2013 | Everything Dinosaur Blog

17 07, 2013

Bright Sparks at Anfield Infants Demonstrate Their Dinosaur Knowledge

By Mike|2023-02-19T07:25:12+00:00July 17th, 2013|Educational Activities, Teaching|2 Comments

Thank you Letters and Questions About Dinosaurs from the Bright Sparks at Anfield Infants and Early Years School

A busy week for team members at Everything Dinosaur, but we always try to make time to respond to any letters we receive from school children after one of our visits to a school. Children at Anfield Infants and Early Years School (Liverpool, England), were studying dinosaurs this summer term and a member of the Everything Dinosaur staff was invited in to help the budding young palaeontologist with their prehistoric animal studies.

School Visit

Children in the “Bright Sparks” class were asked by the enthusiastic teaching team, Miss Ledgerton, Miss Hardcastle and Mrs Envis to write thank you letters to Everything Dinosaur and sure enough, our bulging mail bag was stuffed fuller than a Triceratop’s tummy.

Thank you Note from the Teaching Team

Teachers thank Everything Dinosaur for the school visit.

Picture credit: Anfield Infants and Early Years School/Everything Dinosaur

Setting an exercise such as this after a visit from one of our dinosaur experts is a great way to help young children practice writing skills and sentence construction. It also helps reinforce learning and the recall of information.

Thank You Letters

Amongst the many thank you letters we received, Christopher wrote that he liked looking at Ankylosaurus, whilst Jamie, Cameron and Jack were most excited about T. rex. They wanted to know why Tyrannosaurus rex is known as the “King of the Dinosaurs”? A very good question, the name T. rex means “Tyrant Lizard King”, when this fearsome dinosaur was formally described back in 1905, no one had ever seen such a frightening looking dinosaur before, the name was chosen as with its huge teeth and jaws, scientists at the time thought that this was the “King”. Ironically, T. rex was very nearly called Dynamosaurus, but that’s another story.

Joseph wanted to know when the first dinosaur bones were discovered? This is a tricky question, dinosaur fossils have been known about for a very long time, the legendary Chinese dragons may be based on scholars from China studying dinosaur bones. The first dinosaur to be scientifically studied and formally named in the west was Megalosaurus, a meat-eating dinosaur whose fossils have been found in England.

Everything Dinosaur

Lots of questions about dinosaurs teeth from the “Bright Sparks” of Anfield Infants and Early Years School, yes, Charlie you are right, some dinosaurs did have sharp teeth, whilst in answer to the question as to which type of dinosaurs had the most teeth we think a good contender would be the very big duck-billed dinosaur known as Edmontosaurus. This plant-eating dinosaur (herbivore) could grow to be over forty feet long and his mouth was lined with rows and rows of teeth all designed to help this Late Cretaceous dinosaur to grind up his food.

A Scale Drawing of the Very Toothy Edmontosaurus

Edmontosaurus dinosaur drawing.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A few questions on Brachiosaurus were also received. Brachiosaurus evolved a long neck so that it could feed on parts of trees that other plant-eating dinosaurs could not reach. Stephen wanted to know how tall Brachiosaurus was? Some scientists have suggested that the head of Brachiosaurus was held as much as 43 feet off the ground. This dinosaur was very heavy, it did weigh much more than an elephant, another super question, but how heavy it actually was is difficult to say, perhaps Stephen is right when he suggests in his thank you letter that some of these long-necked giants could weigh as much as 75 tonnes.

Thank you Letter From Lexie

Lexie wrote to say she had a good time studying dinosaurs.

Picture credit: Anfield Infants and Early Years School/Everything Dinosaur

Lots of Questions

Thank you for your colourful letters, Lexie, Poppy and Tilly. Indeed, we are grateful to all the children, their teachers and the teaching support staff for writing such lovely letters. We even had a question about the horns of Triceratops, they are quite big, the horn cores on the skull are only part of the horn. These would have been covered in a horny sheath that would actually have made them much bigger. Some of the large Triceratops skulls that we have studied come from dinosaurs that would have sported brow horns more than a metre long!

School Children Send in Thank you Letters to Everything Dinosaur

Pupils say thanks for the dinosaur visit.

Picture credit: Anfield Infants and Early Years School/Everything Dinosaur

Thanks Caitlyn, we are glad you enjoyed holding the fossils, we give a big dinosaur roar in thanks for all the letters that we received. Sorry if we have not mentioned everybody but we do read them all and hopefully we have managed to answer the questions you posed.

Have a happy summer holiday.

To view the extensive range of dinosaur themed toys and games available from Everything Dinosaur: Dinosaur Themed Toys and Gifts.

16 07, 2013

New Research Reveals T. rex Tooth Crown Found Embedded in an Edmontosaurus Tail – Predatory Behaviour?

By Mike|2024-04-29T14:15:05+01:00July 16th, 2013|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Palaeontological articles|2 Comments

Tyrannosaurus rex – Hunter or Scavenger Debate Reignited after Fossil Find

Almost ever since T. rex was formally named and described back in 1905, debate has raged amongst scientists as to whether this Late Cretaceous dinosaur was an active hunter or primarily a scavenger. The skull of Tyrannosaurus rex is relatively short when compared to an adult body length somewhere in excess of 13 metres and the teeth in its exceptionally strong jaws are very different in shape when compared to other large meat-eating dinosaurs such as the allosaurids and the abelisaurs. It is true, the teeth are large, those in the maxilla and dentary (upper and lower jaws), for example, can be in excess of 18 cm long and more than 2.5 cm wide at the point where the crown would emerge above the gum line.

Theropod Teeth

However, the teeth are not necessarily recurved and sabre-like, the sort of teeth one associates with the likes of Mapusaurus, Carcharodontosaurus or even Ceratosaurus. Having had the opportunity to study tyrannosaurid teeth in detail, it is surprising how blunt they feel at the tips, indeed one of their most remarkable features is their characteristic “D” shape in cross section. Are these the teeth of an active hunter, or the bone crushing dentition of a scavenger?

A team of American scientists have discovered the tip of a tyrannosaur tooth, embedded in the tail bones of a large, duck-billed dinosaur. The bone surrounding the tooth shows signs of healing. Is this physical evidence of a tyrannosaur hunting and attacking another dinosaur? Could the debate over the hunter versus scavenger issue be finally laid to rest?

Tyrannosaurus rex Feeding Strategies

The feeding strategies of large, theropod dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex have been debated by palaeontologists for a long time. Fossil finds have provided some tantalising glimpses into feeding behaviour, however, it is notoriously difficult to distinguish post-mortem pathology with evidence of interspecific hunting behaviour. There have been several Triceratops fossils found which show tell-tale puncture marks from the teeth of T. rex, but it is impossible to tell whether these wounds were made by a feeding tyrannosaurid on a Triceratops carcase or as a result of a fight between these Late Cretaceous giants.

In a paper published in the academic journal “The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”, the researchers report on the discovery of a tyrannosaur tooth crown stuck fast in the tail bone of a herbivorous Edmontosaurus, the scientists conclude that this is definite evidence of predation by a T. rex, an attack by an immature tyrannosaur on a duck-billed dinosaur.

Hadrosaur with Bite Mark

At the Denver Museum of Nature and Science there is a mounted exhibit of a large, hadrosaur (Edmontosaurus annectens), with a strange “U” shaped bite mark out of its tail. This has been described as the damage caused by an attack from a Tyrannosaurus rex, although, unlike this new study, there was no tell-tale evidence of a tooth being left behind.

Hadrosaur Exhibit Shows Evidence of Tyrannosaur Attack?

Museum exhibit may show evidence of T. rex attack.

Picture credit: Denver Museum of Nature and Science/Everything Dinosaur

In the picture above, the mounted hadrosaur exhibit is shown with the damage to the neural arches on some of the caudal vertebrae highlighted.

T. rex Tooth

The academic paper was produced by scientists from the Department of Palaeontology (Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, Florida), Pete Larson from the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research (South Dakota) and researchers from the University of Kansas. One of the paper’s authors, Larry D. Martin of the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute sadly passed away earlier this year. This paper was one of the very last that he contributed to. The hadrosaur fossils, ascribed to Edmontosaurus were found in South Dakota and come from the famous Hell Creek Formation. The two traumatically fused caudal vertebrae (tail bones), partially enclose the tip (part of the crown), of a tyrannosaurid tooth, one that is believed to represent the dentition from a partial grown, immature Tyrannosaurus rex.

The Researchers Show the Fossilised Tooth Fragment Embedded in the Tail Bones

Evidence of a predatory T. rex?

Picture credit: David A. Burnham/University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute

The healed bone growth indicates that the duck-billed dinosaur survived this encounter. In February of this year, researchers from the University of Kansas and Florida reported on the discovery of evidence of a scar on fossilised skin tissue from just above the eye of an Edmontosaurus. In a paper, published in “Cretaceous Research”, the scientists concluded that this too was evidence of an attack of a T. rex on an Edmontosaurus.

Hadrosaur Fossilised Scar – Evidence of an Attack from a T. rex?

A scar above the eye of a hadrosaur, preserved as an impression in fossilised skin.

Picture credit: Robert DePalma/Palm Beach Museum of Natural History

A Hunter or Scavenger?

A number of eminent palaeontologists have commented on the scavenger/hunter debate over the years. It is likely, that just like most large carnivores today, if a Tyrannosaurus rex found the corpse of another dinosaur it would very probably feed off the kill – a sort of “free lunch” for a tyrannosaur. However, as an opportunistic feeder, if the same T. rex got the chance to approach undetected a potential meal such as a duck-billed dinosaur, then it would probably have used this chance to launch an attack.

Back in the summer of 2010, as part of Everything Dinosaur’s museum outreach programme, team members devised a presentation on the hunter versus scavenger topic. Members of the public could examine some of the evidence and decide for themselves as to whether Tyrannosaurus rex was an active hunter or a rather ponderous meat-eater preoccupied with scavenging the kills of other dinosaurs. To see the results of the survey: Results of the T. rex Hunter or Scavenger Survey.

CT Scans of the Fused Hadrosaur Tail Bones

CT scans reveal the embedded tooth.

Picture credit: Robert DePalma et al

The picture above shows computerised tomography (CT) scans of the hadrosaur fossil bones. 1) the two tail bones fused together and 2) showing the cross-section of the Tyrannosaurus rex tooth buried in the bone (the white oval at the bottom of the picture (2)). The scale bars shown represent 1 cm.

Far from being definitive prove, “smoking gun” evidence that Tyrannosaurus rex was indeed an apex predator, some scientists have challenged the paper’s findings. Dr Paul Barrett (Natural History Museum, London), rather summed up some of the comments that have been reported by stating:

“This paper shows without question that a T. rex bit a living Hadrosaur, but it can’t show if this was a regular behaviour or not, or even if this was hunting behaviour rather than some other kind of interaction”.

For models and replicas of Tyrannosaurus rex and other prehistoric animals: Rebor Prehistoric Animal Figures and Replicas.

15 07, 2013

Two-Headed, Fire Breathing, Water Spraying Monster

By Mike|2023-02-19T07:08:41+00:00July 15th, 2013|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Drawings, Educational Activities, Photos/Schools, Press Releases|0 Comments

Beacon Museum Announces Competition Winner

One lucky school girl has won the chance for herself and her classmates to visit the new exhibitions at the Beacon Museum which opened this weekend. Whitehaven in Cumbria is having its very own monster, double-bill with two exhibitions running concurrently at the Beacon Museum, “Ice Age – Life after the Dinosaurs” and “Shark – Myths and Reality”

Monster Drawing Competition

Elle Jenkinson, aged 9, of St Bridget’s RC Primary School in Egremont, won a drawing competition organised by the enthusiastic museum staff, children were invited to design their own prehistoric monster. Elle’s winning entry was a colourful drawing of a two-headed monster, that could breathe fire and spray water.

Elle Jenkinson’s Monster Drawing

Picture credit: Elle Jenkinson

Highly Commended

Four other entries were highly commended and received prizes. These were by Tess Cullen of Thwaites School, Dylan Hodgson of Kells Infant School, Jennifer Eve Gillon of Eaglesfield Paddle Primary School and Evan Casson of Moor Row Community School.

Around a hundred primary schoolchildren from West Cumbria entered the competition. They created their own magnificent monsters and beasts in the hope of winning the chance for their whole class to come face to face with life-size replicas of giant beasts, superb sharks and unbelievable underwater creatures.

The competition was judged by the Mayor and Mayoress of Copeland, Geoff and Sandra Garrity who said:

“The children had obviously had real fun creating these amazing pictures. The imagination and thought that they had put into their drawings really was wonderful.”

The Beacon Museum

The exhibitions currently on at the Beacon Museum will give visitors the chance to get up close to some real monsters that once roamed the Earth as well as to learn more about the fascinating world of the shark, some of which, the Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) for example, can grow to be as long as a bus. Fortunately, these giants are filter feeders and not likely to attack divers.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“It was a great idea for the Beacon Museum to organise a drawing competition. A chance for school children to imagine strange and bizarre animals, with the prize being a visit to the exhibitions to learn all about some very real and even more strange and bizarre animals that are known to science.”

“Ice Age – Life after the Dinosaurs” and “Shark – Myths and Reality” is on from now until the 5th January 2014.

For models and figures of many of the prehistoric animals that are featured in the exhibition: Everything Dinosaur Models and Figures.

14 07, 2013

Lyme Regis Rare Ammonite Polishing Dates Announced

By Mike|2024-04-29T14:15:37+01:00July 14th, 2013|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Geology|0 Comments

Fossils Fans Get the Chance to Get “Hands On” with Ammonite Activities

Visitors to the picturesque seaside resort of Lyme Regis, on southern England’s famous Jurassic coast, will get the chance to polish their own ammonite fossil, at special events organised by Lyme Regis Museum being held throughout the summer holidays.

Lyme Regis

Ammonites are an extinct group of cephalopod molluscs that lived in chambered shells. Their fossils are associated with much of the strata that can be found along the famous World Heritage Site of the “Jurassic Coast”, for the chance to learn more about these amazing creatures and to polish your own ammonite fossil, see the poster below:

Ammonite Polishing Days Announced

Fancy being a palaeontologist, studying ammonites?

Picture credit: Lyme Regis Museum/Brandon Lennon/Everything Dinosaur

Ammonite Fossil Polishing

For a small fee, fossil enthusiasts and tourists can purchase their own ammonite fossil and prepare it just like a real palaeontologist. Polishing the fossil reveals the amazing and very beautiful internal structure of the fossil. The first fossil polishing event is taking place this weekend (Saturday July 20th). The event starts at 11am and will run until 4pm that afternoon.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“These events give members of the public the opportunity to carry out their own fossil polishing and to learn about these extinct marine creatures that are so important to the science of palaeontology.”

Other dates are:

Saturday 3rd August, Wednesday 14th August and the final ammonite fossil polishing event this summer is scheduled for Tuesday 27th August, the day after the Bank Holiday.

A Replica of an Ammonite and a Polished Ammonite Fossil

The Bullyland ammonite model next to a polished section of an ammonite fossil. — *The Bullyland ammonite model is often used in museum displays to depict the living animal next to fossil material. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.*

Picture credit: Everyting Dinosaur

To view replicas of prehistoric animals including the ammonite figure (whilst stocks last): Bullyland Prehistoric World Models and Figures.

13 07, 2013

School Sets About Creating Their Very Own “Jurassic Park”

By Mike|2023-02-19T06:57:17+00:00July 13th, 2013|Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Teaching|0 Comments

Weston Primary School Studies Dinosaurs

Year 5 and Year 6 pupils at Weston Primary have been busy creating a series of prehistoric animal sculptures as part of their summer term topic on dinosaurs. All classes have been learning about fossils and prehistoric animals, under the expert tutelage of the teachers and teaching support staff. A team member at Everything Dinosaur, who visited the school in support of the term’s teaching topic, was given a guided tour of the palaeontology area by Reception/Year 1 children. A part of their classroom had been set aside so that the children could show the “pieces of dinosaur” that had been excavated from a sand pit, as well as the some of the safety equipment that palaeontologists wear when digging up fossil bones.

School Studies Dinosaurs

In a day of dinosaur themed teaching activities, Year 1/2 pupils learned how to identify fossils, whilst Year 3/4 students discovered that they had all technically eaten dinosaurs, apt as their dinosaur themed workshop concluded shortly before lunch. During lunchtime, the Everything Dinosaur team member was able to take some pictures of the artwork being created, the lawn area just outside the staff room was beginning to resemble Weston Primary’s own “Jurassic Park”.

Pupils Create Prehistoric Animal Sculptures

School creates “Jurassic Park”.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Prehistoric Animal Themed Artwork

The Year 5/6 pupils under the supervision of Miss Emmison and Mr Kelly had created several pieces of prehistoric animal themed art. Each sculpture had been carefully created and the children had spent part of the morning painting their Mesozoic monsters. During their afternoon dinosaur themed teaching workshop, the Everything Dinosaur team member congratulated the pupils on their artistic efforts and although the artwork was not finished, he was able to identify which extinct animal each sculpture represented.

Weston Primary’s Spinosaurus

Weston Primary’s Spinosaurus.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Spinosaurus, with its famous two-metre-high sail lived in North Africa during the Cretaceous. The arm bones of this huge predator have never been found, yet the pupils have created their replica as a biped (walked on hind legs), most palaeontologists agree, this carnivore probably walked on its two back legs.

Weston Primary’s Armoured Dinosaur

Armoured dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Armoured Dinosaurs

The brown coloured, armoured dinosaur has the bony tail club associated with Ankylosaurus, a dinosaur so heavily armoured that even the bone above its eyes was thickened and reinforced.

Weston Primary “Baby Brachiosaurus”

A baby brachiosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

School teacher Miss Emmison explained that a baby Brachiosaurus was created as trying to make a model of an adult, long-necked dinosaur would have probably used up too much newspaper and paint. The largest dinosaur exhibit in Europe is that of a Brachiosaurus. The head of the dinosaur skeleton is something like forty-three feet of the ground.

Weston Primary’s Tyrannosaurus rex Sculpture

School creates T. rex statue.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

No dinosaur theme park would be complete without a sculpture of the most famous dinosaur of all T. rex. The pupils have opted for a green tyrannosaurus, although the colouration of this dinosaur is not known. T. rex may even have been covered in feathers.

Weston Primary’s Stegosaurus

School children create model of “Roof Lizard”.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Stegosaurus model has his plates on his back and spikes on his tail. Stegosaurus was named and described in 1877, the name means “roofed or plated lizard”.

Triceratops Makes an Appearance

Weston Primary’s “Three Horned Face”.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Triceratops Artwork

In the process of being painted battleship grey, the horned dinosaur model is being prepared by Year 5/6 schoolchildren. Triceratops was one of the last of the dinosaurs, just four weeks ago, scientists working in the western United States discovered the fossilised remains of three Triceratops, perhaps this is evidence of this type of herbivorous dinosaur living in small, family groups.

To read more about this discovery: More Fossils of Triceratops Discovered.

The schoolchildren at Weston Primary have not just been working on dinosaur sculptures. The pupils have created a model of a flying reptile, a pterosaur. Such is the accuracy of the artwork, that the team member at Everything Dinosaur was able to identify the sculpture as being that of a Pteranodon and he had a go at naming the species – Pteranodon longiceps.

Pteranodon Model Under Construction

Flying reptile under construction.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The shape of the crest on the back of the head can tell a palaeontologist which species of Pteranodon this is, the long crest indicates P. longiceps.

Once the sculptures have been completed the school will have its very own “Jurassic Park”.

For models and replicas of prehistoric animals including dinosaurs and pterosaurs: Papo Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

12 07, 2013

CollectA Announces First of the New 2014 Model Releases

By Mike|2023-02-19T06:47:03+00:00July 12th, 2013|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates|3 Comments

1:40 Scale Deluxe Carcharodontosaurus to be Added to CollectA’s Range

2014 will mark CollectA’s eighth year as a producer of replicas of prehistoric animal fauna and flora. There are going to be a number of new editions to the company’s impressive range of models in its “Prehistoric Life” model series and over the next few months or so, team members at Everything Dinosaur will publish more details of new releases.

The first model to be announced is a 1:40 scale replica of the ferocious meat-eating dinosaur – Carcharodontosaurus.

Carcharodontosaurus Model

New for 2014 1:40 Scale Carcharodontosaurus from CollectA

Eagerly awaited model for 2014.

Picture credit: CollectA/Everything Dinosaur

It is great to hear that a model of “Great White Shark Lizard” is going to be added to CollectA’s Deluxe scale model series. Fossilised teeth of this huge predator were found by an expedition to Algeria by Charles Depéret (French geologist and palaeontologist) and J. Savorin in 1927. At the time, these scientists believed that the teeth were from a giant species of megalosaur, and they described the animal as Megalosaurus saharicus. The eminent German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach later made a study of similar fossil material, but this time including skull bones that had been unearthed by his 1911 expedition to Egypt (Bahariya Oasis). Stromer determined that this was and an entirely new type of theropod dinosaur and the name Carcharodontosaurus saharicus was established.

Carcharodontosaurus saharicus

With an estimated length of around fourteen metres, palaeontologists believe that Carcharodontosaurus was one of the largest land-living carnivores to have existed.

A Scale Drawing of C. saharicus by Everything Dinosaur

Fearsome “Great White Shark Lizard”.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

In 2007, a new species of carcharodontosaurid from Niger was erected, this dinosaur is known as Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis. To read about the discovery of this second African species: New Giant Meat-Eater Discovered in Niger.

Everything Dinosaur has already received a large number of comments about this new model, we are grateful for all the feedback we have received. It seems the the model collecting world and dinosaur fans in general are getting very excited already about this 2014 release. Based on the prototype sample figure the model measures approximately 32 cm in length with a hip height of around 9 cm.

Watch this space for more updates and news on CollectA models.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s existing range of CollectA Deluxe scale models: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Models and Figures.

11 07, 2013

Dinosaurs Inspire Unique Three-Dimensional Artwork

By Mike|2024-04-29T14:16:37+01:00July 11th, 2013|Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on Dinosaurs Inspire Unique Three-Dimensional Artwork

Year 5 and Year 6 Pupils Make 3-D Models of Dinosaurs

Pupils at Weston Primary have been showing their artistic skills by building a set of prehistoric animal sculptures as part of their summer term topic studying dinosaurs and fossils. All the classes in Year 5 and Year 6 at the school have been learning about prehistoric animals and fossils, under the tutelage of the teaching team. A member of Everything Dinosaur, who visited the school as part of a dinosaur workshop, was treated to a guided tour of the exhibits, a sort of work in progress. Part of a classroom had been set aside to display the artwork, some pieces were over one and a half metres in length.

Models of Dinosaurs

Upper Key Stage 2 Pupils Make Dinosaur Sculptures

School creates T. rex statue.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A team member at Everything Dinosaur, who visited the school in support of the term’s teaching topic, was given a guided tour of the prehistoric themed artworks by the Year 1 and Reception children. A part of the Key Stage 1 area had been roped off so that the children could show the “pieces of dinosaur” that had been excavated from a sand pit, as well as the some of the safety equipment that palaeontologists wear when digging up ancient bones. This was an excellent idea as it gave the children an important example of “Health and Safety” at work.

Dinosaur and Fossil Workshops

During the dinosaur and fossil workshops, each of the classes were given activities which dovetail into the national curriculum. For example, Year 3 students discovered that they had all technically eaten a dinosaur and Year 2 pupils learned how fossils are formed, what rocks contain fossils and what to do if you should be so lucky to find a fossil.

One of the Completed Dinosaur Sculptures

School children create model of “Roof Lizard”

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

During the lunch break, in between answering questions from teaching assistants and discussing extension activities, the Everything Dinosaur team member was able to take some photographs of the exhibition area. The site was beginning to resemble Weston Primary’s own version of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs.

To view the inspirational range of dinosaur themed crafts, toys and games available from Everything Dinosaur: Dinosaur Crafts, Toys and Games.

11 07, 2013

Sharks and Ice Age Monsters Invade The Beacon

By Mike|2023-02-19T06:39:46+00:00July 11th, 2013|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Press Releases|0 Comments

Cumbrian Museum to Play Hosts to Sharks and Woolly Mammoths

Staff at The Beacon, the interactive, family orientated museum at Whitehaven on the Cumbrian coast, are going to have their hands full this summer as not one but two major exhibitions will be taking over their galleries. Following on from the highly successful “BBC Walking with Dinosaurs Exhibition” in 2011, in which team members at Everything Dinosaur were invited to be the “on the spot dinosaur experts”, the museum will be hosting “Ice Age – Life After Dinosaurs” and “Shark! The Myths and Reality”.

“Ice Age – Life After Dinosaurs” and “Shark! The Myths and Reality”

The Beacon is closed for the next few days as final preparations are made, it is not easy to manipulate life-size replicas of giants such as Woolly Mammoths, Sabre-toothed cats and Great White sharks. The grand opening is scheduled for this Saturday (13th July), there’s just time for the busy Beacon staff to check all the hands on, educational and fun exhibits before the start of these “monster” exhibitions at 10am Saturday morning.

If you’re looking for ways to entertain your little monsters for the summer holidays, then you don’t have to look too far as visitors to Copeland’s museum will be transported back to a time when the Earth was dominated by a diverse range of magnificent mammals, that our ancestors had to contend with. The “Ice Age – Life After Dinosaurs” exhibition features full size replicas of giant prehistoric beasts including the wonderful Woolly Rhino and the savage Smilodon as well as real and replica fossils.

Square up to a Sabre-toothed Cat

Rebor Smilodon model in the Ice Age colour scheme.

A close-up of the head of the Rebor Smilodon populator figure (mouth open head attachment). The exquisite detailing or the teeth and the inside of the mouth can be clearly seen. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Commenting on the exhibition, Mike Walley from Everything Dinosaur stated:

“This is the best chance people have had to go eyeball to eyeball with Ice Age monsters in the last 20,000 years”.

Everything Dinosaur

Everything Dinosaur team members who will be running two special weekend events at The Beacon in the summer and October school holidays. The fossil experts are going to be visiting the exhibitions on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th of August, with a second, special appearance scheduled to coincide with the autumn half-term, the weekend of 26th and 27th of October.

Everything Dinosaur is keeping what they intend to bring along from their extensive fossil collection under wraps for the moment, however, visitors to The Beacon on these special weekends can expect to get up close to some super-sized marine predators, ferocious hunters that make “Tyrannosaurus rex look like a pussy cat”. If you have ever wanted to know how to avoid being gored by the two-metre long horn of a giant rhinoceros or to discover how close scientists are to cloning a Woolly Mammoth then don’t forget to book the weekend of August 3rd and 4th and the last weekend of October into your diary.

The Beacon Museum

“Shark! Myths and Reality” will turn everything you thought you knew about sharks upside down, bringing visitors face to face with life size replicas of these ancient hunters, including the Great White. This exhibition aims to dispel the many myths about sharks as mindless killing machines. Built in co-operation with The Shark Trust, it tells the real story of these fascinating underwater creatures.

Famous for its Whorl of Teeth – Helicoprion an Extinct Cartilaginous Fish.

PNSO Haylee the Helicoprion anterior view

PNSO Haylee the Helicoprion replica. The stunning emerald eye on the model is reminiscent of the eye of a Chimaera such as the deep water Rabbit Fish (Chimaera monstrosa) to which Helicorprion is distantly related.

For models and replicas of prehistoric animals including Helicoprion (whilst stocks last): PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Models and Figures.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur explained:

“Although sharks have been around for something like 420 million years and there are over 400 species alive today, scientists are still learning about these incredible creatures. For example, just this week a new scientific paper has been published that confirms how the Thresher shark uses its amazing tail as a whip to stun its prey.”

Pat Graham, Copeland’s Director of Services added:

“We are proud and delighted that we have managed to again secure a nationally significant exhibition for Whitehaven. These big events not only attract visitors in the town, but afford residents the opportunity to access the best education and fun that museums can offer, but on our own doorstep. These are hard times for the Council, and for families, but this is an opportunity for us to celebrate something really great for the town, and we should use this as an opportunity to collectively promote our Borough across the region”.

There will also be weekly drop in family craft days beginning on 31st July. Be inspired by what you have seen during your visit and create your very own Ice Age creature, shark or other magnificent monster.

But don’t worry if you can’t make it during the summer as both exhibitions will be on display until 5th January.

For more information about the fantastic models in stock at Everything Dinosaur: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

10 07, 2013

Working on the Logo – Go Go Logos

By Mike|2023-02-19T06:27:56+00:00July 10th, 2013|Adobe CS5|0 Comments

Preparing an Everything Dinosaur Logo for use on a Forum

Having registered as a member of a forum concerning dinosaur models and model collecting a logo is required to enable comments, photos and pictures that are posted up to be associated with Everything Dinosaur. Time to return to the Adobe CS5 and to get working on a suitable image. Having used various logos and representations on other social media sites one such logo has been modified and prepared for use on this new site.

Everything Dinosaur

Going to Get a New Logo for the Social Media Pages

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Of the range of images that was prepared this one got the most votes. With most of the major platforms such as Youtube, Yahoo, Google plus etc all asking for much more detailed profile information including images, (we suspect this has more to do with selling data than making specific pages look more corporate), team members at Everything Dinosaur are going to be busy modifying their existing profiles and home pages to keep everything up to date. Adobe CS5 is a powerful tool, none of us are particularly expert but hopefully we can just about make do and create new images to use on these sites.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website to see an extensive range of prehistoric animal models and figures for sale: Everything Dinosaur Prehistoric Animal Models and Figures.

9 07, 2013

Fragments of Fossilised Teeth Hint at Late Cretaceous Japanese Theropod According to New Research

By Mike|2024-04-29T14:17:17+01:00July 9th, 2013|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans|0 Comments

Fossilised Teeth Fragments Go on Display

Fossils of dinosaurs from Japan are extremely rare, those that have been found are in most cases extremely fragmentary. Japan lacks the extensive bone beds that we have had the chance to visit in places such as in Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alberta, Canada). However, a dedicated team of researchers are slowly but surely piecing together the ancient flora and fauna of the land we now know as Japan.

Late Cretaceous Theropod Teeth

Some of the very latest fossil discoveries are being put on display for the first time today, including two tooth fragments that most likely come from a carnivorous theropod dinosaur that roamed the Nagasaki Peninsula something like 84 million years ago (Santonian faunal stage).

Dr Kazunori Miyata of the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum and one of Japan’s leading experts on vertebrate fossils came across the fossils in July 2011 whilst exploring the Mitsuze layer on the western coast of the Nagasaki Peninsula. It is not possible to ascribe the fossilised teeth to any specific genera of the Theropoda, although the largest fragment (35.4 mm x 26.8 mm x 11.2 mm) probably represents a proportion a six centimetre long tooth (root plus crown).

Unknown Theropod Genus

The other fragment, although smaller measuring 34.2 mm long and 13.6 mm wide probably came from the same species if not the same individual specimen. Comparisons with other Late Cretaceous theropods suggests a predator in excess of seven metres in length, although whether this animal is a tyrannosaur or possibly a member of some other theropod family remains uncertain.

A Fragment of Fossilised Tooth (Theropoda)

Picture credit: KYODO

Serrations (saw-like edges) along one side of a tooth are still visible, this is an indication that these teeth were from a meat-eating dinosaur. The teeth discovery extends the known range of carnivorous dinosaurs to thirteen prefectures in Japan, from Iwate in the north-east to Kagoshima in the south-west, although these fossil finds do not represent evidence of just a single, carnivorous species.

A Close up of the Fine Serrations (Denticles)

Picture credit: KYODO

The Mitsuze Formation

Fossils from the Mitsuze Formation include pterosaurs, crocodilians, chelonians (turtles) and fragments of herbivorous dinosaur material. Such is the relative abundance of fossil material associated with this strata that researchers have used this strata to help date other Upper Cretaceous, fossil bearing geological formations in Japan.

The Nagasaki Board of Education in collaboration with staff at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum have created a display of this new fossil material in the city of Nagasaki (Sanwa Gyosei Centre). The exhibit will than be relocated to the Nagasaki Science Museum until the end of this month. From here the fragile fossils will be taken to Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum so that they can take part in a temporary exhibition showcasing Japan’s dinosaurs which runs from August through to mid October. After this, the 84 million year old teeth will be put on permanent display back in the Nagasaki Prefecture (Nagasaki Science Museum).

To read an article about a Japanese school boy who discovered the fossilised remains of a dinosaur toe bone: Schoolboy finds dinosaur toe bone.