Dinosaur World

A giant Tyrannosaurus rex stands alongside the Interstate outside of Cave City, Kentucky, letting visitors and passersby know that Dinosaur World is not far. An outdoor museum of prehistoric animals, Dinosaur World Kentucky helped this spot along I-65 earn the title of “best exit” by Southern Living magazine.

Tourists can walk along a trail that winds through the forest and look for the various life-sized dinosaurs scattered throughout the park. More than 100 dinosaurs, each with an explanatory sign, can be found tucked among the trees. Its designers have also filled the grounds with faux dinosaur eggs and raptor claws.

The park also has a playground and a fossil dig for kids. Parents and older children can relax in a covered picnic area while the younger ones dig for authentic fossils. There’s also a gift shop that offers a selection of eggs, fossils, educational materials, toys, books, and more.

This Dinosaur World isn’t the only one in existence. It’s one of three—another is in Glen Rose, Texas, and one more is in Plant City, Florida.

This park, and the two others like it, is the brainchild of Swedish businessman Christer Svensson, who moved to the United States in the early ’90s with his family and purchased a former alligator farm in Florida to create the first Dinosaur World. Svensson has been in the entertainment business for more than 30 years and knew a winning idea as soon as he had it.

All of the dinosaurs models are made on-site by employees of the parks and measure up to eight feet long. They’re constructed using fiberglass, steel, and concrete.