Best dinosaur toys for all ages

LEGO Jurassic World Dr. Wu's Lab: Baby Dinosaurs Breakout: $19.99 $15.99 at Amazon

What's cuter than a baby dinosaur?? For your budding paleontologist, the answer is likely "nothing." After following the easy-to-understand instructions, kids can dream up their own tales of scientific breakthroughs and dinosaur escapes with two minifigures — Owen Grady and Dr. Henry Wu — plus baby Triceratops and Ankylosaurus toy figures. And Amazon is offering the set at a great price.

Dinosaur Puzzles: $20.99 $18.99 at Amazon

These brightly-colored dinosaur puzzles are just the toy to get your little one excited about playtime … and learning. Each of the six puzzles is made of smooth-edged wooden pieces covered in non-toxic paint. Not only will kids get to hone their fine motor skills, but they will learn about problem-solving and a tad of paleontology. With your help, they can piece together Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Oviraptor, Brachiosaurus, Parasaurolophus and a Pterosaur — though Pterosaurs lived among the dinosaurs, they are not dinosaurs but rather flying reptiles.

Glow-in-the-Dark Dinosaur Wall Decals: $19.69 $15.75 at Amazon

Give your little one’s room a Jurassic Park feel with these glow-in-the-dark dinosaur decals. Even during the day, the wall art will draw in baby’s eyes with the vibrant colors. All the usual suspects are included: T. rex, Stegosaurus, Triceratops and more. Each package includes 42 decals: four large dinosaurs, two trees,17 stars, four clouds, five stones and six dinosaur-era plants.

Dino Tails Book: $16.50 on Amazon

The youngest babies love crinkly books and touch-and-feel textures, and this soft book from JellyCat delivers. Smooth, fuzzy, crinkly — let this be your baby's first dinosaur book.

Dinosaur wooden toddler puzzles: $17.99 $14.39 at Amazon

These wooden puzzles are a perfect introduction to shape-matching for toddlers as young as age 2. Each puzzle has only three or four pieces, so they're simple to finish. They come with their own carrying case for containing pieces and preventing any parts from getting lost. 

SmartMax My First Dinosaurs: $21.99 on Amazon

Kids can explore dinosaurs and magnets at the same time with these mix-and-match pieces for 1-year-olds and up. The set comes with 14 pieces that can construct five separate dinosaurs in any combination your little paleontologist would prefer.

DUPLO My First Dinosaur: $3.49 at LEGO

These simple sets are ideal for 3-year-olds (and can be enjoyed by even younger kids). The seven included pieces can be made into four different dinosaurs… or any other creature of the imagination.

Back in Time Dinosaur Counters: $22.99 $18.64 at Amazon

Get your dinosaur-loving preschooler interested in math with these cute dinosaur counters from Learning Resources. Each bucket comes with 72 counters in six different shapes and colors. Count, sort, add, subtract and compare numbers for early math literacy and color and shape learning. 

Plush Dinosaur House: $29.00 on Amazon

Carry five prehistoric pals around with this dinosaur hotel shaped like an egg. Kids can use their imaginations to play with these small plush dinos, and will enjoy arranging them in their carrying case when they're done. 

Kidtastic Dinosaur Construction Toys: $39.99 $29.99 at Amazon

Using a kid-sized screwdriver and screws, children can put together and take apart three different dinosaurs in this STEM kit. If you know a kid who loves construction sites and dinosaurs, this may be the gift for you.

National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs: $13.45 on Amazon

Perfectly pegged for the kindergarten and early-elementary crowd, this book features two-page spreads on 52 different dinosaurs, grouped by size. It's an engaging read-aloud for pre-readers, while also being accessible for older kids to read on their own. And adults might learn a thing or two, too. 

Feathered T. rex: $24.93 on Amazon

Safari, Ltd. has a long history of creating realistic, accurate dinosaur models. Between 1988 and 2015, the company produced dinosaur figurines for the Carnegie Collection, a partnership with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Sadly, the Carnegie Collection is no more, but Safari, Ltd. still produces an excellent line of prehistoric creatures, including this T. rex with feathers. 

Meland Dino Eggs Dig Kit: $19.99 on Amazon

If only real paleontologists had it this easy. After chipping through these plaster eggs, kids will find fully-articulated, ready-to-paint dinosaurs inside. Be sure the guardians of the kids on your shopping list don't mind a little mess, as it's recommended to soak the plaster eggs in water for at least 10 minutes to soften them before letting kids break them apart.

Plus-Plus Dinosaur Play Set: $29.71 on Amazon

Plus-Plus blocks are versatile little building pieces from Denmark. This set comes with 480 pieces and instructions to make dueling dinosaurs: a sauropod and a stegosaurus. For kids on the younger side who might prefer larger pieces, Plus-Plus sells a Triceratops kit made from its big blocks, which are more than double the size of  the original blocks.

Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs Pop-Up Book: $42.99 $19.50 at Amazon

This stunning hardback book recounts the history of paleantology and features some of the most well-known dinosaurs springing to life in the most intricate pop-up designs we've ever seen. It is a top-quality product that now comes with a great discount.
 

World of the Dinosaurs Wall Map Poster: $15.99 on Amazon

Know a kid who hunts for fossils in his or her own backyard? This colorful wall poster shows where dinosaur fossils are found on a modern map of the world, along with when the creatures lived. 

Created by Me! Dinosaur Figurines Craft Kit: $5.99 on Amazon

Melissa & Doug's craft kit comes with two solid resin dinosaur figurines and six pots of paint. Kids can let their imaginations run wild — what color was Apatosaurus, anyway? 

National Geographic Kids Tyrannosaurus Rex 3D Puzzle: $29.99 at Target

This 150-piece puzzle features a toothy T. rex and a 3D lenticular design that makes it look as if the dinosaur is moving if you look at it from different angles. 

National Geographic Dino Fossil Dig Kit: $9.99 on Amazon

Kids can practice paleontology with this dinosaur dig kit, which contains three actual fossils (a bit of dinosaur bone, a mosasaur tooth and a coprolite, or fossilized dinosaur poop).