MORE than 1,000 youngsters and their parents were shown a glimpse of prehistoric times during a special event in Poole at the weekend.

Part of the town’s Dolphin shopping centre was temporarily transformed into an archaeological site, boasting a mini excavation and dinosaur detectives.

Dolphin shopping centre manager John Grinnell said: “Our Jurassic Poole event has been our most popular event to date and one we will definitely look to do again in the future.

“It was great to see so many mini archaeologists exploring the shopping centre, there was a continuous stream of people on both days and the atmosphere was fantastic.

“As a family shopping destination we aim to run a series of free events throughout the year and they work well for shoppers and our tenants.

“Once again we have received excellent feedback from parents and the footfall at the Dolphin Centre was up through the whole weekend.”

The aim of the initiative was to educate youngsters about the Jurassic Coast and its one-time inhabitants.

Children, who were encouraged to ‘dig for fossils’ around the shopping centre, also enjoyed a range of dinosaur-themed games and activities.

One shopping centre unit was even transformed into a Jurassic TV studio, where children were interviewed on the hidden secrets they’d discovered.

Visit dolphinshoppingcentre.co.uk for information on future free events taking place at The Dolphin Shopping Centre.