Dinosaur Times
DINOSAURS ruled the Earth for 165 MILLION YEARS — way longer than humans have been around (which is only about 200,000 years). They first appeared about 230 million years ago. Then about 66 million years ago, almost all of them went EXTINCT — disappeared. We know about them from FOSSILS (preserved bones, footprints, eggs in rock).
Famous dinosaurs. T-REX: huge predator, sharp teeth, tiny arms. STEGOSAURUS: plant eater with bony plates on its back. TRICERATOPS: plant eater with three big horns. BRACHIOSAURUS: enormous, long-necked, ate from tall trees. VELOCIRAPTOR: small but fast, smart hunter. There were thousands of different kinds — some huge, some chicken-sized.
How did MOST dinosaurs go EXTINCT 66 million years ago?
How we know. PALEONTOLOGISTS dig up FOSSILS in rock. They study bones, footprints, eggs, even fossilized poop! Modern science uses CT scans and DNA analysis to learn even more. Every year brings new discoveries — including new species not seen before. The dinosaur world is still being uncovered.
Pick a Dinosaur
Pick a dinosaur (a famous one or one you've never heard of). Find out: how big? What did it eat? Where did it live? When? Draw it. Notice how scientists could know all this from BONES alone!
Dinosaurs remind us that Earth is OLD and CHANGING. Their world is gone, but their descendants — birds — fly around us today. Every chicken is a dinosaur cousin.
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