Dinosaur Month Week 2--Questions for you and your student

A paleontologist working at a dig-site to uncover a Spinophorosaurus fossil!

Students continue to acquaint themselves with our learning stations as we talk this week about FOSSILS.

Below are questions that you can be asking your student to reinforce the concepts he/she is learning in class. Be sure to visit Dinosaur Train for fun dinosaur activities, games, and videos as well!

1. Were dinosaurs around when people were around? No. Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago before humans were around. No human has ever seen a dinosaur!

2. If dinosaurs were not around when people were around, how do scientists learn about them? Scientists study fossils to learn about dinosaurs, their surroundings, and their lifestyles. 

3. What are fossils? Fossils are the remains of plants and animals that have turned into a special kind of rock.

Most fossils are made of plants and sea-life. Dinosaur fossils are rare!

4. What do we call a scientist who studies fossils? A paleontologist (pay-lee-un-taw-lo-jist).

EXTRA CREDIT: 

5. Are most fossils made of dinosaur bones? No, most fossils are actually composed of sea life. Dinosaur bones are very rare! 

6. If dinosaurs lived all over the earth, why don't we find more fossils than we do? Fossilization is a very unique process. If a dinosaur's bones aren't buried in the right kind of material with the right kind of conditions (pressure, moisture level, temperature, et. al.), fossilization will not occur. Only a small percentage of dinosaur bones made it through the fossilization process without rotting away. For more information, go to http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/dinofossils/Fossilhow.html