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Dino-mite: Prehistoric icons thrill, delight, inspire kids of all ages

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Lucas Matchett, 3, of Turner, Maine, gets a good look at a dinosaur from the safe embrace of his grandfather, Paul LeCours on Saturday at T-Rex Planet at Tri-City Expo in South Lebanon. (Lebanon Voice photos)

SOUTH LEBANON - Hundreds of kids from all over Maine and New Hampshire oohed and aahed their way from dinosaur to dinosaur at Lebanon's Tri-State Expo Center's T-Rex Planet on Saturday, but Logan Bennett kept his eyes on the prize, the fossil pit where he worked lovingly uncovering the remains of the giant creatures from 200,000,000 years ago.

The 12-year-old from Sanford as well as other children in the pit were notably transfixed by the exhibit carefully brushing away sand from their finds.

"I would love to be a paleontologist," said Bennett, whose favorite dinosaur is the spinosaurus, a behemoth among behemoths, who could reach lengths of 50 feet and a weight of four tons.

12-year-old Logan Bennett of Sanford delicately uncovers a dinosaur fossil at T-Rex Planet on Saturday at Tri-City Expo.

Other than its massive size, Bennett said he was fascinated by the spinosaurus' spine, which scientists believe helped it regulate its body temperature.

Display manager Mustafa Farran said on Saturday that almost all of the dinosaur displays move using sophisticated animatronic technology and most of the displays are life-size unless the sheer size of the creature would make it impossible to fit into the display area.

Still a mamenchisaurus listed at 80 feet long was every bit of that inside Tri-City Expo, its gigantic head lowering to within a few inches of children clenching a parent's neck in equal measures of both excitement and trepidation.

In all there were some 50 dinosaur displays set up, which often included the sounds the mighty beasts were said to have made.

There was also a dinosaur band and a ride-the-dinosaur exhibit where kids paid a nominal fee to ride a T-Rex or brontosaurus.

Farran said the crowds were very healthy on Saturday, especially for a sunny day in mid-July.

T-Rex Planet will be back at Tri-City Expo for one more day today from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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