Many kids first come to love science through paleontology. Why? Dinosaurs, of course! While shiny toys in big packages are the traditional fare during the holidays, mix it up this year and give your child the experience of a lifetime: a family adventure to be part of a real dinosaur dig! In Mygatt-Moore Quarry, near Grand Junction, Colorado, paleontologists are digging up dinosaur bones that no human has ever seen before. Your child can get in on the action by digging near the site of a meat-eating Allosaurus or the bones of the recently discovered armored dinosaur, Mymoorapelta. The museum offers week long expeditions, but the day digs are much more affordable and just as memorable. You get transportation between the Museum and the quarry, lunch, field instruction from a professional paleontologist, and a tour of the Dinosaur Journey Museum lab. All the digs take place over the summer, and the dates are currently being set for summer of 2009. So slip a brochure in your child's stocking and wait for their eyes to bug out of their head. They'll be a bone-a-fide paleontologist before you know it! (Day dig: $99 per person)