POINT OUT AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER, AND FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, IT’S ALL ABOUT PALEONTOLOGY. SO TODAY WE’RE CELEBRATING A MORE THAN 600 MILLION YEAR OLD MILESTONE. AND WESH 2’S MARQUISE MEDA IS BRINGING US THE SCIENCE OF IT. GOOD MORNING. AND WHAT’S GOING ON, YOU GUYS? WELCOME BACK TO THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER. WE’RE RIGHT HERE INSIDE OF DINO DIGS. AND I’M JOINED BY MARY TODAY. AND MARY FOLKS ARE PROBABLY WONDERING WHY WE HAVE THESE HATS ON. MAYBE MAYBE IT IS A VERY SPECIAL MONTH HERE AT THE SCIENCE CENTER. IT IS OUR DINO EXPERTS BIRTHDAY MONTH, SO I’M GOING TO CALL THEM ON THE SCREEN IN JUST A SECOND SO WE CAN SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THEM. AND THEN THEY’RE GOING TO TELL US ALL ABOUT OUR WONDERFUL DINOSAUR PROGRAM WE HAVE IN. SO O DINO EXPERT. OH, HELLO, SPIKE. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. OH MY GOODNESS SPIKE, HOW OLD ARE YOU? 66 MILLION YEARS PLUS ONE. OH MY GOODNESS SPIKE. SPIKE IS OUR DINO EXPERT HERE AT THE SCIENCE CENTER. THEY HELP US TEACH KIDS ALL ABOUT DINOSAURS AND OUR VERY FANCY PROGRAM CALLED PREHISTORIC PALS. YOU CAN CATCH EVERY WEEKDAY HERE IN DINO DIGS AT 1245, AND SPIKE CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT HERE. I MIGHT JUST HAVE TO DO SOME TRANSLATING FOR SPIKE. SPIKE SEEMS SUPER TALKATIVE. I DON’T KNOW IF HE’S A TRANSLATOR. YES, ABSOLUTELY, SPIKE SAID. THEY JUST PREFER TO HAVE A TRANSLATOR. MAKE SURE THEIR FANS AT HOME KNOW WHAT THEY’RE SAYING. GOTCHA, GOTCHA, GOTCHA. SO, SPIKE, WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE IN FRONT OF US RIGHT NOW? OH, WHAT DO WE GOT RIGHT HERE? SPIKE? YEP. ABSOLUTELY. GOOD JOB. SPIKE, THESE ARE SOME PALEONTOLOGIST TOOLS THAT WE HAVE. SO THESE ARE SOME REAL TOOLS. YOU CAN GO TAKE THIS RIGHT NOW OVER TO NEVADA. GO START DIGGING UP SOME DINOSAURS. THIS IS OUR REALLY COOL SHOVEL. PICKAX COMBO FOR ALL THE DAYS. YOU DON’T WANT TO CARRY BOTH OF THEM ON YOU MULTIFUNCTIONAL. GOTTA LOVE THAT. YOU GOTTA GO. GOTTA. POOP INTO THE DIRT. IT’S PRETTY COOL. WE ALSO HAVE OUR PICKAX OVER HERE. IT HAS OUR HAMMER SIDE AND OUR AX SIDE TO GET REALLY INTO THAT ROCK AND IT DOUBLES. WE CAN GO OVER HERE WITH OUR CHISEL AND JUST KIND OF GIVE IT A NICE. AS WE’RE WORKING INTO OUR ROCKS. WHAT IS THIS BIG BOY RIGHT HERE. THIS LOOKS MASSIVE. LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS ARE ABSOLUTELY SPIKE. SPIKE ACTUALLY REALLY LOVES THIS PIECE. THIS BELONGS TO A TRICERATOPS. SO THIS IS GOING TO BE THAT VERY FRONT PART OF THEIR BEAK. SO THEY HAVE A BEAK AND A JAW SPIKE, IF YOU DON’T MIND ME DEMONSTRATING HERE, THIS TOP PART HERE, THIS IS SPIKE’S BEAK. WHERE THE BACK PART WHERE THEIR TEETH WOULD HAVE SAT IS THEIR JAW. SO THIS IS THE FRONT PART OF AN ADULT TRICERATOPS BEAK. IT’S PRETTY COOL. AND SPIKE USES THIS TO HELP TEACH ABOUT WHAT MAYBE HERBIVORES WOULD HAVE ATE. LIKE SPIKE THEMSELVES. WHAT DO YOU THINK, SPIKE? WOULD IT BE PLANTS? I’D IMAGINE PLANTS. ABSOLUTELY. GOOD JOB. HIGH FIVE. SPIKE. NICE. GOOD. HIGH FIVE. WE GOT THAT ONE DOWN IN THE FLOOR. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT WE GOT HERE? WE GOT A REALLY SHARP TOOTH RIGHT HERE. OH. SPIKY SPIKES. A LITTLE SCARED OF THIS TOO. I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE. SPIKE, YOU DON’T HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS TOOTH. SPIKE MIGHT BE A LITTLE SCARED OF THIS TOOTH BECAUSE IT DOESN’T BELONG TO ME. IT DOESN’T BELONG TO YOU. IT BELONGS TO OUR GOOD PAL RIGHT BEHIND US. THE T-REX. AND UNFORTUNATELY, T-REX’S EIGHT OTHER DINOSAURS. SO SPIKES A LITTLE BIT SCARED OF THE T-REX. BUT IT’S OKAY. SPIKE IS BRAVE EVERY DAY THAT THEY COME IN. ISN’T THAT RIGHT, SPIKE? AND WE HAVE SOME REALLY SPECIAL DATES COMING UP AT THE END OF THE MONTH. OBVIOUSLY IT’S A HOLIDAY SEASON AND WE WANT TO GET FOLKS IN HERE. WHAT CAN THEY LOOK FORWARD TO? WELL, DECEMBER 27TH AND 28TH WE ARE HAVING OUR FOSSIL FEST. IT’S OUR HUGE WEEKEND CELEBRATING ALL THINGS DINOSAUR AND PALEONTOLOGY. SO WE’RE GONNA HAVE SOME VERY SPECIAL PROGRAMING. YOU MIGHT EVEN SEE SPIKE WANDERING THE HALLS. IT’S GOING TO BE AN AWESOME TIME. WELL, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPIKE ONCE AGAIN AND WE HOPE TO ALL
The Science of It: Celebrating Prehistoric Pals
The Science of It: Celebrating Prehistoric Pals
Updated: 11:47 AM EST Dec 10, 2025
The Science of It: Celebrating Prehistoric PalsA new month brings a brand-new focus at the Orlando Science Center, and this time, it’s all about paleontology. To celebrate, WESH 2’s Marquise Meda stopped by Dino Digs to highlight a prehistoric birthday and the hands-on experiences waiting for visitors.Inside the exhibit, Marquise met up with Mary, who revealed that the Science Center is celebrating the birthday month of their resident dinosaur expert, Spike, a friendly, 66-million-year-old Triceratops who interacts with guests through a translator. Spike stars in the center’s popular Prehistoric Pals program, held every weekday at 12:45 p.m., where young learners get to ask questions and explore dinosaur science in an engaging, kid-friendly way.The segment also showcased real paleontology tools used in the field, from multifunctional shovel-pick combos to chisels and rock hammers. Spike and Mary walked through impressive fossil pieces as well, including the beak of an adult Triceratops and a massive T-Rex tooth that still makes Spike a little nervous.Visitors can look forward to even more prehistoric fun later this month. On December 27–28, the Orlando Science Center will host Fossil Fest, a special two-day celebration featuring themed programming, fossil exploration, and a good chance of seeing Spike roaming the halls.With hands-on science, real artifacts, and a dinosaur birthday party underway, the Orlando Science Center is the perfect place to dig into the world of paleontology this month.
The Science of It: Celebrating Prehistoric Pals
A new month brings a brand-new focus at the Orlando Science Center, and this time, it’s all about paleontology. To celebrate, WESH 2’s Marquise Meda stopped by Dino Digs to highlight a prehistoric birthday and the hands-on experiences waiting for visitors.
Inside the exhibit, Marquise met up with Mary, who revealed that the Science Center is celebrating the birthday month of their resident dinosaur expert, Spike, a friendly, 66-million-year-old Triceratops who interacts with guests through a translator. Spike stars in the center’s popular Prehistoric Pals program, held every weekday at 12:45 p.m., where young learners get to ask questions and explore dinosaur science in an engaging, kid-friendly way.
The segment also showcased real paleontology tools used in the field, from multifunctional shovel-pick combos to chisels and rock hammers. Spike and Mary walked through impressive fossil pieces as well, including the beak of an adult Triceratops and a massive T-Rex tooth that still makes Spike a little nervous.
Visitors can look forward to even more prehistoric fun later this month. On December 27–28, the Orlando Science Center will host Fossil Fest, a special two-day celebration featuring themed programming, fossil exploration, and a good chance of seeing Spike roaming the halls.
With hands-on science, real artifacts, and a dinosaur birthday party underway, the Orlando Science Center is the perfect place to dig into the world of paleontology this month.