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BipedalismA form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs, or legs. An animal that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped, meaning “two feet”.

CarnivoreAn animal that feeds chiefly on the flesh of other animals.

Cold BloodedAnimals that rely upon the outside temperature to regulate their body temperature.

CretaCeous145 to 65 million years ago.

dinosaur Literal meaning is “Terrible Lizard”. Dinosaurs, which lived millions of years ago, were one of several kinds of prehistoric reptiles that lived during the Mesozoic Era.

evolutionChange in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of new species.

extantStill alive, not extinct.

extinCtThe ceasing to exist of a species of living organism, such as a plant or animal, whose numbers declined to the point where the last member of the species died and therefore no new members of the species could ever again be born. Species become extinct when they are unable to adapt to changes in the environment or compete effectively with other organisms.

FossilFossils are the remains of any living thing, which has been buried in the ground, replaced by minerals and turned to stone. A fossil can be from either animals or plants, so it doesn’t have to be a hard part of the body like bone. In fact, the fossils that are sometimes the most important are of things the animal leaves behind such as footprints, skin prints and feces. These are called trace fossils and scientists can learn many important things about behavior, form and diet.

HerBivoreAn animal that feeds chiefly on plants.

JurassiC200 to 145 million years ago.

mammalAny of a class of warm-blooded higher vertebrates that nourish their young with milk, have their skin usually more or less covered with hair, and includes humans.

mass extinCtionThe process in which huge numbers of species die out suddenly. The dinosaurs (and many other species) became extinct, possibly because of an asteroid that hit the earth.

mesozoiC eraThis Era (“The Age of Reptiles”) occurred from 250 to 65 million years ago. It is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods. Dinosaurs, mammals, and flowering plants evolved during the Mesozoic Era.

natural seleCtionA process whereby helpful traits (those that increase the chance of survival and reproduction) become more common in a population while harmful traits become increasingly rare. This occurs because individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, resulting in more individuals of the next generation inheriting those traits.

ornitHopodBird hipped dinosaurs. All these dinosaurs were herbivores.

paleontologistA scientist who works with the life of past geological periods as known by fossil remains.

pterosauria“Winged Lizards” had an elongated fourth finger that supported a membranous wing. First evolved in the latter third of the Triassic Era and survived until the end of the Cretaceous. These animals were not dinosaurs but were closely related to both dinosaurs and crocodiles.

QuadrupedalismA form of animal locomotion using four limbs or legs. An animal that usually moves in a quadrupedal manner is known as a quadruped, meaning “four feet”.

reptilesAny of a class of air-breathing scaly bodied vertebrates that include alligators and crocodiles, lizards, snakes, turtles, and extinct related forms (such as dinosaurs and pterosaurs). Reptiles lay eggs which are fertilized internally.

sauropodLizard hipped/footed dinosaurs. All these dinosaurs were herbivores.

triassiC era250 to 200 million years ago.

tHeropodBeast footed dinosaurs. All of these dinosaurs were carnivores.

1. Most dinosaurs were herbivores, which means that they ate plants.

2. The biggest carnivores were theropods from the Cretaceous Period. An example is Tyrannosaurus Rex.

3. One of the largest known complete dinosaurs was Brachiosaurus (“Arm Lizard”) which reached 82 ft (two large school buses) in length and 42 ft (a 4 story building) in height!

4. One of the smallest dinosaurs was slightly larger than a chicken. Compsognathus (“Pretty Jaw”) was 3 ft long and weighed about 6.5 lbs.

5. Today, only whales are close in size to the largest dinosaurs.

6. At present over 700 different species of dinosaurs have been identified and named. However paleontologists believe that there are many more new and different dinosaur species still to be discovered.

7. The term dinosaur (“Terrible Lizard”) was coined by the English anatomist Sir Richard Owen in the early 1840’s.

8. The oldest dinosaurs appeared on earth approximately 230 million years ago.

9. Dinosaurs had replaceable teeth; when a tooth was lost or broken, another one grew in to take its place.

10. Various dinosaurs lived on Earth for about 165 million years. In comparison, humans have only been around for about 1 million years.

11. The duck-billed hadrosaurs (an example is Parasaurolophus) had up to about 960 teeth – the most of any dinosaur.

12. When the first dinosaurs were alive, the formation of the continents was one big super continent called Pangaea.

13. The biggest dinosaurs were sauropods, gigantic, slow- moving, small headed plant eaters from the late Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

14. Hadrosaur nests have been found complete with fossils of babies. The babies have slightly worn teeth, suggesting that they were probably fed by their parents.

15. Although Stegosaurus was about the size of a bus, it had a small head (the size of a horse’s head) and a brain that was only the size of a walnut!

1. What does the name of your dinosaur mean?

2. In which geological time period did your dinosaur live?

3. Where in the world are the fossil remains of your dinosaur found today?

4. Approximately how big was your dinosaur? Length? Weight? Height?

5. Does your dinosaur always walk on 4 legs, 2 legs or sometimes both?

6. Which set of your dinosaurs legs are longer; front, back or are they the same length? Look closely!

7. Does your dinosaur have a large or small head? What does this tell you about the dinosaur?

8. Do you think your dinosaur was a carnivore (meat eater) or an herbivore (plant eater)? Why do you think this?

9. How might this dinosaur have defended itself if attacked?

10. Name some interesting characteristics (facts, features or details) about your dinosaur. What makes it different from other dinosaurs?

What is a fossil?

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What tools are used to uncover fossils?

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if i could ask a paleontologist any question about my dinosaur it would be…

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What is a dinosaur?Write What Is A Dinosaur? on the chalkboard. In small groups have students explore this question. Give groups 10 minutes to discuss and have each group share their ideas with the rest of the class.

dinosaur discoveryYou can have the students do some research in the school library or at home about a dinosaur

they are interested in. Using the information gathered have students write a story, diary entry or a letter to a friend describing their discoveries. The students should include in their

writing some future questions they would like to investigate.

pretend You are a paleontologistWrite a journal entry about what you think life might be like on a dino dig excursion. What do you do,

what do you see, what do you feel? Did you find anything special?

name Your own dinoMany dinosaur names come from Ancient Greek and Latin words that tell you

about the dinosaur. Use the words below to create your own name for a dinosaur. Draw a picture and then describe its characteristics.

Use These Words As The First Part Of A Name:

Aqua- water Macro- big Phyto- plant

Brachio- arm Micro- small Poly- many

Bronte- thunder Mono- one Pteryg- wing

Cory- helmut Octo- eight Scolo- crooked

Di- two Odon- tooth Tri- three

Dino- terrible Orni- bird Tyrannos- terrible

Diplo- double Pachy- thick Xeno- strange

Lopho- crest Pedo- foot

Use These As The Last Part Of The Name:

Gnathus- jaw Saurus- lizard Podia- feet

Use These As The First Or Last Part Of The Name:

Cephalic- head Coel- hollow gut Derma- skin Phile- loving

These activities will be an opportunity for your students to relate the dinosaur park to your science curriculum. These activities are designed to be completed

by either individual students or small groups of students. You can select the activities that are appropriate for your learning goals.

© 2012 Cedar Fair, L.P. CW12-009

Photo courtesy of: National Geographichttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/photogalleries/week-in-news-pictures-148/index.html

Fossil digHave students go on a fossil dig either at school or when they are at home! Hide fake bones in sand or bury them in dirt before students

are aware of the activity. You can also have students dig outside to look for local fossils! The students can work alone or in pairs. Have the students use brushes (paintbrushes or toothbrushes) to locate and clean their findings.

optional: The students can keep a log of their findings as well as the location of the artifact, and any notes.