| Whiz Kids: Activities for the young and young at heart! |
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How Big is a Dinosaur?
Materials:
Measuring tapes in inches and centimeters, rulers, yardsticks/meter sticks, etc.
Chart of dinosaur sizes - click here
Masking tape
Sidewalk chalk
Instructions:
1. Have a parent or friend measure how tall you are with a measuring tape and mark your height on the floor.
2. Now compare your height to the length of some common dinosaurs!
Here are a few:
Compsognathus – 3 feet long (0.9 meters long)
Velociraptor – 13 feet long (4 meters long)
Tyrannosaurus – 40 feet long (12 meters long)
Spinosaurus – 50 feet long (15 meters long)
Apatosaurus – 90 feet long (27 meters long)
3. For small dinosaurs like the Compsognathus you can measure inside – use the masking tape for this. For big dinosaurs like the Apatosaurus you may want to measure outside on your driveway or sidewalk – this is where you can use sidewalk chalk!
4. Check the dinosaur chart to find other dinosaurs to measure!
5. How can we tell how big dinosaurs were?
6. Can you think of an animal as big as an Apatosaurus? What about an animal the size of the Velociraptor?
7. How many of your family members or friends would it take to equal the length of the Velociraptor? What about the Tyrannosaurus? Recruit people to lie down next to your measurements and find out!
Check out the Learning Center at Cape Fear Museum of History and Science every Saturday in May from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for many more “Dynamic Dinosaur” explorations!
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