| Leapin'
Lizards! CyberBee has time warped back over 65 million years to the
Mesozoic Era known as the age of the dinosaurs. Aren't Jurassic
Park, the Legend of the Loch Ness monster, and the original Lost
World
enough? Not for CyberBee. Tarpits, arid
lands, and stream beds have been part of his itinerary to dig up
theories on why dinosaurs disappeared, to learn about their habitats,
to find out if scientists can recreate them from ancient DNA, and
to answer why they resemble modern birds. Let's begin this adventure
withCyberBee as he takes us to ground zero of modern paleontology. HISTORY
Paper
Dinosaurs
1824-1969
Highlighting this extraordinary exhibit is original source material
from the collections of the Linda Hall Library, Kansas City, Missouri. The curators have gathered
over 80 printed works about dinosaur discoveries and lore such as
why one scientist called T-Rex Teddysaurus.
You will learn about the pioneers, read their findings, and view
over 136 impressive dinosaur drawings and images. Any student researching
or investigating the history of paleontology will want to make a
stop here.
Hadrosaurus foulkii
Visit Haddonfield, New
Jersey, to view the area where the first nearly complete dinosaur
skeleton was discovered in 1858 by William Parker Foulke.
This single discovery changed scientific thinking about dinosaurs
forever. As the focus shifted to newer finds and bigger bones, the
importance of this event faded. It wasn't until 1984 when a local
boy scout decided to reestablish the site as a community service
project that Hadrosaurus foulkii received
proper recognition. In 1994, it became a National Historic Site.
An excellent, easy-to-understand history of the location is presented
along with numerous photographs, drawings, and maps. A link to Fossils
of New Jersey discusses the geologic history of the East Coast.
REFERENCE
Dinosaur Illustrations
The best dinosaur art posted on the Internet has been gathered together
into a compendium of links. You can browse alphabetical sections
or select your favorite dinosaur and go directly to the picture.
Each thumbnail image is accompanied by a brief line about the artist
or illustrator. A small collection of panoramas is also available.
Dinosauria On-Line Omnipedia
Have a question about dinosaur anatomy? Perplexed by those difficult
names? Looking for maps of ancient earth or geologic history? Hunting
for dinosaur pictures? Then add the Dinosauria On-Line Omnipedia to
your reference collection. You can browse through several dictionaries,
listen to dinosaur names pronounced, view maps, and see a gallery
of incredible art.
Dinosaurs Facts and
Fiction
From a scientific
viewpoint the study of dinosaurs is important both for understanding
the causes of past major extinctions of land animals and for understanding
the changes in biological diversity caused by previous geological and
climatic changes of the Earth. These changes are still occurring today.
A wealth of new information about dinosaurs has been learned over the
past 30 years, and science's old ideas of dinosaurs as slow, clumsy
beasts have been totally turned around. This pamphlet contains answers
to some frequently asked questions about dinosaurs, with current ideas
and evidence to correct some long-lived popular misconceptions. Although
much has been discovered recently about dinosaurs, there is still a
great deal more to learn about our planet and its ancient inhabitants.
MUSEUMS
American Museum
of Natural History
Who are the people behind the bones? What contributions
did they make to paleontology? Personalities in Paleontology showcases
10
leading individuals, complete with a picture and short biography.
Ever wonder what the environment would look like during geologic
history? An artist's depiction in the Timelines section lets you
imagine a scene from a specific period and explains the habitat.
How should T-Rex be mounted for display? To find the current theory,
click on six new halls. Vertebrate evolution is illustrated with
numerous drawings.
Dinosauria University
of California at Berkeley
This is one of the best places for finding general
information about dinosaurs. Learn all about current research in Dinosbuzz, a newsletter that gives a thorough explanation
of the theories on extinction, the relationship with birds, and
the differences between fact and fiction of dinosaurs portrayed
in the
movies. To better understand the groups of dinosaurs, read dinosaur
diversity and dispelling myths. Join Sam Welles,
professor emeritus, on a narrated tour of his discovery of Dilophosaurus beginning
in the summer of 1942. Find out why the name changed after several
years of investigation and how he viewed Dilophosaurus as
a movie star in Jurassic Park.
In addition, the site is searchable, has a glossary of terms, and
links to the geologic time machine.
Royal Tyrrell Museum
Want to dig for fossils or save the dinosaurs? There
are numerous choices for all ages. Trips range from day digs to
lengthier field
experiences. World renowned paleontologists lead you on fascinating
journeys throughout North America. On the
Great Canadian Fossil Trail, you will be linked to locations in
western Canada. All ages will want
to browse the virtual museum. It is loaded with facts and pictures.
MORE MUSEUMS
Museum
of Western Colorado
Field Museum
of Natural History
Honolulu
Community Colllege Dinosaur Exhibit
New
Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
There are other notable museums to visit for virtual
tours, area information, and images. Don’t miss the Sue Website
at the Field Museum. Then, journey through other dinosaur exhibit areas. Check
out the forecast for the Triassic period by dialing 1-900 CLIMATE for
an audio recording. Round out you visit in the Triassic, Jurassic,
and Cretaceous periods for an overview of dinosaurs that lived during
those times.
Featured
at Honolulu Community College's Dinosaurs in Hawaii
are replicas of fossil originals found in the American Museum
of Natural History. Rick Ziegler, a historian, narrates the tour
of the permanent exhibit.
The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
focuses on local digs. Lots of good information and several line
drawings are provided.
MISCELLANEOUS
Trace
Fossils
Prem's Fossil
Gallery
Trace Fossil Mystery
Dino
Russ's Lair
In our zeal to focus on the dinosaurs themselves, we often overlook
the area of trace fossils. These are tracks, trails, burrows, borings, gnawings,
eggs, nests, gizzard stones, and dung. An excellent place to learn
more about this subject is at Emory University's Trace Fossils site.
All of your aspiring
rock hounds will want to read Fossil Hunting FAQ at Prem's Fossil
Gallery. This amateur collector has assembled a top-notch display
of trilobites, graphtolites,
and fossil plants. Another good source for trace fossils is
Trace Fossil Mystery where you will find all kinds of information
from what they are to where they are found.
If students want to dino surf,
have them launch their exploration from Dino Russ's Lair.
Russ Jacobson is an associate geologist at the Illinois State Geological
Survey. He maintains an extensive annotated list of links to dinosaur,
fossil, and paleontology sites that is updated frequently.
LESSONS
Dinosaur
Extinction Newton's Apple
Dinosaurs
Bill Nye
Dinosaurs
Home Page Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
From a comprehensive
unit designed for kindergartners at the Southwest Educational Development
Laboratory site, to Bill Nye,
teachers will want to look through the list of lessons. Book resources,
hands-on activities, dinosaur recipes, songs, and lots of suggestions
will be found at these educational sites.
FUN STUFF
Scholastic
Build a Dinosaur
Children's
Museum of Indianapolis
Dino
Hunt
Dinosaur
Interplanetary Gazette
Field
Museum Flip Books
Prehistoric
World Images
SEDL
Dinosaur Clip Art
Smithsonian
3-D Images
For up-to-date doings in the dino world, you can read the Dinosaur
Interplanetary Gazette. Although there are science related-articles,
DIG is really a popular culture magazine. The front page contains
a quote, a joke, and links to book reviews, news nibbles, and feature
articles.
Don’t miss Dinosphere at the
Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
Build a dinosaur at Scholastic. Send a friend dino postcards from
Prehistoric World Images. Put together flip books of the Albertosaurus or
Triceratops at the Field Museum.
Make your own 3-D glasses then view the 3-D dinos at
the Smithsonian. Grab the cool clip art from SEDL's Dinosaurs. Students will love it. Purchase the Dino
Hunt card game and try capturing dinosaurs for a modern day zoo.
But watch out for the charging T-Rex.
HAPPY DINO TRACKING! |