Explore the history of dinosaurs at a traveling exhibit hosted by Cook Memorial Library in La Grande.

LA GRANDE — Everyone is fascinated with large, spiny dinosaurs, and none more so than children. That’s why Rose Peacock of the Cook Memorial Library is pleased to invite youths, families and groups to experience “Oregon’s Dino-Story Exhibit” starting in late August and running through Sept. 19.

“This traveling exhibit is created and provided by the Museum of Natural and Cultural History, which is part of the University of Oregon in Eugene,” Peacock said. “It’s making its way around Oregon and will be shipped to us from Newport.”

The exhibit will be set up in the Community Room. This is the first time Cook Memorial Library has ever hosted a dinosaur exhibit. There was a prototype dinosaur exhibit going around in 2021, but the La Grande library wasn’t part of that, Peacock said.

“Families and groups are encouraged to see the exhibit and find out the answers to questions like ‘Why are dinosaur fossils so rare in Oregon?,’ ‘What makes a dinosaur a dinosaur?’ and ‘When did they live?’” Peacock said.

There are five or six tabletop exhibits and hands-on activities that will answer these questions and more. There will be examples of different animals where kids can sort out what is a dinosaur and what isn’t a dinosaur, and a display of fossils, and kids will be able to see which fossil belongs to what dinosaur.

“As far as why fossils are so rare in Oregon, kids will learn what Oregon was like during the age of the dinosaurs,” Peacock said.

There’s a 3-D display box with some images that will help kids explore that topic as well as a fossil map showing where fossils are found all over the state.

The Oregon Dino-Story Exhibit is recommended for youths in early elementary grades and older. Groups should call 541-962-1339 to register for a one-hour visit through the exhibit. There will also be a Google form on the library website that people can fill out to register their group. There will be walk-in times for the public as well.

“We’re really excited about it, and we’ve had a lot of great feedback on it already from our advertising so far because people of all ages love dinosaurs,” Peacock said. “We’re excited to invite the public to explore this really awesome exhibit.”