By Mike|2023-10-16T14:51:38+01:00June 28th, 2018|Categories: General Teaching|Comments Off on A Magnificent Dinosaur Birthday Cake
Delicious Dinosaur Birthday Cake
Our thanks and best wishes to Athina and Peter who contacted Everything Dinosaur recently to ask advice when choosing some dinosaur and prehistoric animal models to feature on their grandson’s birthday cake. The grandparents emailed us to say thank you for our assistance and included a picture of the magnificent birthday cake that had been baked and decorated with dinosaurs in honour of young Luca’s birthday.
A Dinosaur Birthday Cake
What a Magnificent Dinosaur Birthday Cake!
A fantastic dinosaur birthday cake. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Athina commented:
“The cake was a big success, thanks for your help.”
What a wonderful cake! Team members at Everything Dinosaur are always intrigued to find out how our dinosaurs and prehistoric animals are used by our customers. One question remains, how are Athina and Peter going to top this wonderful confectionery creation when it comes to Luca’s 5th birthday?
By Mike|2023-10-16T07:42:39+01:00June 18th, 2018|Categories: General Teaching|Comments Off on Praising the Museum of Natural History in Oxford
In Praise of the Museum of Natural History (Oxford)
Oxford as the county town of Oxfordshire (England), has many attractions. It is of course, famous for its distinguished and highly respected university. It is one of the oldest seats of learning (alongside Paris and Bologna), in the western world. The Victorian poet Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), coined the phrase “the city of dreaming spires”, it is indeed a very awe-inspiring place with its beautiful architecture and stunning university colleges and buildings.
Oxford Museum of Natural History
However, Oxford should not necessarily just be the haunt of academics and students. For families, there is much to see and do in this historic part of England. Take for example, the Museum of Natural History, it is free to enter (donations are suggested) and it provides a fantastic day out for young and old alike.
A View of the Ground Floor of the Natural History Museum (Oxford)
Plesiosauria fossils on display at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The image (above) shows marine reptile fossils on display.
The museum acts as a centre for scientific study for the University of Oxford. It houses the University’s collection of palaeontological, geological and zoological specimens, including some of the very first dinosaur bones to be scientifically studied. This collection is housed in a stunning example of neo-Gothic architecture, the ornate columns and use of copious amounts of glass provides a wonderfully spacious and well-lit learning area. With visitor numbers estimated to be around 700,000 people a year, this well-laid out and beautifully appointed museum can get quite busy at times, but please note, the Natural History Museum (London), attracts approximately 5,000,000 visitors per annum. The London museum can get extremely congested, in contrast, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH), especially shortly after opening at 10 am tends to be much quieter.
Founded in 1860
Founded in 1860, that’s twenty-one years before the Natural History Museum (London) opened its doors, the OUMNH has maintained its strong tradition to inform and educate and helps to underpin a varied programme of scientific research as well as playing a significant role in teaching. The Museum provides an extensive array of family orientated activities and if over the course of the summer holidays, you have a few hours to spare this museum is well-worth a visit.
Look out for the cast of a male Tyrannosaurus rex, a life-sized model of a Coelacanth, some amazing fossil specimens, live insects and of course, arguably the OUMNH’s most famous resident – the remains of a Dodo.
In the meantime, visit the award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.
Another busy day for Everything Dinosaur’s teaching team. One of our dinosaur and fossil experts had been invited to a school in south Yorkshire to help the Nursery and Reception classes kick-start their term topic learning all about prehistoric animals. The enthusiastic children enjoyed the workshops and had fun handling the fossils, several of them talked excitedly about it for the rest of the day.
We were given the spacious hall to set up in and we noted that on one of the walls, there was a display of prehistoric animals that had been created by some of the children at the school.
Prehistoric Animals on Display at the Primary School
Are dinosaurs really extinct? Prehistoric animals on display. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Extension Resources
Prior to the start of our workshops we were briefed on the learning needs of the children by one of the teachers. The classes had only been studying dinosaurs for a week, but they had prepared some amazing questions for our dinosaur expert to tackle. As well as delivering four workshops throughout the day, we donated some dinosaur books to the school library and provided some additional teaching resources to help support the scheme of work for the school term.
We are confident that our “dinosaur hokey cokey” will be well received by the eager, young palaeontologists.
We were also able to email over some dinosaur fact sheets and additional drawing materials to help support the Reception classes with a little challenge that we had set them.
By Mike|2023-10-14T18:40:17+01:00June 12th, 2018|Categories: General Teaching, Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on The Prehistoric Animals that Feature in “Fallen Kingdom”
“Fallen Kingdom” – Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals
In response to the numerous requests from young dinosaur fans who have seen the latest instalment in the “Jurassic Park/Jurassic World” film franchise – “Fallen Kingdom”, here is a list of the prehistoric animals that we spotted in the movie. In total, Everything Dinosaur team members spotted seventeen different prehistoric animals, how many did you see?
Hitting our Cinema Screens at Present – “Fallen Kingdom”
The movie poster features a Mosasaurus.
Everything Dinosaur’s List of the Prehistoric Animals in “Fallen Kingdom”
Allosaurus – a big, carnivorous dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic.
Ankylosaurus – an armoured dinosaur, a herbivore from the Late Cretaceous of North America.
Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus – a giant, long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Late Jurassic.
Baryonyx – a carnivorous dinosaur that may have specialised in catching fish, the first fossils of which were found in southern England. Baryonyx lived during the Early Cretaceous of Europe.
Brachiosaurus – an enormous, plant-eating, long-necked dinosaur from the Late Jurassic.
Carnotaurus – a predatory dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America.
Compsognathus – at around a metre in length, the smallest non-avian dinosaur inhabitant of Isla Nublar. This little dinosaur lived in Europe during the Late Jurassic.
Gallimimus – a fast-running, “ostrich mimic” dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous.
Mosasaurus – not a dinosaur, but a marine reptile that belongs to the same group of reptiles as lizards and snakes. These predators lived during the Cretaceous.
Pteranodon – also not a dinosaur, but a flying reptile from the Late Cretaceous, a pterosaur. Pteranodon fossils have been found in North America, England and Asia.
Sinoceratops – a member of the horned dinosaur group, it roamed China towards the end of the “Age of Dinosaurs”.
Stegosaurus – “roof lizard”, a herbivore from the Late Jurassic of America.
Stygimoloch – a “bone-headed” dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America which was good at knocking down walls if the movie is to be believed!
Triceratops – one of the most famous of all the plant-eating dinosaurs. Triceratops lived at the very end of the Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in North America.
Tyrannosaurus rex – no dinosaur film would be complete without an appearance of T. rex. The “king of the tyrant lizards”, lived in North America and its fossils are associated with Upper Cretaceous sedimentary deposits.
Velociraptor – The “raptor” called Blue which was reared and brought up by animal trainer Owen Grady (played by Chris Pratt). Velociraptor lived during the Late Cretaceous of Asia.
Last but not least, comes Indoraptor, a dinosaur created from the DNA from Indominus rex – the monstrous carnivore from the previous film in the franchise – “Jurassic World” and Velociraptor.
Look out for the sequel which is scheduled for release in June 2021. What dinosaurs do you think should be in this film?
By Mike|2023-10-14T15:42:41+01:00June 6th, 2018|Categories: General Teaching|Comments Off on Giant Ammonites – Potentially Under Your Feet
Giant Ammonites – Potentially Under Your Feet
Ammonites are closely related to extant squids and octopi (cephalopods). Ammonite fossils can be collected from many sites around the world, including numerous locations in the UK. Often, an ammonite fossil shell is the first discovery of a young fossil hunter, a find that can lead to a lifetime of fossil collecting.
The Simple Pleasure of Finding an Ammonite Fossil
An ammonite partially eroded out of a nodule. We think this is an example of Dactylioceras commune.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Titanites giganteus
Whilst on a visit to the Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy (London), a team member of Everything Dinosaur took a photograph of a giant ammonite fossil (Titanites giganteus) in one of the glass display cases.
A Giant Ammonite Specimen at the Museum
A stunning fossil of a Jurassic ammonite on display at the London Natural History Museum. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
This is a relatively small specimen, measuring around forty centimetres in diameter. The biggest specimens of this ammonite species have shells more than a metre across. University College London is built from Portland Stone, a limestone formed in tropical seas in the Late Jurassic around 146 million years ago. This stone is quarried from the Isle of Portland in Dorset and is used all over the world for building projects. Some of the ammonite specimens that have been collected were huge, with shells much bigger than the one in the Grant Museum.
The one photographed by an Everything Dinosaur team member, could represent a relatively young animal or perhaps a male (female ammonites are believed to have been much larger than males).
Giant Ammonites on Display
The helpful information in the display case explains that visitors to London can see a rare example of a fossil Titanites ammonite in building stones outside the Slade School of Fine Art in the University’s Main Quad. In the paving are slices of preserved whorls, each one is a slice through the same fossil. Hundreds of people walk over this fossil every day, we wonder how many of them notice?
By Mike|2024-05-11T05:59:47+01:00June 5th, 2018|Categories: General Teaching|Comments Off on Acknowledging the Importance of World Environment Day
World Environment Day
Today, June 5th is World Environment Day. This annual event organised by the United Nations aims to raise awareness of the environment and specific issues caused by human activity that are threatening our planet’s ecosystems and habitats. This day, sometimes referred to as “World Eco Day”, was established in principle in 1972 and the first commemorative events took place two years later. We commemorate this important date by posting up an image of giant tortoise model.
A 1:6 Scale Replica of the Pinta Island Giant Tortoise (Extinct)
The Rebor 1:6 scale Pinta Island tortoise “Lonesome George” in lateral view. The model measures 30 cm long and stands 20 cm high. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The picture (above) shows the Rebor Pinta Island tortoise model.
The last Pinta Island giant tortoise (Lonesome George) died on the 24th of June 2012. It was the last known individual of the sub species Chelonoidis niger abingdonii.
So, it seems fitting that today, World Environment Day, we remember the now extinct Pinta Island giant tortoise. The last of the Pinta Island tortoises was named “Lonesome George”. Researchers are hoping to resurrect the lineage using a controlled breeding programme involving other tortoise sub-species.
By Mike|2024-05-11T06:00:15+01:00June 4th, 2018|Categories: General Teaching|Comments Off on A Beautiful Linheraptor – Dinosaur Drawing
Linheraptor exquisitus by Caldey
Our thanks to young Caldey for sending in her picture of the “raptor” called Linheraptor (Linheraptor exquisitus). Most people might be familiar with dinosaurs such as Velociraptor, made famous from the “Jurassic Park/Jurassic World” film franchise, but in truth, there were a large number of “raptor-like” dinosaurs and they were all (very probably), feathered and potentially quite colourful creatures too.
A Drawing of the “Raptor” Linheraptor (L. exquisitus) by Caldey
Dinosaurs like Velociraptor and Linheraptor are members of the Dromaeosauridae family. The Dromaeosauridae are very geographically diverse, bird-like dinosaurs that were particularly abundant during the Late Cretaceous. Linheraptor was named relatively recently, (2010), the first of dromaeosaurid was named in 1922 (Dromaeosaurus). Like many of its kind, the fossils of Linheraptor come from Asia.
Our thanks to Caldey for sending in her super illustration.
A fabulous pair of eurypterid fossils photographed in the London Natural History Museum.
Spotted in the British Museum (London), two beautifully preserved sea scorpion fossils. The picture (below) shows a wonderful example of what looks like a fossilised, giant woodlice. However, all is not as it seems.
Sea Scorpion Fossil Specimens
A pair of eurypterid fossil specimens on display at the London Natural History Museum. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Woodlice are isopods and members of the Arthropoda Phylum. Eurypterids are arthropods too. Both have segmented bodies and share several anatomical characteristics, but they are only distantly related.
Probably originating during the Ordovician, eurypterids persisted until the Permian. Both marine and freshwater forms evolved. Some marine eurypterids represent the largest arthropods known to science. The largest described to date is Jaekelopterus rhenaniae. Based on a forty-six-centimetre claw fossil, palaeontologists have suggested that J. rhenaniae reached a length of 2.5 metres or more.
Although the eurypterid fossils on display are not as large as the biggest species of Jaekelopterus (pronounced Yay-kel-op-ter-us), they are still impressive.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented on the details preserved within the fossil specimens and stated:
“When you see up close stunning eurypterid fossils, you gain an appreciation of the diversity and variety of life on Earth. It is hard to believe, but for more than 150 million years these amazing arthropods thrived, outcompeting vertebrates. Many forms evolved to become apex predators.”
By Mike|2024-05-11T05:53:35+01:00May 20th, 2018|Categories: General Teaching, Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on Dinosaur Food Webs a Helpful Explanation
Dinosaur Food Webs
Team members at Everything Dinosaur help school pupils to understand prehistoric animal food webs.
The national curriculum of England science programme outlines the fundamental topics to be taught to various age groups to provide a broad foundation for future scientific study. Key elements include providing a basis for making sense of our planet (understanding our world) and developing the rational required to examine problems, look for evidence and to test via experimentation (scientific working).
In Key Stage 1, children are expected to be able to distinguish between carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. In addition, they will be expected to identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other.
Prehistoric Animal Food Webs
A term topic on dinosaurs helps to reinforce and support this learning. At Everything Dinosaur, we have been asked to provide simple food webs to help get some of these fundamental points about ecosystems across. After all, for most children, learning about what Tyrannosaurus rex ate can enthuse even the most reluctant biologist.
A Simplified Dinosaur Themed Food Web
Proposed food chain showing LPP-PV-0042 as apex predator. A diagram showing a prehistoric animal food web.
Picture credit: Cretaceous Research
Basic Food Chain Principles
Children in Year 2 for example, will be required to explain how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using the idea of a simple food web. They will be expected to identify and name different sources of food.
Food chains show the feeding relationships between animals, plants and other organisms. Whether it is examining the biota of the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of Montana, the Savannah of Africa or the school pond, the principles regarding food webs still apply. Food chains tend to be roughly triangular in shape with the greater amount of biomass to be found at the lower levels. The amount of material and energy decreases from one level to the next. Food production is much more efficient if the food chain is short.
Energy is transferred along food chains from one level to the next. Not all of the energy available to organisms at one level can be absorbed by organisms at the next level up. Arrows tend to show the direction of energy flows in a food chain. At the base of most food chains is the sun, as it is sunlight that plays a role in photosynthesis, allowing plants to grow.
By Mike|2024-05-10T21:19:33+01:00May 1st, 2018|Categories: General Teaching|Comments Off on Fake Reviews and Feedback Some Important News
Fake Reviews and Feedback
Genuine teaching reviews posted up on Everything Dinosaur’s websites.
In the UK at the moment, there is a lot of media coverage about fake reviews. A BBC investigation has found that fake on-line reviews are being openly traded on the worldwide web. In a radio programme broadcast on BBC 5 live, an investigator was able to purchase a false, 5-star recommendation placed on one of the world’s leading review websites, Trustpilot. The BBC programme also uncovered on-line forums and closed groups where Amazon shoppers are offered full refunds in exchange for product reviews. Both Trustpilot and Amazon have stated that they do not tolerate false reviews.
Genuine Teaching Reviews
At Everything Dinosaur, we know how many customers rely on the information contained within testimonials and reviews before opting to either make a purchase or to use the company’s services. Every single review either posted onto our website, or on our Feefo account and shown on our website, or a dinosaur workshop review posted up here on this site, is genuine. We have never indulged in such practices, trying to mislead potential customers by purchasing fake reviews.
Everything Dinosaur has never purchased Facebook “likes”, Google reviews or undertaken any form of unscrupulous practice in a bid to boost our profile and ratings. We pride ourselves in being an honest and ethical team that does all it can to help and support our customers.
The Latest Dinosaur Workshop Reviews – All Genuine from Teachers and Teaching Assistants Who Have Witnessed our Work
Five stars for Everything Dinosaur! Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Let our Service and Products Speak for Themselves
Currently, at the time of writing, Everything Dinosaur has 489 verified Feefo reviews posted up onto its main website: Everything Dinosaur in addition, we have over 1,685 comments and reviews posted by customers on this website too, a total of over 2,170, genuine customer reviews and comments. We have a 5-star rating with Feefo and have earned the prestigious Gold Trusted Service Award from that company.
Genuine Reviews from Real People
Everything Dinosaur 5-stars on Feefo. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Our thanks to all those educationalists who posted up helpful and informative teaching reviews.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur stated:
“Feedback, customer comments and reviews are very important to us. We use this information to help improve our customer service and the various workshops that we deliver in schools. We do all we can to help our customers and the schools that we work with and we are immensely proud of our consistently high ratings for customer satisfaction and service. Our reviews, just like our company can be trusted.”
