Dinostar

Dinostar, located in the trendy Fruit Market district near the Hull Marina, is truly memorable. If you read a few of the reviews here, you will get the impression it is small. Perhaps that it is a touch on the faded side. Or that it is basically in someone's house. And you would be largely correct.

However, until you stand in the slightly musty atrium, take in the 70s era decor, pay your £3 entry cost (£1.50 if you're a minor, in which case get off your parent/guardian's phone you scamp!), and step forth into a new and unknown adventure, you won't truly appreciate this classic of modern day Hull.

Dinostar perfects the art of being disappointing in nearly every regard, but making you feel a bit warm inside in the process. Warm enough for a cold morning by the Humber? Maybe if you have a good fleece.

The experience consists of a series of rooms, spread over the ground floor and first floor. Honestly, the contents mostly consist of large plastic replicas of dinosaurs. If you had a large stride you could cover the footprint in around 90 seconds, perhaps adding 10+ for the staircase if you took them 2-by-2 (I did). We're talking equivalent to a small Tesco Express in terms of square footage. If you're with little ones with a short attention span, bring biscuits and plan something for after.

Highlights of Dinostar:

(1) There is an iSandbox on the ground floor, which is an interactive sand pit/projector. It's brilliant. Probably going to eat up 8-12 minutes depending on the attention span.

(2) There is a treasure hunt / stamp collecting "game" that you can play as you go round. The stamps are easy to find and a child over the age of 4 could easily complete it unaided. As a Brucie bonus, it allows you a heady £1.50 off at the gift shop* if you spend over £10.

(3) There is a "dig up your own fossil" exhibit upstairs, where you brush sand off yet more plastic bones. I would say it's a highlight because you get to wear a hat whilst doing it. Although I had to suspend my love of good hygiene practice to enjoy it. And another thing - that's another sand based activity. Why not call it Sandstar and be done with it?

Probably quite a short highlight reel, but there you have it. A note on the staff: the man behind the till greeted us with a warmth that comes from a real satisfaction with life. Good for him. He tip-tapped our ticket requirements into the till like he'd done it a thousand times and still found it stimulating. I was actually a touch jealous of his self-assured demeanour, and panache.

In summary, if you have the following requirements/attributes, Dinostar will suit you well: (either/or) -You have 15-20 minutes to kill -You are free on a weekend or half term -You LOVE plastic dinosaur replicas -You like sand

Please note: -Opens at 11am, which is odd. -Only open on weekends and half terms. Say goodbye to your Wednesday morning Dino party. -There is some sort of "Virtual Reality" room (it's walls are curtains) which costs ANOTHER £3 to partake in. Needless to say we skipped that.

Please note again: *The gift shop is located in the aforementioned atrium. I would say it has an insufficient amount of choice for the size of establishment, and given the establishment is unusually small, you get the picture.