About Us

The Dinosaur Farm was founded in November 1994 by David Plenn and his wife, Shelley Stephens. David had been a successful full time songwriter/guitarist but after his son, Taylor, was born, he felt that he should get a steadier, more reliable form of income. He and Shelley decided that a toy store would be a good fit for the community and the Dinosaur Farm was born.

Soon after the store's opening, Shelley started a career in museum store consulting and David took over the store. "I loved being a dad. I just love kids in general, so I was happy to take it over." At one point, he had an employee at the time, Lynnette Chambers, an established artist, paint her prehistoric jungle murals on the white walls, transforming it from a retail store to something special. Shelley said when people as her how the toy store is doing, she says, "Toy store? You mean Dave's Clubhouse?"

Since then, the Dino Farm has become the go-to place to shop for toys & books, and a hub for the community to gather. They've been recognized locally (Pasadena Weekly), nationally (USA Today's Top Ten Indy Toy Stores), and internationally (Buzzfeed's list of 17 Toy Stores in the World That Will Change your Kids Lives).

These days, Taylor is all grown up (these things happen) and is slowly learning how to run the store. He's an excellent saxophonist/flautist and like his dad, still finds time to play music. Sometimes they team up and play together for the Dino Farm's Wednesday Story & Song time.

Since they opened over 30 years, ago many toy stores have disappeared, leaving the Dino Farm as one of the few that haven't gone "extinct."

You can purchase your items online and pick them up at our street store or ship them directly to your doorstep. Everything is carefully packed up by our team and is shipped using the most reliable carriers. At the Secure Checkout page, you‘ll see the ordered item’s description, its price, and delivery time. Where available, you can also choose a faster delivery method for each item on your order for an additional fee. Delivery times vary depending on your selected delivery address, availability of your items, and the time of the day you place your order.