Iowa West Foundation: Belonging in the Bluffs
Interviews with Iowa West Foundation staff and nonprofit partners
Iowa West Foundation: Belonging in the Bluffs
Belonging in the Bluffs - Ennis Anderson, Lauritzen Gardens
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Welcome, Boomer listeners. I'm Peggy Sweet and this is Belonging in the Bluffs, brought to you by the Iowa West Foundation. I'm joined in studio once again with my good friend Ennis. He is the CEO of Lawrence and Gardens, that beautiful, lovely place, just a hop, skip, and a jump across the river. Welcome. Thank you so much. As always, there is so much happening over at Lawrence and Gardens, and we're gonna talk about uh dinosaurs, maybe? Yeah, just a couple.
SPEAKER_0013 to be exact.
SPEAKER_01Holy cow! I forgot how many there were. And you've got a really, really big one too, don't you?
SPEAKER_00We have several really big ones, like T-Rex, and then we also have Spinosaurus, which is the largest one that's over 16 feet tall.
SPEAKER_01Holy cow. And do you have signs in front of them that tell you all about them? Like what they eat and how big they are?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and also where they're from. So it's really dinosaurs from around the world.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay. That's pretty cool. Not just not just in North America then.
SPEAKER_00Correct. We have as close as North America and South Dakota, the triceratops, but we also have as far away as Antarctica, the hydrosaur.
SPEAKER_01Wow. Okay. Was that a big dinosaur or was that small?
SPEAKER_00The hydrosaur is on the smaller side. It's only 10 feet tall.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay. So still taller than me, but I kind of figured, you know, a little colder, maybe they didn't grow as big. I I don't know. But I'm gonna have to get over there and check it out. You've got all the information over there. I'm sure it's on your website too.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And they're literally roaring and screaming throughout the garden.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I see. So you've placed them, they're not all in just one spot then.
SPEAKER_00Right. So we have them spread out all over the garden. And you know, we really wanted a fun family experience for the summertime. And you know, what else best than uh dinosaurs?
SPEAKER_01Maybe chocolate cake.
SPEAKER_00I'd almost agree.
SPEAKER_01Good, good, good, good. But uh you can't beat an exhibit like this right here in our own backyard.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's really great because it also has those educational features. The kids can pick up a passport and it's like a scavenger hunt to find all the dinosaurs all throughout the garden.
SPEAKER_01So it'll feel like they're really traveling.
SPEAKER_00You know, it'll be through the Pangea continent when all the continents were all pushed together.
SPEAKER_01Oh, very cool. All right, it makes sense now. And then they're gonna be able to take this passport home and relive it again and again and remember the dinosaurs.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I wonder if any of them are good at selfies.
SPEAKER_00Are dinosaurs good at selfies? Well, T Rex definitely isn't because of their small arms.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay. All right. Well, we'll have to uh get a little stand there. Are your hours the same or are they different for summer?
SPEAKER_00Uh they're slightly different for summer. We have uh two nights that were open a little later.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Which nights? Monday, Tuesday.
SPEAKER_01What a great option for when their kids are out of school now, being able to go a little later, spend a little more time, especially since the days are longer, and just enjoy a lot of really nice family time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and if you have your family membership, you can come back as much as you like.
SPEAKER_01Because things are always changing. I know that about Lawrence and Gardens. It's not just one time you go and uh maybe I'll go back next year or even next quarter. If you don't go at least every month, you're gonna miss something.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we're really working hard to be that space and place for all.
SPEAKER_01I couldn't agree more. And it's a beautiful space uh and lots of places and area to run and just get exercise, and it's a stone throw from Council Bluffs just across the river. You won't want to miss going to Lawrence and Gardens this summer. And again, it's just another reason to live and love Council Bluffs. Ennis, I'll have you back real soon. We'll talk about um concerts and everything coming up. Awesome. This has been Belonging in the Bluffs, brought to you by the Iowa West Foundation.