If you’ve been following Beech-Nut this summer 2023, you know that we’ve been visiting zoos & Dino Digs all over the country, launching our new Dino Biscuits with Hidden Veggies and Dino Biscuits with Prebiotics along with our own Dani Dinoborough, Jr. Paleontologist.

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Dino Biscuit Tour: By the Numbers 🦕

• 1 Dani Dinoborough sighting!

• 5 cities visited

• 100 preschoolers attended field trips made possible by Beech-Nut

• 300 fossils uncovered at Dino Digs

• 9,000 dino shovels distributed

• 25,000 Dino Biscuit samples handed out

• 70,000 families met

• 70M+ digital interactions

 

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4 reasons we loved partnering with zoos and dino exhibits for the launch of Beech-Nut Dino Biscuits toddler snacks:

 

1) Lifelike dinosaur exhibits!

 

Lots of zoos across the country have, in addition to their live animal exhibits, super cool animatronic displays of giant dinosaurs. These dinos moved, some hissed, a few spit, and most roared! Kids also loved the chance to excavate dinosaur “bones” and fossils. We thought this was an obvious place to introduce our new dino-shaped snacks and meet young paleontologists who love all-things dinosaurs. So we could hit different corners of the U.S., we picked:

• Emerson Dinoroarus, Saint Louis Zoo
• Destination: Dinosaurs presented by Reliant, Dallas Zoo
• Dinosaurs in the Desert, Phoenix Zoo
• Staying Power, Philadelphia Zoo
• Dino Dig at the Great Big Family Play Day, Los Angeles

 

2) Kids love zoos.

 

Across the country, we met thousands of you. (In fact, over 70,500 people strolled by the Beech-Nut tent in combination at the five events!) Caregivers, parents, grandparents, and friends inspired us as you pushed strollers, pulled wagons, gave shoulder rides, and chased curious kids across these huge (and hot!) areas, engaging with us at our Beech-Nut tent, with nearly 25,000 grabbing a bag of samples. Thank you for stopping in-between visits to the dinosaur digs, monkey houses, sting-ray pools, elephant savannas, and otter demonstrations. For some it was a regular visit, for others it was a special occasion. Regardless, you seemed super happy to be together.

 

3) Zoos matter.

 

What you might not know about this product launch is that Beech-Nut donated over $40,000 through sponsorships to support the Philadelphia, Dallas, St. Louis, and Phoenix zoos. While we grew up loving zoos, we gained a renewed appreciation for how they can offer families and school groups a truly special visiting experience. In many cases, these non-profit zoos save wildlife, promote conservation, inspire research, and teach visitors about beings and places far away. We believe it is important to expose children to the wonder and beauty of nature at a young age. Zoos are a great place for little ones to start a lifelong love and curiosity of nature and animals. And, the zoo staff teams? Bar none. These are an enthusiastic, dedicated bunch and we couldn’t be more grateful for their hospitality to us.

 

4) Field Trips Rule!

 

As part of our Helping Hands Mission, we were determined to offer up a free school field trip in each city, giving kids the chance to leave their classroom, explore the zoo with an educator, experience the dinosaur exhibits, be treated to lunch, and – of course – try Beech-Nut Dino Biscuits. We didn’t want them to worry about transportation costs, entrance fees, or having to pay for lunch.

 

🚌 Dallas Zoo

Coleen Manoy, a teacher from A2Z Learning Center just outside of Dallas, texted us a photo from their field trip visit. “This is the [student] that encouraged me to go to the zoo website. I was looking for a ticket to reward him for good behavior and I saw the [giveaway] from Beech-Nut. We are grateful to Beech-Nut, the Dallas Zoo, and all their staff for making it a great day for A2Z Learning Center.” As they were walking around, she told us, “The children are extremely excited to be [here]. They enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit and had lots of questions and comments. We are grateful for Miss Taylor, at the Dallas Zoo who is our tour guide. She did a wonderful job with the children and was able to pique their interest in various subject matters. She covered various dinosaurs, both herbivores, and carnivores, and also taught us about bird features and how their bones are designed to help them fly.”

photos: Sheryl Lanzel 

 

🚌 Philadelphia Zoo

“My student, Kahrii, is a huge dinosaur fan, and a lot of the other students like dinosaurs. That inspired me to sign up,” shared Steven Dotter, an educator at Longstreth Head Start Pre-K in Philadelphia. Dotter said, “I want to sincerely thank Beech-Nut and the Philadelphia Zoo for an amazing day! My students and I loved seeing the dinosaurs and giant insects and digging for dinosaur bones!  We had a lot of fun and are very appreciative of the opportunity you gave to us.”

photos: Zamani Feelings

 

🚌 Phoenix Zoo

“It was such a joy to watch our students enjoy the Phoenix  Zoo,” said Mary Tribbense, co-owner of Shooting S.T.A.R.S. Preschool & Daycare  “Thank you Beech-Nut for offering this great opportunity to our school, and thank you to the Phoenix Zoo and Christine [Boisen] for helping the day run so smoothly. We had a fantastic day that will be remembered for many years!”

photos: Dave Seibert

 

🚌 St. Louis Zoo

“We had a fantastic day at the Saint Louis Zoo in spite of the rain,” says teacher Kelly Tracy from Little Learner’s Playhouse & Preschool in Florissant, MO. “The children enjoyed using their shovels to dig for bones, loved seeing all of the animals at the Zoo, and enjoyed snacking on Beech-Nut Dino Biscuits during break time as well. The children had a blast and we thank the Zoo and Beech-Nut for the opportunity.”

 

photos: Danny Recklein

 

For all those dinosaur fans who don’t live in Philadelphia, Phoenix, Dallas, and St. Louis, we put these tips together for your own Dino celebrations.