Dinosaurs
In Ancient Greek the word dinosaur translates as ‘terrible lizard’. Dinosaurs are a group of reptiles that have lived on Earth for about 245 million years. Dinosaur fossils have been found on all seven continents. All dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago. There are roughly 700 known species of extinct dinosaurs. However palaeontologists believe that there are many more new and different dinosaur species still to be discovered.
To learn more please access the resources below.
Dinosaur Facts
So far 108 species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Britain. Britain was an important area during much of the Mesozoic Era acting as a ‘land bridge’ between North America and Eurasia. It became a hotspot for dinosaur evolution and migration.
The first discovery of dinosaur remains in North America was made in 1854 by Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden during his exploration of the upper Missouri River.
Dinosaurs with sharp, pointed teeth, like the Tyrannosaurus rex, ate meat, while dinosaurs with long, flat teeth, like the Triceratops, ate plants.
Most carnivorous dinosaurs were bipeds, meaning they walked on two feet. Walking on two feet helped them move faster and left their hands free to catch their prey.
The longest dinosaur
The longest dinosaur was Argentinosaurus, which measured over 40 metres, as long as four fire engines. It was part of the titanosaur group of dinosaurs.
The Heaviest Dinosaur
The heaviest dinosaur was Argentinosaurus at 77 tonnes. It was the equivalent to 17 African Elephants. Argentinosaurus is a double award winner being also the longest dinosaur. It is also the largest land animal to have ever lived.
The Smallest Dinosaur
The smallest fully-grown fossil dinosaur is the little bird-hipped plant-eater like lesothosaurus, which was only the size of a chicken. Smaller fossilised examples have been found, but these are of baby dinosaurs.
The Smartest Dinosaur
One of the most intelligent dinosaurs was Troodon. It was a hunting dinosaur, about 2 metres long, and had a brain size similar to that of a mammal or bird of today, stereoscopic vision, and grasping hands.
The Fiercest Dinosaur
Tyrannosaurus rex looked the most ferocious of all the dinosaurs, but in terms of overall cunning, determination and its array of vicious weapons it was Utahraptor that was probably the fiercest of all. Utahraptor measured about 7 metres, and was a very powerful, agile and intelligent predator.
Dinosaur Discovery Game
Play this dino game to build and test primary science skills.
In this dinosaur game learn about:
- The Cretaceous period and its dinosaurs
- The Jurassic period and its dinosaurs
Would a T.rex catch a Triceratops? What did a Stegosaurus eat? Where did the Yi find its food? How do we know what dinosaurs looked like? Make predictions, use scientific equipment and perform experiments to find the answers to lots of questions about dinosaurs.
You'll need to use your science skills to collect all the dinosaur stickers and become a dino-expert!
In Dinosaur Discovery you can meet lots of dinosaurs including T. rex, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Diplodocus and Yi.
While you are playing this game you will be ‘working scientifically’ – that means thinking like a scientist! A scientist who studies Dinosaurs is called a Palaeontologist.
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Dinosaur Discovery Game |
Resources
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BBC School Radio - Something to Think About - Children and discovery: Mary Anning, Fossil Hunter |
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Class Clips - Fossil hunting along the Jurassic Coast |
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BBC Teach - The work of Mary Anning |
| This film explores how Mary Anning used her findings to gain an insight into the Jurassic past. | |
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BBC Primary History - Mary Anning - Fossil hunter |
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CBeebies - Dinosaur resources |
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Learn English Kids - Dinosaur Dig |
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Learn English Kids - Dinosaur 1-10 |
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Steve Backshall takes on the dinosaurs |
| Join Steve Backshall as he takes on the deadliest creatures to ever walk the planet... the dinosaurs. |
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NGK - All about woolly mammoths | [pdf 3MB] |
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NGK Dinosaur species primary resource page 1 | [pdf 4MB] |
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NGK Dinosaur species primary resource page 2 | [pdf 7MB] |
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NGK Dinsoaur Puzzles | [pdf 2MB] |
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NGK Dinosaur Puzzles - Answers | [pdf 2MB] |
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NGK Dinosaur bones and quiz | [pdf 6MB] |
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Dinosaur Colouring Pages
Choose from the colouring pages below.
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T-rex-Mask Colouring page | [pdf 96KB] |
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Dinosaur Coloring Pages - Plesiosaurus | [pdf 540KB] |
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Dinosaur Coloring Pages - Brontosaurus and Flying Dinosaur | [pdf 314KB] |
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Dinosaur Coloring Pages - Stegosaurus | [pdf 274KB] |
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Dinosaur Coloring Pages - Triceratops | [pdf 513KB] |
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Dinosaur Coloring Pages - Prehistoric World | [pdf 1MB] |
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Dinosaur Coloring Pages - Spinosaurus | [pdf 694KB] |
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Dinosaur Coloring Pages - Parasaurolophus | [pdf 255KB] |
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Dinosaur Coloring - Tyrannosaurus-rex | [pdf 699KB] |
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Quiz Your Knowledge
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BBC Bitesize - Dinosaur Discovery Game |
| Would a T.rex catch a Triceratops? What did a Stegosaurus eat? Where did the Yi find its food? How do we know what dinosaurs looked like? | |
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Quiz: Name that Deadly Dinosaur |
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Dino or Di-No Way? |
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Quiz: Deadly Dino Aquatic Assassins |
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Do You Know Your Deadly Dino Defenders? |
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NGK - Dinosaur Quiz |
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CBBC - British Dinosaur Quiz |