Make Your Own Dinosaur
Chuck Johnson, left, of Raleigh, N.C. and his friend, John
Price, with the dinosaur Chuck and his mother made.
Chuck Johnson, age 8, became interested in
dinosaurs when he was 4 years old.
His mom took him to the library where a librar
ian helped him learn how to pronounce the
names.
His mom also took him to see a college professor
who told him a lot more about the subject.
Chuck is like a lot of dinosaur lovers. He likes
to read about, talk about, draw, collect and even
make them.
Here's how he and his mom made the tsronto
saurus you see above.
1. Make a chicken wire frame. You'll need wire
cutters to get the right shape.
2. Cover the model with newspaper taped on
with masking tape.
3. Now cover the model with strips of news
paper dipped in paste. (To make the paste, mix
flour with water until you have a thick, soup-like
mixture). Let it dry thoroughly.
4. Paint it with poster paint.
5. Put on a coat of clear shellac.
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Fop Parents nTeacbers
To Keep You Posted: Pages 1 and 4, when displayed
side-by-side, make an ideal poster for home or classroom.
Page 1: Background: The largest dinosaur-like animals
alive today are huge lizards, called the "Dragons of
Komodo." They can be found on the island of Komodo and
several other small islands of Indonesia. Some can grow
to be as long as 10 feet. They hunt other animals during
the daytime and hide in caves at night.
Dinosaurs and lizards are reptiles. Reptiles have back
bones or hornv Dlates or scales. They are cold-blooded.
However, some scientists say that dinosaurs were warm
blooded, but they don't know for certain. People are warm
blooded. Their temperature stays the same, unless they
are sick. Cold-blooded animals, such as snakes and turtles,
have body temperatures that are the same as that of the
air around them.
Memory game: Ask the children to study the page. Cover
up one of the dinosaurs and see if they can tell you which
one is missing.
Page 4: Dinosaur Quiz: Ask the children to read over
the questions and answers. Then ask them the questions
to check their comprehension.
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A Dinosaur Quiz
The Washington, D.C., Diplodocus ? This skeleton was
found in 1923 at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.
It is on display in the Hall of Dinosaurs in the National
Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.
Q. What is a Diplodocus?
A. A Diplodocus (dip LAH-do-kus) was a dinosaur that
looked much like the Brontosaurus, except that it was
longer (one measured 87 feet). The Diplodocus was a plant
eater that spent a lot of time in water. It had nostrils on
the top of its head so it could breathe easily while under
water. Its teeth were weak and only as big around as a
pencil!
Q. How many different kinds of dinosaurs were
there?
A. About 5,000. They did not all live at the same time.
Some would die out and another kind would come into
existence.
Q. Were all dinosaurs big, slow and fierce?
A. No. Some were as small as chickens or dogs. Some
moved slowly. Others were swift. Some were gentle.
Others were fierce.
Were dinosaurs unsuccessful animals/
A. No. They were very successful. Dinosaurs lived on
earth about 100 million years. Man has lived on earth for
only about a half-million years.
Q. What is a paleontologist (PA-le-on-TOL-a-jist)?
A. A person who studies about animal fossils.
Q. What happened to dinosaurs?
A. No one really knows. They probably disappeared over
a 5-million-year period. Scientists do know that the
temperature became cooler. They also know there was a
change in the land's shape and the earth lost many of its
swamDV Dlaces.
The Houston
| Diplodocus? The
* Museum of Natural
j Science in Houston,
* Texas, houses the
| first big dinosaur
s skeleton to be built
2
s- in over 45 years. It
costs a lot of money
to do this.
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