All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
3 04, 2014

Papo Archaeopteryx Model – A Review

By |2023-03-11T17:56:01+00:00April 3rd, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur Products, Product Reviews|0 Comments

A Review of the 2014 Papo Archaeopteryx Model

The first of the new for 2014 prehistoric animal replicas to be released by Papo is this excellent model of the Late Jurassic “dino bird” known as Archaeopteryx.  Although no longer regarded as the “earliest bird” from the fossil record, as recent discoveries from north-eastern China have challenged Archaeopteryx’s taxonomic position in the Aves Order, the dozen or so fossils of this Late Jurassic creature remain some of the most studied vertebrate fossils to have ever been found.

Papo Archaeopteryx Model

Named  and described back in 1861, just two years after Charles Darwin had published the first edition of the “Origin of Species”.  Archaeopteryx is described as a transitional fossil between the reptiles and birds.  The fossil evidence reveals that Archaeopteryx had characteristics associated with a bird but it also retained a number of reptilian features.

Papo Archaeopteryx Model (New for 2014)

Ready for take off!

Ready for take off! Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture Credit: Everything Dinosaur

Designed by Papo

The design team at Papo have been keen to reflect a lot of what is known about Archaeopteryx in their hand-painted replica and to also mirror some of the very latest research into this creature whose fossils have been found in southern Germany (Solnhofen).  For example, the figure is posed with its jaws wide open, permitting the teeth, so reminiscent of a small theropod dinosaur to be prominently displayed.  The three-fingered claws on each wing are clearly visible and the claws themselves are strongly curved just like in the fossil material.

Looking at the Head

As for mirroring some of the very latest research, a close up of the dinosaur-like head reveals that the eyes are quite large, again reflecting the fossil data, but also the pupils are rounded.  Recent studies of the sclerotic rings, the ring of bones found in the eye socket of Archaeopteryx, indicate that this animal was very probably diurnal, that is, it was active during the day and it very probably had excellent colour vision.  Hence the bright, quirky plume of red coloured quills that project from the back of the skull – great for species recognition when you possess colour vision in what was largely still a green and brown world.

Papo Archaeopteryx Figure

The Papo Archaeopteryx model measures approximately twelve and a half centimetres in length, from the tip of the jaws to the end of its fan of tail feathers.  The head itself, is around seven centimetres off the ground.  We estimate that this replica is in approximately 1 to 5 scale, based on fossil measurements that indicate that this creature was around the size of a modern day Magpie.

The paintwork is excellent, and a wide variety of colours have been used.  This marks a change for Papo as the rest of their prehistoric animal model range tends to be painted in one or two dominant colours.  Here we have bronze coloured feathers, contrasting with feathers painted white and light grey, even feathers showing a flash of azure blue with the top of the scaly neck painted an almost navy blue colour.

Plenty of Detail

The detailing is superb with individual scales and feathers picked out on the model.  Perhaps, the quality of this model is best demonstrated by examining the underside of the tail, an area often neglected by other model making companies.  Here even the individual structure of feathers can be made out.

Unlike the majority of Papo’s carnivorous dinosaurs the jaws do not move, the reason for this is simple, when working with Papo we were told that the jaws proved too small to articulate, however, the fine detail of the mouth and the skull more than makes up for this.

An Excellent Papo Archaeopteryx Prehistoric Animal Model

Papo Archaeopteryx

Papo Archaeopteryx. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

All in all, this is an excellent model of an Archaeopteryx and one that is a welcome addition to the Papo model range, it does have a great deal to commend it.

To view the Papo prehistoric animal models available from Everything Dinosaur: Papo Prehistoric Animal Replicas.

2 04, 2014

Explaining Dinosaur Extinction Using Schematic Story Maps

By |2023-03-11T17:53:18+00:00April 2nd, 2014|Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on Explaining Dinosaur Extinction Using Schematic Story Maps

Schematic Story Maps Help Visual Learners

Children at Wroxton Primary School demonstrated their knowledge to our dinosaur experts during a dinosaur workshop with Year 1.  Under their teacher’s supervision the children had been producing simple stories that map out some of the theories for the extinction of the dinosaurs.  The children were able to demonstrate their learning and there was plenty of evidence of this posted up on the classroom walls and on their display table.

Dinosaur Workshop

The teaching team members at Everything Dinosaur tend to favour the K-W-L technique for charting the course of a term topic (what you know, what you would like to know and what you have learned).  This three-stage approach is very popular, but the schematic maps that the children had created were certainly powerful learning tools.

An Example of a Schematic Story Map

Visual cues to help young children recall facts about dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Schematic Story Map

The maps were greatly appreciated by the children, they enjoyed helping to make them and it clearly assisted them when it came to recalling activities.  This was a tremendous asset for visual learners.  At Everything Dinosaur, we recommend using the K-W-L methodology to help plan, record and measure the achievement of learning objectives.  However, there are a number of different techniques available to teaching professionals and this mapping method certainly proved to be effective for these Key Stage 1 pupils.

Everything Dinosaur

To see the range of prehistoric animal themed gifts and toys available from Everything Dinosaur including models of ammonites: Dinosaur Models, Replica Fossils and Gifts.

2 04, 2014

Schematic Story Maps Help Children Remember Facts

By |2023-03-11T17:50:25+00:00April 2nd, 2014|Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Teaching|0 Comments

Dinosaur Extinction Explained using Schematic Story Maps

When it comes to helping Year 1 recount what they have learned during their term topic on dinosaurs, the class teaching team at Wroxton Primary School utilise a simple technique that helps “map out” facts into a straight forward story for the children.

Dinosaur Extinction

Being able to demonstrate evidence of learning at the end of a term topic is extremely important.  It is essential that the teaching team with the support of their learning support providers and teaching assistants can monitor the progress made by pupils.  At Everything Dinosaur, we recommend using the KWL technique to help plan and record the achievement of various learning objectives, however, there are a number of different techniques and methodologies available to teachers.

The KWL Technique

The KWL technique involves working with the class at the start of the topic to establish what the children know, what they would like to learn and this provides the foundation for the scheme of work and permits that all important recall and checking of learning once the topic has been concluded.

A Typical KWL Chart Prepared for a Dinosaur Teaching Topic

A chart to help kick-start a teaching topic about dinosaurs.

A chart to help kick-start a teaching topic about dinosaurs.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Essentially, KWL permits the following:

K= Know (test what the children known, brainstorming/discussion activities) log results.

W = What (during the first stage questions will be raised, ideas to be tested proposed, these can form the basis of the teaching work).

L = Learn (the recounting stage or the recall stage, review at the end of the term topic what the children have learned (check learning, summarise learning).

School Visit

During a school visit to a primary school in Oxfordshire, one of Everything Dinosaur’s dinosaur experts came across some excellent examples of story maps being used to help create visual cues to stimulate learning and recall for use in creative writing activities.  Our expert saw several examples of such “story boarding” maps, one covering the extinction of the dinosaurs, another telling the story of Mary Anning (1799-1847).

Visual Story Map for use in Year 1

Visual cues to help young children recall facts about dinosaurs.

Visual cues to help young children recall facts about dinosaurs. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A level of knowledge regarding possible causes of the extinction of the dinosaurs was clearly demonstrated by the Year 1 pupils who were eager to explain all about an object from outer space crashing into the Earth and what happened to the dinosaurs as a result.  This was a most impressive demonstration of learning using a technique which would appeal to those children who prefer a visual learning style.

To view the range of prehistoric animal themed gifts available from Everything Dinosaur: Dinosaur Models, Gifts and Toys.

1 04, 2014

Digitally Reconstructing a Famous Dinosaur Trackway

By |2023-03-11T17:48:06+00:00April 1st, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Dinosaur Tracks Lost to Science for Decades Recreated Using Digital Technology

A set of dinosaur tracks, one from a large sauropod dinosaur, the second set from a meat-eating dinosaur, have been digitally recreated permitting scientists to study the complete tracks for the first time in more than seventy years.  The footprints, which cover a distance of approximately forty-five metres, are part of a number of dinosaur trackways preserved in near marine sediments that were laid down between 113 and 110 million  years ago (Cretaceous geological period).  The theropod dinosaur’s three-toed prints overlie the larger sauropod prints and this indicates that the large herbivorous dinosaur passed first, perhaps the carnivore was stalking the sauropod.

“Dinosaur Chase Tracks”

The tracks, now forming part of the bed of the Paluxy River in Texas are often referred to as the “dinosaur chase tracks”, although scientists cannot be certain whether or not the theropod was stalking its prey.

The Famous Dinosaur “Chase” Tracks (Paluxy River, Texas)

Famous dinosaur tracks - Theropod and Sauropod tracks.

Famous dinosaur tracks – theropod and sauropod tracks.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur from original artwork by John Sibbick

The picture above shows a potential interpretation of the Paluxy River tracks, with the huge, plant-eating dinosaur being stalked by the bipedal, theropod dinosaur.  It is difficult to assign a genus to these dinosaur footprints, but it has been speculated that the theropod may have been a member of the Acrocanthosaurus genus, as fossils of this large predator have been found in similar aged rocks and a dinosaur bone from the Glen Rose Formation, has been assigned to Acrocanthosaurus.

Famous Dinosaur Trackway

Using a technique called photogrammetry, scanning and combining photographs taken during research at the location back in the 1940s, the scientists were able to build a digital model of the site.  The computer model created is the only complete record available to study as some of the physical tracks themselves have been lost.

The Paluxy River dinosaur tracksite is among the most famous in the world.  In 1940, Dr Roland T. Bird, a American palaeontologist from the American Museum of Natural History (New York), described and excavated a portion of the site containing associated theropod and sauropod trackways, the so-called “dinosaur chase tracks”.  As the river flow was in danger of completely eroding away the dinosaur footprints, it was decided to remove the tracks in a serious of carefully excavated blocks.

The trackway was thus broken up into a number of sections.  Split up as it was, the fossil specimens were housed in different museum collections and over the years the slabs have deteriorated and a portion of the track has been lost.

International Research Team

The research team, which included scientists from Liverpool University, the Royal Veterinary College (London) and Indiana-Purdue University, Indiana, applied state-of-the-art photogrammetric techniques to seventeen black and white photographs of the tracks that had been taken by Dr Bird during the 1940 trace fossil study.  By producing highly detailed scans of the original photographs and their corresponding negatives the researchers were able to digitally reconstruct the site prior to its fateful excavation.

Furthermore, the three-dimensional study was able to corroborate sketches drawn by Dr Bird when the trackway was first scientifically described.

Sixteen of the Photographs from the 1940 Expedition Used to make the 3-D Digital Map

Some of the original photographs used to create the 3-D image.

Some of the original photographs used to create the 3-D image.

Picture credit: PLOS One

This new mapping technique demonstrates the exciting potential for digitally recreating palaeontological, geological, or archaeological specimens that have been lost to science, but for which photographic documentation still exists.

Dinosaur Footprints

Using dinosaur footprints made back in the Aptian/Albian faunal stage of the Cretaceous, this work has dramatically illustrated the potential for the technique of historical photogrammetry, permitting the creation of highly detailed and precise 3-D maps of sites that may have been physically lost and just preserved in photographs.  In this instance, the last time the set of dinosaur tracks was complete was back in 1940 prior to the removal of the footprint blocks.

Commenting on the significance of this study, lead researcher Dr Peter Falkingham (Royal Veterinary College) stated:

“Here we’re showing that you can do this to lost or damaged specimens or even entire sites if you have photographs taken at the time.  That means we can reconstruct digitally, and 3-D print, objects that no longer exist.”

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