What would YOU like to have learned about dinos when you were a kid?

[Jeff the Green]

I just got an internship at my local science museum designing demos for our summer featured exhibit, which is about dinosaurs. We already have a couple (making Triceratops masks and a matching game) and I have a couple ideas (reconstructing evolutionary trees, distinguishing Dino's from other extinct creatures, and coloring dinos based on the newish color reconstructions and educated guesses based on birds), but I'm also looking for new ones.

So, disregarding whether you can think of a demo to fit, what concepts or ideas would you have liked to have learned about when you were a kid? Or what's the coolest thing we've learned about dinos since you grew up?

[endoperez]

So, disregarding whether you can think of a demo to fit, what concepts or ideas would you have liked to have learned about when you were a kid? Or what's the coolest thing we've learned about dinos since you grew up?

The fact that we still don't know everything.

Jurassic Park and other old stuff I had showed an outdated, popular culture version of dinosaurs. It was quite a revelation when I found out how many things they got wrong. I'm imagining a series of illustrations of the same species from different ages, with a small explanation of how they discovered something new about that species. It could end with a description of an on-going argument, with a bit of "maybe one of YOU will be the one who solves this problem". :smallsmile:

Perhaps it could be about the Triceratops, and if it's one or several species. I always liked the look of those.

http://www.ibtimes.com/dinosaur-depictions-evolve-advancing-knowledge-photos-1032072

The one where the head was accidentally put on the tail seems like something children would find funny.

[Oneris]

That basing reconstructions solely on the bones can sometimes belie the true appearance of an animal that has significant fleshy parts unpreserved through the fossilization process.

Take the camel, or the elephant, whose distinctive hump or large ears and trunk don't survive decomposition. How would paleontologists in the future interpret the bones of animals we are familiar with today, and what aspects might they get wrong in the reconstruction? Maybe give them the image of the skeleton of a modern day animal, and have them draw what they think that animal looks like.

[smuchmuch]

Coolest ? That's a pretty relative term
*Mumbles darkly something about turning the awesome thunder lizards from my childhood into glorrified chickens*

I think endoperez has a pretty good idea here, the fact science moves on and our knowlege changes as we dicover new facts is good thing to teach kids. (and honnestly something many adults could do with being reminded of as well once in a while).

[Killer Angel]

So, disregarding whether you can think of a demo to fit, what concepts or ideas would you have liked to have learned about when you were a kid?

The fact that it's uncertain if they were hot-blooded or cold-blooded, given that there are evidences for both, bot nothing conclusive, if not for the fact that they were not all the same.

[erikun]

The fact that we still don't know everything.

Jurassic Park and other old stuff I had showed an outdated, popular culture version of dinosaurs. It was quite a revelation when I found out how many things they got wrong.
This is a really good point. Pointing out that what we knew in the past isn't the same as what we know now, and what we know now may not be what we know in the future, is really neat. It means that there's still stuff to learn and know, and that dinosaurs aren't just another type of history class.

Other than that, it would be neat to have a section specifically about creatures that were not dinosaurs, but were still around at the same time. Showing something like an ammonite, especially with its size ranging from a thumbnail up to the size of a person, can be just as impressive as a giant T-Rex fossil. (Especially when compared to a current nautilus.)

A quick primer on evolution and changing creatures through the ages would be nice. I know that I never really had a good concept on how creatures changed with the passing of time, although we didn't know much about dinosaurs when I was growing up. Showing the tiny dinosaurs related to the T-Rex that lives in eras before it would be interesting to see how types of creatures changed over millions of years.


Oh, and if you can, do us all a favor and show some sort of timeline with dinosaurs and other pre-history creatures. A large space between the T-Rex and the Woolly Mammoth would be nice for getting the idea into people's heads that no, these two animals were not running around together at any point.

[noparlpf]

I would have liked to know the difference between dinosaurs, pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and therapsids. (Firefox wants that to say "therapists". Welp.) It would probably also be a good idea to stress that we don't actually know everything and that the pictures we have are just guesses that will probably change by the time these kids are in college. Like, when I was a kid none of these things had feathers. Also you should point out that chickens are technically flying dinosaurs and crocs and lizards are way less related to dinosaurs.

[Jeff the Green]

These are some good ideas, guys; thanks! Any more things are still much appreciated too.


I would have liked to know the difference between dinosaurs, pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and therapsids. (Firefox wants that to say "therapists". Welp.) It would probably also be a good idea to stress that we don't actually know everything and that the pictures we have are just guesses that will probably change by the time these kids are in college. Like, when I was a kid none of these things had feathers. Also you should point out that chickens are technically flying dinosaurs and crocs and lizards are way less related to dinosaurs.

I've already got one planned for that, actually. It's just a simple game where you have things like Dimetrodon, mosasaurs, pterosaurs, ancient crocodilians, some extinct dinosaurs, and a chicken. The guests will be asked to sort them into dinosaur and not-dinosaur piles, then flip them over to see how they did. I fully expect the kids to be much better at it than their parents. :smallbiggrin:

[hamishspence]

I would have liked to know the difference between dinosaurs, pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and therapsids. (Firefox wants that to say "therapists". Welp.)

Well, technically, all therapists on Earth are also therapsids ... :smallamused:

[MLai]

Definitely pictures side-by-side of what old science thought dinosaurs looked like, vs what new science thinks dinosaurs look like. Get the wrong outdated Godzilla versions out of kids' heads as soon as possible plz.

Hopefully will also raise questions such as "what is different or just figured out, that makes the new scientists think they're correct over old scientists?" This question covers multiple major areas of biology.

Like someone said, it's important kids realize the study of dinosaurs is a progressive science, not a history lesson.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Just as a point of interest, the old 90s BBC Walking With Dinosaurs is in Netflix, in Canada at least. While all of the behavioural things in it are conjecture, and only the flying reptiles are at all feathered, it's still a great show.

[Jay R]

It depends on the age.

At age 7, I learned exactly what I wanted to - that there were once thunder lizards on earth so big the ground shook as they walked, that some of the huge beasts were vegetarians and others carnivorous hunters, that triceratops had horns, stegosauruses had spiked tails, and Tyrannosaurs has six inch teeth.

Later on, in junior high and high school, I'd have liked to learn about reconstruction through bones, the progress of science, etc.

But first, I want awe and giant beasts.

[Knaight]

It depends on the age.

At age 7, I learned exactly what I wanted to - that there were once thunder lizards on earth so big the ground shook as they walked, that some of the huge beasts were vegetarians and others carnivorous hunters, that triceratops had horns, stegosauruses had spiked tails, and Tyrannosaurs has six inch teeth.


While this is certainly nice, even then there's more to it. At age 5, I'd learned this much. I'd also learned some on how dinosaurs were found (fossilization was an amazing process to me even then, and paleontology was the coolest thing), lots of specific species names that I've now mostly forgotten, some of the early hints regarding feathers, some of the stuff regarding what species were when and where, etc.

A lot of this fits within the broader parameter of "This is [dinosaur species]. Here's how it's completely awesome." I'd consider that absolutely essential, and also pretty easy to do. A T-Rex skeleton made of the occasional fossil and lots of replicas is the sort of thing that impresses just about anyone. Scale models of dinosaurs based on modern reconstructions are also quite impressive.

[Jeff the Green]

While this is certainly nice, even then there's more to it. At age 5, I'd learned this much. I'd also learned some on how dinosaurs were found (fossilization was an amazing process to me even then, and paleontology was the coolest thing), lots of specific species names that I've now mostly forgotten, some of the early hints regarding feathers, some of the stuff regarding what species were when and where, etc.

A lot of this fits within the broader parameter of "This is [dinosaur species]. Here's how it's completely awesome." I'd consider that absolutely essential, and also pretty easy to do. A T-Rex skeleton made of the occasional fossil and lots of replicas is the sort of thing that impresses just about anyone. Scale models of dinosaurs based on modern reconstructions are also quite impressive.

Yeah, the actual exhibit has this covered. We've got lifesize Gigantosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus rex (with feathered juvenile) and Omeisaurus automata and several skeletons. They also move and roar only when someone moves past them. And it's dark. Best intruder deterence ever. :smallbiggrin:

[Knaight]

Yeah, the actual exhibit has this covered. We've got lifesize Gigantosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus rex (with feathered juvenile) and Omeisaurus automata and several skeletons. They also move and roar only when someone moves past them. And it's dark. Best intruder deterence ever. :smallbiggrin:

Do you have plaques or similar about these species, individually.

[Jeff the Green]

Yep. The exhibit proper is all set up—it's actually on display already—and it's pretty complete. Aside from the fossils and animatronics (which all have well-done plaques), there are stations with more information on things like fossilization. My job is making interactive demos that our volunteers and interns can run to engage guests more in depth with a particular subject that either the exhibit doesn't cover much (non-dinosaur extinct animals) or not enough in depth (phylogenetics, evolution of feathers).