dinosaur facts we learned along the way.
Dinosaur Facts
Dustin made a few slides in Keynote. Then we played those slides on his laptop and projected them onto the TV with an Apple TV.
He talked about the tyrannosaurus, velociraptor, and other dinosaurs. You can find a lot of these fun facts on Wikipedia or elsewhere online.
This was a nice way to have relevant and fun party decorations about dinosaurs. It was also nice to give some more introverted people something to watch.
You can make your own slides with clip art and random dinosaur facts online.
Dinosaur Toys
Next, buy a bag of tiny dinosaur toys. Here’s one on Amazon that Dustin says is good for under $10.
Everyone attending the party gets a tiny dinosaur toy. It is a nice way to mix groups up, too! You can use these toys for a game.
There were about 20 different types of animals inside the package. (Some of them are not technically dinosaurs. #science)
Pro tip: You must have enough dinosaurs for each person at your party.
Dinosaur Party Games
Before the party, sort all of your dinosaurs. Place them into piles of each type.
You don’t want too many different types of dinosaurs. Later you will split your party into groups.
To split people into groups, tell everyone:
Find and form groups based on the exact type of dinosaur in your hand! You have 30 seconds. Go!
Tell each person what type of dinosaur they have and how to spell it. You need to find this out beforehand.
Then, challenge the groups to look up trivia facts on their phones based on their type of dinosaur.
Pick the best piece of trivia to share to the entire party.
The best dinosaur fact, as determined by the host, wins a prize.
Jurassic Park Trivia
Almost everyone has seen the movie Jurassic Park. Dustin says it’s obviously the greatest cinematic achievement of all-time.
We called everyone together outside and split them into groups again, this time based on the color of their name tags.
These are the name tags that I currently like best, as of May 2021.
We asked these Jurassic Park trivia questions:
- In what year was the movie Jurassic Park released?
Answer: 1993 - What is the first dinosaur that is seen on screen?
Answer: Velociraptor. Brachiosaurus is the second - What was the name of the eccentric cartoon character that explains how the Jurassic Park scientists cloned the dinosaurs?
Answer: Mr. DNA
The first group to shout out the answer won.
We awarded large inflatable dinosaurs as prizes.
These are the blow-up dinosaurs I bought:
- 37” Inflatable Tyrannosaurus Rex
- 43″ Inflatable Triceratops Dinosaur
- 48″ Inflatable Brachiosaurus Toy (my favorite)
Summary and Conclusion
This was so much fun. Major thanks to my friend Dustin and to everyone who attended.
Hosting a dinosaur party for adults is an excellent way to talk about science and meet new people.
The point of the party wasn’t necessarily to learn about dinosaurs. That’s just the hook.
The purpose of party is to make new friends and meet interesting people.
Everyone can use a new friend, especially after this past year.
Dinosaurs are a great way to get there.
More Information
- Follow Dustin Growick, The Dinosaur Whisperer, on Instagram and on Twitter.
- Thanks to Isaac Rodriguez from Treadfast Media for taking pictures at the party.
- My party handbook about how to host the most amazing 2-hour happy hour will come out… sometime? I’m not sure when. COVID-19 has thrown my plans for a wrench. Until then, check out the site I made with a bunch of party hosting notes — www.party.pro
- Are you in Austin, or elsewhere, and want to attend one of my parties like this? Sign up for my free Friends Newletter and then reply back to one of the welcome emails and tell me what you’re working on.
THE END!! Thank you for reading.