TUCKED away at the far end of Humber Street is one of Hull's lesser-known tourism gems.
Dinostar is in the shadow if its better-known and larger attraction The Deep but, in its own way, the dinosaur museum has been equally as successful.
The dinosaur-themed attraction is celebrating its tenth birthday this year.
Run by husband and wife team Steve and Michelle Plater, Dinostar has survived against the odds.
Running the new attraction was something of a career change for Steve.
He said: "Just over ten years ago, I was working for an IT company and was made redundant.
"At that time they were saying tourism was the only viable industry in Hull. The Deep had just opened and the council's museums were doing well.
"I thought about opening my own attraction.
"I had always had an interest in dinosaurs and they are a constant interest.
"If you were to open a Harry Potter attraction, interest could wane over the years. But there are always new dinosaur finds and kids continue to be interested in them."
Mr Plater, 52, took a gamble on the up-and-coming Humber Street location.
He said: "I was looking for some premises, but anything in the city centre costs the earth.
"I found these premises in Humber Street and, at the time, there were plans to transform the area.
"It seemed ideal but then the recession hit. It looked as if the gamble would backfire, but now it might finally pay off.
"I am naturally optimistic. If I wasn't, we would have closed a long time ago.
"There have been a number of false dawns down Humber Street, but there are now things happening and more quickly."
Dinostar is not a case of style over substance. Instead it relies on an intimate and folksy charm, while allowing children to interact with all the displays.
Nowhere will you see a "do not touch" sign.
Mr Plater said: "We aim to make it family-friendly and let the kids touch any of the exhibits they like, where possible.
"Museums and attractions have to be interactive. People can learn so much from television and the internet, so you have to be able to offer them something tangible.
"The attraction is that dinosaurs are scary, but they have all died so they can't get you."
However, funding has limited what Dinostar can offer.
Mr Plater said: "It's pretty much just my wife and I who run it.
"We don't get any financial support from the council, although it provides help in other respects.
"Being the size we are, we have avoided technology and tried to keep things simple.
"You need to be sure about what people want to see. We have to have a T-Rex model for instance. It is what visitors expect."
Being relatively small and tucked away at the end of the street has made it difficult to advertise the attraction.
Mr Plater said: "Spreading the word has been the hardest thing. We can't afford television adverts and don't have a marketing budget."
Mr Plater, of Cottingham, relies on strong contacts to purchase his exhibits.
He said: "There is a big market for fossils. We won't get the complete skeletons because they will go to the top museums or universities. But getting a dinosaur leg or skull is still very exciting for us.
"We also get replicas and there are companies out there who make models."
Mr Plater feels Dinostar fills a gap in the market.
He said: "There aren't many dinosaur museums around and we are the only dedicated dinosaur museum in Yorkshire.
"People come here from all over the country because there are so few such places."
During the winter, the attraction is only open on Sundays, but Steve wants to change this.
He said: "Long-term, we want to open seven days a week all year. But we need enough people walking past for that to happen.
"We have some great ideas, but they are some way down the line."
Next year could be a bumper one for Dinostar, thanks to the latest Jurassic Park movie Jurassic World.
Mr Plater said: "The new Jurassic Park movie will be huge and a new blockbuster is always a good thing for a business like ours. It is almost certain to spark new interest in dinosaurs."
Dinostar has acquired a number of props from the popular BBC Walking With Dinosaurs and Walking With Beasts series.
Mr Plater said: "In the autumn, we will have the head of a huge woolly rhino from the Walking With Beasts series. We are hoping there will be moving parts to it as well."
Despite the attraction's struggles over the years, Mr Plater looks back with satisfaction at his achievements.
"I am proud of what we have achieved over the years," he said.
"A lot small businesses fold within two years, but we are still going strong after ten.
"We have double the number of visitors now than when we started."
Meet the Palaeontologist The author of the renowned book Dinosaurs Of The British Isles will be at Dinostar next month for a book signing. Dean Lomax, who has written the definitive guide to dinosaurs in the UK, will sign books for visitors to the attraction and will also hold a question and answer session. The Meet the Palaeontologist event is free to attend and will take place on Sunday, September 28, from 11am to 2.30pm.