All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
24 09, 2014

Feedback after Working with EYFS (Reception)

By |2023-03-16T15:12:20+00:00September 24th, 2014|Educational Activities, Teaching|0 Comments

A Tactile Dinosaur Themed Session Helping to Develop Vocabulary

Everything Dinosaur’s team members are busy with the teaching and other outreach commitments as the autumn term progresses.  Yesterday, Everything Dinosaur was working with a primary school in Merseyside, the aim being to help with the term topic (dinosaurs) by providing an interactive and tactile dinosaur and fossil themed workshop.

Dinosaur Workshop

Could we answer the question of the day – Were some dinosaurs huge?

One of the objectives that was set in the short briefing with the teaching team prior to the first session was to focus on helping to develop vocabulary and to give the children the opportunity to develop a wider range of describing words.

Feedback form from Reception Teacher

Feedback from Primary School (EYFS).

Feedback from Primary School (EYFS).  Feedback about Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Working with children, some of whom do not have English as a first language and who have only just started school, can be quite a challenge.  However, guided by their enthusiastic teachers the children had been undertaking all sorts of exciting exercises and activities to do with dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals.  It seems from the feedback received that Everything Dinosaur had indeed, achieved the learning objectives.

We suggested a couple of extension activities as a follow up to some of the work undertaken in the actual dinosaur themed workshop and we look forward to hearing how the children fared as they explore all things dinosaur!

To learn more about Everything Dinosaur’s dinosaur and prehistoric animal toys and games: Everything Dinosaur’s Toys and Gifts.

23 09, 2014

Everything Dinosaur on Social Media

By |2023-03-16T15:09:04+00:00September 23rd, 2014|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates|0 Comments

Social Media and Dinosaurs

Today, is the official first day of autumn in the United Kingdom.  Although our team members spend most of their waking hours discussing the concept of “deep time”, this year seems to have simply whizzed by.  Soon it will be Christmas (just ninety-two days to Christmas, or so we have been reliable informed).  Therefore it is a good time to reflect on our social media targets that were set at the beginning of the year.  On January 8th 2014, Everything Dinosaur staff set out a list of objectives with regards to the company’s social media activities, this list was updated and reviewed again in June.

To view the original article: Our Social Media Plans.

To see the June review: Social Media Performance Review.

Social media can be used for many purposes, we like to pass on helpful tips and advice to our customers.  We also like to post up articles about new dinosaur and fossil discoveries, museum exhibitions, competitions that we run, support schools and teachers and generally engage in two-way communication with our many friends and supporters across the world.  Our team members set targets at the start of the year, let’s see how we are doing.

Facebook

This is our favourite platform, although Twitter is catching up fast.  Thanks to all those people who have entered our competitions and sent us various drawings and pictures, we have enjoyed seeing these items as they have been posted up onto our Facebook wall.  In terms of “likes” we had a target of 1,200 by the end of 2014, so far we have over 1,265 “likes”.  We are grateful to everyone who has liked our page.  Should we set a new target, how about an additional 100 “likes” by the end of the year?

New target = 1,380 “likes”

You can help us, by visiting Everything Dinosaur on Facebook (click the Facebook  logo below) and “like” the Everything Dinosaur page.

Everything Dinosaur on Facebook

Click the logo to visit our Facebook page and to give our page a "like".

Click the logo to visit our Facebook page and to give our page a “like”.

Twitter

We love the immediacy of Twitter and we have really enjoyed “Tweeting” to our many friends and fans.  It has been great to correspond with so many helpful, intelligent people and to swap ideas and updates.

Back in January we had the following targets:

  • Tweets: 2,000
  • Followers 250
  • Following 300

So far we have tweeted 1,670 times and we have 255 followers and we are following 278, not many but not too bad considering all the work we do in schools and our other activities.

Pinterest

Everything Dinosaur set the following targets for Pinterest at the beginning of 2014 (revised targets from June in brackets)

  1. 3,000 pins (4,000)
  2. Dinosaur party board
  3. 500 following
  4. 250 followers

As of this week, our Pinterest figures look like this – 4,639 pins with 130 pins on our Dinosaur Party board with a further 143 pins on our commercial board “dinosaur themed gifts”, 570 followers and 495 following.  Everything Dinosaur has already surpassed a number of Pinterest targets for the year, perhaps a total of 5,200 pins by the end of December?

Check out Everything Dinosaur on Pinterest: Everything Dinosaur on Pinterest.

Everything Dinosaur’s Blog

Our web log (this site) is quite big, we are on target to have 2,800 articles on line by the end of the year, we should really post up on our social media platforms that we have passed 2,750 so far.  We try to put up an article, a news story or feature every single day of the year.  We set ourselves an additional target of 1,125 verified comments by the end of 2014, so far we have logged over 1,080, perhaps over the next few months we can achieve our comments target.  In addition, we have also spring cleaned (if that is the right term) our blog site, we have added a site map put up those blog articles that were lost when we upgraded systems and made sure that the archive was up to date.  Not too bad then.

YouTube

Our video reviews have proved to be very popular, we are very appreciative of all the kind words and positive comments that we have received.  We wanted to upload a number of video reviews of new models this year, we have still got a few to do but we have 90 videos on line at the moment.  We set a target of 800,000 video reviews by the end of the year, it looks like that target is going to be exceeded as we have got 797,000 video views to date, perhaps we should set a new target of 900,000 by December 31st 2014.  Our subscriber numbers continue to increase we have over 1,030 at the moment.

We are truly grateful for all the comments, suggestions, feedback, unboxing videos, likes that we receive etc..  We can’t stress enough how important they are to us.

Visit Everything Dinosaur on YouTube: Everything Dinosaur’s YouTube Channel.

In addition to all our social media activities, we have been able over the last month or so, to establish a bespoke website aimed at helping teachers, learning support providers and homeschoolers teach about dinosaurs and fossils.  This new site contains lots of free resources to help this teaching work, as well as articles, features and advice from other teaching professionals.  Thanks to the support that we receive on our social media platforms we have been able to introduce this new website.

New Dinosaurs for Schools Teaching Website has been Launched

Teaching tips, articles, resources and free downloads.

Teaching tips, articles, resources and free downloads.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

 To visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Visit Everything Dinosaur.

Our thanks to everyone who has helped us on our journey.

22 09, 2014

Safari Ltd Announce New Models for 2015

By |2023-03-16T15:05:10+00:00September 22nd, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Everything Dinosaur Products, Press Releases|7 Comments

Safari Ltd – New Prehistoric Animal Models for 2015

Safari Ltd have provided Everything Dinosaur with information in regards to this company’s new prehistoric animal models scheduled for release in 2015.  As with the trend in recent years, the number of Wild Safari Dinos introductions outnumbers those in the Carnegie Collectibles, scale model range.  One new addition is being added to the Carnegie Collectibles series, a model of a feathered Velociraptor.

Feathered Velociraptor from Safari Ltd

Available from Everything Dinosaur in 2015.

Available from Everything Dinosaur in 2015, new Safari Ltd dinosaur models.

Estimated to be in approximately 1:50 scale the Velociraptor model measures a little over 19 cm in length and the model is a fraction under 8 cm tall.

New Dinosaur Models

The other prehistoric animal models that are due out next year are all part of the not-to-scale Wild Safari Dinos model range.  The introductions consist of a feathered Yutyrannus, the horned dinosaur Nasutoceratops, an Archaeopteryx figure and a model of the armoured dinosaur known as Sauropelta.

The Feathered Yutyrannus Dinosaur Model

Available from Everything Dinosaur in 2015.

Available from Everything Dinosaur in 2015.

The Yutyrannus model measures 20 cm long and is about the same height as the Velociraptor figure discussed earlier, just under 8 cm tall.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s article about the discovery of this “Chinese Feathered Tyrant”: One Tonne Basal Tyrannosaurid.

The Wild Safari Dinos Nasutoceratops

Available from Everything Dinosaur in 2015.

Available from Everything Dinosaur in 2015.

A beautifully crafted figure that keeps up the company’s proud tradition of introducing  at least one horned dinosaur model each year.  The Nasutoceratops measures 17 cm in length and stands 6 cm high.  To read Everything Dinosaur’s article on the discovery of “large nose, horned face”: Nasutoceratops Article.

Archaeopteryx Model

Next, we have a replica of Archaeopteryx, a replica painted to reflect some of the latest scientific thinking about “ancient wing” or Urvogel, as the Germans like to call it.  The model is quite large, it is just under 10 cm high and the wing span is around 10 cm too.  What a fantastic model it is.

Wild Safari Dinos Archaeopteryx Model due out in 2015

Due to land at Everything Dinosaur next year.

Due to land at Everything Dinosaur next year.

Last but not least, is the wonderful replica of Sauropelta.  At Everything Dinosaur we just love our armoured dinosaurs and we look forward to receiving this model into our range early in 2015.

Armoured Sauropelta from Safari Ltd

Available from Everything Dinosaur in early 2015

Available from Everything Dinosaur in early 2015.

At Everything Dinosaur, we supply Safari Ltd models with our own prehistoric animal themed information sheet.  Scale drawings have already been commissioned for all these models, just to whet your appetites, here is the finished drawing of the basal tyrannosaurid Yutyrannus.

Yutyrannus Drawing from Everything Dinosaur

Dinosaur drawing (Yutyrannus)

Dinosaur drawing (Yutyrannus).

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To see the range of Safari Ltd prehistoric animal models available from Everything Dinosaur: Safari Ltd. Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

21 09, 2014

“Big Nose” Dinosaur – New Hadrosaur Species Described

By |2023-03-16T15:02:23+00:00September 21st, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page|0 Comments

Rhinorex condrupus – “King of the Dinosaur Noses”

A team of researchers from Brigham Young Museum of Palaeontology and North Carolina State University (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences) have described a new type of duck-billed dinosaur, one with an enormous “conk”.   Duck-billed dinosaurs are well-known for sporting elaborate crests, even combs after recent research into the Edmontosaurus genus, but roaming the estuarine habitat of Utah around 75 million years ago was Rhinorex, a duck-billed dinosaur whose genus name translates as “Nose King”.

The “Nose King”

An Illustration of Rhinorex (R. condrupus)

"King nose" is surprised by a Cretaceous crocodilian.

“King Nose” is surprised by a Cretaceous crocodilian.

Picture credit: Julius Csotonyi

Terry Gates, a post-doctoral researcher with North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University, collaborated with Rodney Scheetz (Brigham Young), to analyse the skull of a specimen that had been excavated from the Book Cliffs area of east-central Utah in the 1990s.  This strata forms part of the Neslen Formation which consists of a series of sedimentary layers of rock representing both marine and terrestrial environments.

Rhinorex condrupus

The specimen had been studied as associated with the fossil skull bones, were some very well preserved skin impressions.  However, it was only when the scientists constructed the skull that they realised they had a new species on their hands.

Commenting on their findings, which are reported in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, Terry Gates stated:

“We had almost the entire skull, which was wonderful, but the preparation was very difficult.  It took two years to dig the fossil out of the sandstone it was embedded in.  It was like digging a dinosaur skull out of a concrete driveway.”

Incomplete Skeleton

Although the skeleton is far from complete, unique morphologies of the skull indicate that this is a new species of duck-billed dinosaur,  a member of the Hadrosauridae family.  The dinosaur has been named Rhinorex condrupus.  The name translates as “king nose buried in the cliffs”, the genus name makes reference to the unique shape of the nasal bones and premaxilla.  These bones indicate that this plant-eating dinosaur had a large, fleshy nose.

Whilst it is difficult to estimate the exact size of this dinosaur from the fossil bones that have been collected, comparisons with the closely related Gryposaurus and Kritosaurus give a maximum length of around nine metres, with a body weight in excess of three tonnes.  The sandstone sediments represent a low lying, swampy, estuarine environment and to date, Rhinorex is the only substantial hadrosaur fossil known from this locality.

Terry Gates explained:

“We have found other hadrosaurs from the same time period [Campanian faunal stage] but located about two hundred miles further south.  They may have been adapted to a different environment.  This discovery gives us a geographic snapshot of the Cretaceous and helps us to place contemporary species in their correct time and place.”

In essence, “King Nose” helps to fill a gap in the hadrosaurid family tree.

Hadrosaur Diversity

Many different types of duck-billed dinosaur existed during the later years of the Cretaceous, scientists have found fossils of hadrosaurids in almost all the Upper Cretaceous fossil bearing terrestrial formations in western North America.  Although the vast majority of these fossils are far from complete, they suggest that the varied Hadrosauridae family evolved as each genus occupied a relatively small geographical area.

The Reconstructed Skull of R. condrupus

The line drawing shows the reconstructed skull from the fossil bones (scale bar 5cm).

The line drawing shows the reconstructed skull from the fossil bones (scale bar 10cm).

Image credit: Journal of Systematic Palaeontology

The line drawing (A) is labelled with the autapomorphies (unique characters or traits) that distinguish this dinosaur as a new genus, namely the hook-like structure (nap) nasal anteroventral process and the expansion of bone located posteroventrally on the premaxilla (ppd).

Why Such a Big Nose?

The large and fleshy snout remains a bit of a puzzle.  It may not be related to an enhanced sense of smell.

Post-doctoral student Terry postulated:

“The purpose of such a big nose is still a mystery.  If this dinosaur is anything like its relatives then it likely did not have a super sense of smell, but maybe the nose was used as a means of attracting mates, inter-herd recognition or perhaps it supported a large plant-smashing beak.  We are already sniffing out answers to these questions.”

It certainly would have looked a little odd with its enlarged naris.  However, when you consider the weird and wonderful saurolophines, Parasaurolophus with its enormous, backward sweeping head crest, Edmontosaurus regalis with a fleshy comb on its head and Tsintaosaurus which may have superficially resembled a unicorn, then we think Rhinorex would have fitted right in.

For models and replicas of hadrosaurs and other Late Cretaceous prehistoric animals: PNSO Museum Quality Age of Dinosaurs Figures.

20 09, 2014

A Dinosaur Egg Hunt

By |2023-03-16T14:58:07+00:00September 20th, 2014|Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on A Dinosaur Egg Hunt

Key Stage 1 Learn All About Dinosaurs

Pupils at St. Joseph and St. Bede R. C. Primary were certainly very enthusiastic as they explored dinosaurs and fossils with Everything Dinosaur.  The day was spent working with Key Stage 1 learning about fossils, what they are, how they feel and what they can tell us about animals and plants that lived in the past.  There was certainly a lot to see and do.  Indeed,  there were some amazing questions as well, hopefully we managed to get them all answered.   Mrs Ellison (class teacher), commented that one of children in her class had exclaimed as they returned to the classroom:

“That was awesome!  Everything Dinosaur let me touch and hold real fossils”.

Learn All About Dinosaurs

One of the things that we explained to Mrs Myerscough’s class (Year 2), was that dinosaurs hatched from eggs.  There is lots of fossil evidence to suggest that some dinosaurs were actually very caring and dedicated parents.  Dinosaurs made nests and even brooded their eggs to help keep them safe.  Once the babies had hatched, many different types of dinosaurs (even the fat ones Archie), took great care of their offspring, looking after them and bringing food to them whilst they stayed in the nests.  Fossil record evidence suggests that many dinosaurs looked after their offspring just as well as many types of birds do today.

A Feathered Dinosaur Protects One of its Brood

A feathered ornithomimid dinosaur.

Mums and Dads with wings in the Ornithomimidae.

Picture Credit: Julius Csotonyi

We Have Lost Some Eggs

Trouble is, with so many fossils and other things to transport to and from the school, we seem to have lost some dinosaur eggs.  It had been our intention to show the children in Miss Lowe’s class the dinosaur eggs.  We wanted to explain to Mrs Ellison’s pupils what a dinosaur nest might have looked like. We were hoping that the children in Mrs Myerscough’s class would have been able to handle the eggs and compare them to the fossils, but now our eggs seem to have disappeared…

The person in charge of Everything Dinosaur, “Tyrannosaurus Sue” said:

“Oh dear, we are all very worried about our missing eggs, I have asked all the team members in the company to search for them in our warehouse.  I suppose you could say that I have sent them all off on a dinosaur egg hunt.  So far we have not been able to find them, I do hope our dinosaur eggs are going to be OK and that they are being looked after.”

Are the Missing Dinosaur Eggs with our Fossil Dinosaur Eggs?

Paper mache dinosaur eggs.

Dinosaur eggs made from a balloon covered in paper mache.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Hope to Find the Eggs Soon

Hopefully, we will be able to find the dinosaur eggs soon.

To view the extensive range of educational, dinosaur themed items available from Everything Dinosaur: Everything Dinosaur – Dinosaur Toys and Gifts.

20 09, 2014

Autumn Edition of Prehistoric Times

By |2023-03-16T14:55:14+00:00September 20th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Magazine Reviews|0 Comments

Issue 111 (Autumn 2014) on its Way

The front cover of the next edition of Prehistoric Times depicts a dramatic scene.  A flock of Dromaeosaurs are attacking and over powering an ornithopod.  We suspect that this is an interpretation of a fossil site whereby the carcases of a number of ferocious dinosaurs called Deinonychus were found in close proximity to the body of a much larger, herbivorous Tenontosaurus.  The scene was created by the highly talented Julius Csotonyi (interview with him in this magazine), it shows a group of Utahraptors overpowering a Hippodraco.  It is a digital painting created in 2013.

Prehistoric Times

Front Cover of Prehistoric Times (Autumn 2014)

Prehistoric Times magazine.

Prehistoric Times magazine.

Picture credit: Mike Fredericks

To read more about Prehistoric Times and to subscribe: Prehistoric Times Magazine.

What a dramatic and beautifully crafted scene depicted on the front cover of the autumn edition.  We note also that the film “Dinosaur 13” will be discussed, we look forward to reading this article, after all, we had a small role in the pre-publicity with regards to this movie that hit selected cinema screens in August.  There is also an interview with the very talented Julius Csotonyi.

Team members at Everything Dinosaur had the great honour of reviewing Julius’s latest book earlier this year “The Palaeoart of Julius Csotonyi” and what an excellent publication it is to.  On the subject of excellent publications, we are really looking forward to the next edition of Prehistoric Times.

19 09, 2014

Key Stage 1 Pupils Learn about Dinosaurs and Fossils

By |2023-03-16T14:53:26+00:00September 19th, 2014|Educational Activities, Teaching|0 Comments

Primary School Pupils Explore the Dinosauria

Another busy day for Everything Dinosaur team members with a primary school visit.  Children at St. Joseph and St. Bede R. C. Primary had a great time exploring fossils and learning all animals and plants that lived in the past.  As part of our teaching work we looked at the work of a palaeontologist, examined the differences and the similarities between plants today and those preserved as fossils.  The pupils looked at plant-eaters and meat-eaters, well done to Tilly for knowing what a herbivore ate.

Dinosaurs and Fossils

Our team member even met a student called Maia and we explained all about the dinosaur called Maiasaura (Good Mother Lizard).

To read more about the dinosaur called Maiasaura: Maiasaura – Mothers Day and Marsh.

 The Teaching Team Prepared A Slide Show of the Activities

Slideshow credit: St. Joseph and St. Bede Primary School

 We did have some dinosaur eggs, but we are not sure where they have gone.  Could we have left them at the school?

Lots of extension activities have come out of the visit, we look forward to hearing more about how the school children have been learning to work scientifically.

For more information about Everything Dinosaur’s extensive dinosaur and prehistoric animal themed product range: Visit Everything Dinosaur.

18 09, 2014

Tropical North Wales – 300 Million Years Ago

By |2023-06-12T17:56:25+01:00September 18th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Educational Activities|0 Comments

Photographs of the Brymbo Steelworks Fossils

We were emailed today by the mum of one keen young palaeontologist who wanted to know all about Petrolacosaurus (pet-ro-lak-co-saw-rus).  Our team member explained that this primitive reptile was not a dinosaur, although it was very distantly related to them.  Petrolacosaurus lived at the very end of a geological period called the Carboniferous, at a little over forty centimetres in length, most of that tail, it was not the biggest reptile known from the fossil record – but its fossils are exceedingly important.  It looked like a lizard and it scurried through the extensive tropical forests that dominated the world at that time in Earth’s history.

Petrolacosaurus

By the early Permian, Petrolacosaurus was extinct, it remains one of the earliest reptiles known, part of a rapidly diverging group, that unlike amphibians evolved amniotic eggs.

One of the Earliest Reptiles – Petrolacosaurus (P.kansensis)

Petrolacosaurus kansensis

Petrolacosaurus kansensis.

Picture credit: BBC

Amniotes

Amniotic eggs have a semi-permeable shell that protects the embryo from drying out.  A tough, internal membrane called the amnion surrounds the growing embryo as well as the yolk, the food source.  Development of the embryo in a shelled egg meant that for the first time in history, the tetrapods were no longer tied to water to breed.  We as mammals are amniotes, along with the birds and reptiles.

The Amniote Egg – Great Breakthrough for the Tetrapods

The growing embryo is protected by a semi-permeable egg shell.

The growing embryo is protected by a semi-permeable egg shell.

Fossils of the rare and exotic Petrolacosaurus come from faraway Kansas, other primitive reptiles are known from a site in Nova Scotia (more about Nova Scotia later), but did you know that in an abandoned steelworks, just north of Wrexham (North Wales), a team of dedicated researchers and volunteers are busy preserving the fossilised remains of a Carboniferous habitat?

Important Fossil Discovery

It is not all that often that we get to talk about globally significant scientific sites virtually on our doorstep, but that’s exactly what the “fossil forest” preserved at an abandoned steelworks at Brymbo is and we are delighted to hear that plans are being considered to develop this location, perhaps leading to a visitor centre to explain all about the local industry and the fossils to be found nearby.  The Brymbo steelworks site preserves a forest and swamp environment from the Late Carboniferous, a time when the first reptiles scurried around hunting for insects and from time to time becoming prey themselves.

Top predators of the Late Carboniferous included spiders the size of dinner plates and three-metre-long amphibians.  Although, no reptile fossils have been discovered to date, this location is just one of a handful of such sites around the world and it is likely to significantly improve our understanding of the palaeoecology of the Late Carboniferous of Europe.

 Some of the Hundreds of Plant Fossils Collected at Brymbo

Ancient fossil uncovered at North Wales steel works.

Ancient fossil uncovered at North Wales steel works.

Picture credit: Rachel Mason

Tropical North Wales

The first fossils were discovered in 2005, when coal was being extracted from part of the Brymbo site. Everything Dinosaur team members wrote an article about the discoveries in 2009, when some of the fossil finds went on display to the public:

To read the article: Fossilised Plant Remains Go on Display.

The forest that existed 300 million years ago in North Wales was part of an extensive ecosystem that stretched across Europe and North America.  The vast amount of peat that was formed as the plant remains became buried was, eventually, over time, turned into coal. This coal was to fuel the Industrial Revolution, so it could be argued that the 300-million-year-old forest gave rise to the steelworks.  The forest would not have looked like any modern-day forest environment.

Giant Lycopsids adn Huge Sphenopsids

Giant forty-metre-high Lycopsids (club mosses dominated), along with huge Sphenopsids (horsetails) called Calamites.  Nowhere else in Britain have Calamites fossils been found in such quantities.   Many other types of plant are known from this site, including the now extinct seed ferns (Pteridosperms) and the true fern Syndneia, which was previously known just from one site in Canada.

Giant Lycopsid fossils found

Giant lycopsid fossils found.

Picture credit: Rachel Mason

Plants are very rarely preserved as whole fossils, but normally occur as isolated individual parts, such as leaves, stems, cones and roots.  As these different parts of plants are found separately in the fossil record, they tend to be given their own individual binomial name.  The roots system of lycopsids such as the huge Lepidodendron, had a branching structure and these root systems are often preserved along with the Knorria (the name for the base of the trunk).  The term Lepidodendron, although used to describe the entire plant is actually the term that refers specifically to the upper part of the plant and its branches.

More Fossils from Brymbo (we suspect Stigmaria)

Preserved elements of the roots (we think) of a Lycopsid.

Preserved elements of the roots (we think) of a lycopsid.

Picture credit: Rachel Mason

Now Back to Nova Scotia

We mentioned earlier primitive reptile fossils from Nova Scotia.  Important information about life on Earth around 310 million years ago has been gained from studies of the coal deposits and the fossils they contain from Joggins in Nova Scotia.  The fossils in theses coal measures represent an ecosystem that is probably a few million years older than the one represented by Brymbo.

The Joggins site preserves numerous tree-sized stumps just as at Brymbo.  However, the fossilised remains of many different types of vertebrate (early tetrapods) have been found inside the sediment associated with these hollowed out tree stumps.  It has been suggested that the hollow trunks of Lepidodendron plants became natural traps for many creatures, which has preserved evidence of the vertebrate fauna associated with these ancient forests and swamps.

No terrestrial vertebrate fossils have been found to date (as far as we know), from the Brymbo site, but importantly, Brymbo is a sheltered, inland location.  Yes, it has the vagaries of the Welsh weather to contend with, however, the Coal Measures at Joggins are on the coast and this site is subjected to much harsher weather, frequent cliff falls and significant amounts of erosion.

In terms of its importance to geology and palaeontology, the Brymbo site with its plant, invertebrate and trace fossils, may turn out to be one of the most important fossil sites in the whole of Europe.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur.

17 09, 2014

North West Science Alliance Wins Award

By |2023-03-16T14:45:04+00:00September 17th, 2014|General Teaching|Comments Off on North West Science Alliance Wins Award

Certificate of Achievement for North West Science Alliance

The efforts of the North West Science Alliance  in helping to advance the general public’s understanding of science was recognised earlier this week with the award of a Certificate of Achievement.  The award given by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), was presented to Lorelly Wilson, the Chairperson of the Science Alliance.  There are a great many dedicated members of the scientific community who give freely of their time to help educate and inform.  The award was presented by “Dinosaur Mike”, of Everything Dinosaur.

North West Science Alliance

North West Science Alliance Wins Award

North West Science Alliance wins award.

Lorelly Wilson accepts award.

The North-West branch of the British Science Association is involved in many educational projects, including science festivals, workshops, SciBars (a science event held in a pub) and other hands-on, practical activities.

Everything Dinosaur

Mike Walley a team member of Everything Dinosaur, a company which has been involved in a substantial amount of out-reach to help inform the general public about advances in the Earth Sciences presented the award at a special meeting held at the headquarters of BASF.

Commenting on the award, Mike stated:

“It was a great pleasure to present this award to the hard-working members of the North West Science Alliance.  We applaud their work in the community and we look forward to hearing about their plans for 2015 and beyond.”

To visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Visit Everything Dinosaur’s Website.

17 09, 2014

Congratulations to the North-West Science Alliance

By |2023-03-16T14:43:19+00:00September 17th, 2014|Educational Activities, Press Releases|0 Comments

Certificate of Achievement for the North-West Science Alliance

Within the scientific community there are a great many hard-working, dedicated people who give up their free time to advance the general public’s understanding of science.  The North-West branch of the British Science Association is a typically vibrant team who work tirelessly to help inform, inspire and educate.

North-West Science Alliance

Amongst the many successes of this dedicated community that provides speakers, organises science festivals, SciBars (a science presentation in a pub), workshops and other hands-on events, there is the North-West Science Alliance (NWSA). This long-standing organisation has acted as a facilitator bringing together the public, science industries, schools, colleges and universities and fosters co-operation between these diverse bodies.

Lorelly Wilson, as Chairperson of the NWSA and the Chair/Secretary of the North-West branch of the British Science Association has done more than most to advance the general public’s understanding of science and to promote careers in science to students.  Her work was recognised when the NWSA was nominated for an award as part of Adult Learners’ Week organised by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE).  Yesterday evening, a team member of Everything Dinosaur was asked to present a Certificate of Achievement to Lorelly in recognition of her hard work.

Certificate of Achievement to the North-West Science Alliance

Lorelly Wilson accepts award.

Lorelly Wilson accepts award.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

One of the great things about our work is that we get to meet some amazing and talented people.  We were delighted to be able to present this award, the North-West Science Alliance had some stiff competition, more than fifteen hundred nominations were put forward and we at Everything Dinosaur were very pleased to hear of their success and to celebrate this achievement with them.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Visit Everything Dinosaur.

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