Disappearing Dinosaurs

Disappearing Dinosaurs Activity Card This is Dina Digg’s favourite dinosaur poem. She loves a mystery, and this is a big one! Triceratops has one short horn, and two as long as spears. It dwelled near scores of carnosaurs, and yet it had no fears. Triceratops was dangerous, impervious and strong. The predators that challenged it did not last very long. Triceratops fought valiantly, and vanquished every foe. So why it ever disappeared nobody seems to know. Poem from Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast: Dinosaur by Jack Prelutsky. Your challenge Dinosaurs roamed the earth for 165 million years, but 65 million years ago they all became extinct. What happened to them? Why did they die out? Plan a dino debate to discuss the different extinction theories. Discuss People have been arguing for years about what happened to the dinosaurs. Dina Digg has been collecting their ideas. Here are some of them. A massive asteroid hit the earth! There was an ice age. The climate changed. It got cooler and drier. Huge volcanoes erupted. Disease wiped them all out. Aliens invaded from another planet and killed them all.

Getting started Make a flyer advertising the discussion. What will you call it? ‘Who Dunnit to the Dinos?’ ‘Dinosaur Doomsday?’ or something else? Include some information about each extinction theory. Make sure it sounds like a lively, interesting debate! Are there any dinosaur books in the library? Can you find out any interesting information on the internet? You could record your research in a grid like this one, with reasons for and against each theory. 2/2 For Against Asteroid hit the earth Ice age Volcanoes erupted Climate changed Disease wiped them out Aliens invaded Test your ideas What scientific evidence is there to back up each theory? Why would each theory have led to the death of the dinos? What more do you need to know? Can you uncover any other theories? Maybe it was a combination of factors that meant bad luck for the dinosaurs. Not every creature died. Why did some creatures including frogs, crocodiles and some mammals survive? Did any dinosaurs evolve into creatures that are alive today? Many scientists think birds are descended from dinosaurs. What evidence is there? Share your ideas Why not present your poster to the class, or use it as a wall display? British Science Association Registered Charity No. 212479 and SC039236