All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
Everything Dinosaur’s work with schools and other educational bodies. Articles, features and stories about dinosaurs and their role in education and educating young people.
A team member from Everything Dinosaur marvelled at a display featuring a pair of Homo erectus model skulls on display at a school. A visit to Painsley Catholic College back in 2018, provided us with the opportunity to photograph the clay models. The science and art departments had collaborated to create a beautiful exhibit that documented human evolution. Many different hominin species were illustrated. Our personal favourites were the pair of Homo erectus skulls.
The teachers at Painsley Catholic College had built a display of ancient hominins using replicas of stone tools and carefully constructed clay skulls. The image shows a pair of Homo erectus skulls. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur praised the teaching staff at the time for creating such an informative display.
In 2015, Everything Dinosaur team members visited Wren’s Nest. This is a nature reserve and SSSI (Special Site of Scientific Interest). The exposed strata dates from the Silurian and it is full of fossils including the occasional trilobite. Whilst exploring this location, a photograph was taken of a trilobite tribute. A plaque honouring the “Dudley bug” (Calymene blumenbachii).
A trilobite plaque at the Wren’s nest SSSI (Dudley, West Midlands). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Remembering the Trilobite
The Trilobita were remarkably abundant and diverse during the Palaeozoic. These ancient marine arthropods originated in the Cambrian. The last of their kind are believed to have become extinct at the end of the Permian.
The abundant fossils to be found at the Wren’s Nest nature reserve represent life on a Silurian reef approximately 420 million years ago. Team members have visited Wren’s Nest several times. This location was designated Britain’s first National Nature Reserve for geology (1956).
The motif is an inscription it reads:
“Scour the ground for geological litter my feet drenched in an ancient sea.”
Everything Dinosaur team members have prepared some images of CollectA invertebrate models including the CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular trilobite model (Redlichia rex). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The picture (above) shows a CollectA trilobite model.
Over 700 different types of fossil are known from Wren’s Nest. Over eighty are unique to this location and found nowhere else on the planet.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“Wren’s Nest is a geological gem. We recommend a visit, especially in the early summer months prior to the school holidays. In the height of summer this location can get extremely busy and there is limited nearby parking”
A fabulous dinosaur artwork created from drawings of children’s hands was spotted during a visit to a school to conduct a dinosaur and fossil workshop. The colourful dinosaur complete with big eyes and a pointed tail was on display outside a classroom.
A “handy” way to create a prehistoric animal in the classroom. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Dinosaur Artwork
During our many visits to schools we have seen numerous examples of dinosaur inspired artwork. This particular piece caught our eye, as its design meant that every child in the class has had the opportunity to participate. Drawings of the children’s hands made up the dinosaur’s body. In the bright and spacious classroom, the children had built prehistoric animal dioramas using shoe boxes to house their dinosaur models.
The Everything Dinosaur website is user-friendly and so easy to navigate. It is jam-packed with lots of prehistoric animal themed gifts and toys. There are drawing activity sets too. Perhaps you will be inspired to create your own dinosaur artwork.
Team members at Everything Dinosaur spotted some colourful dinosaur eggs in a carefully constructed nest on a visit to a Cheshire primary school. Whilst reviewing some teaching work from early 2018, we found a picture of the beautiful dinosaur eggs.
Some beautiful and very colour dinosaur eggs spotted at Little Leigh primary school (Cheshire). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Dinosaur Eggs
The photograph of the dinosaur nest was taken on a visit to Little Leigh primary in Cheshire. Everything Dinosaur had been invited into the school to deliver a workshop to Year 1 children who were learning about dinosaurs. The dedicated teaching team created the eggs, and the children were asked about what materials could go into the nest to keep the eggs safe. This exercise was a great way for the pupils to explore the properties of materials. In addition, to learning about dinosaur eggs, the pupils had the opportunity to examine different nesting materials.
A spokesperson from the UK-based mail order company commented that they remembered the school visit. The spacious Year 1 classrooms were filled with lots of examples of the children’s work. One of the teachers had constructed a small dinosaur museum in a corner of the room.
A dinosaur museum spotted at a school. Picture credit: Little Leigh Primary/Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Little Leigh Primary/Everything Dinosaur
The spokesperson added:
“The children were very enthusiastic, and they wanted to give us a tour of their classroom. We enjoyed visiting the dinosaur museum. However, we had to cut our visit short, we had a dinosaur and fossil workshop to deliver.”
Afterwards we chatted to the teaching team. They thanked us for the visit, and we congratulated them on their excellent scheme of work.
Team members were going through their image archive when they came across a beautiful dinosaur letter. The letter had been sent into Everything Dinosaur by a girl called Emma. Emma was a pupil at Streethouse Primary school when Everything Dinosaur visited in November 2017.
Team members were invited into the school to work with the Key Stage 2 class for a morning. The workshop provided a provocation for the term topic. Over the course of the morning, we challenged the children to have a go at a variety of extension activities.
A Dinosaur Letter
Cursive writing on display from Year 5/6.
Picture credit: Emma from Streethouse Primary School
We remember visiting the school back in 2017. It was a pleasure to meet such enthusiastic pupils.
In Emma’s letter she thanked Everything Dinosaur for the school visit and stated:
“You made me more confident in answering questions.”
A fossilised trilobite track has been recreated for an exhibit highlighting Palaeozoic life. The trace fossil with an accompanying trilobite model can be seen at the Liverpool World Museum.
A model of a trilobite track reconstructed for a museum display. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Trilobite Fossils
Trilobite fossils are ubiquitous. Tens of thousands of specimens can be viewed in museums and museum collections. However, trilobite trace fossils are rare. The Liverpool World Museum exhibit depicts a trilobite walking across the sea floor. A distinctive set of parallel tracks are shown. Trace fossils preserve evidence of the activity of an organism. Most trace fossils provide direct “in situ” evidence of the environment of the prehistoric creature that produced the trace.
A selection of our trilobite fossils from Wales. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Commenting Upon the Trilobite Track
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“The track exhibit provides an opportunity for museum staff to recreate the environment in which some types of trilobite lived. Whilst some trilobites may have been active swimmers (nektonic), others were happy to wander along the sea floor, searching for food. The trace fossil exhibit also gives visitors the opportunity to view models of various trilobites.”
Everything Dinosaur team members have prepared some images of CollectA invertebrate models including the CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular trilobite model (Redlichia rex). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The model shown above is a replica of Redlichia rex a large trilobite known from Cambrian strata. The R. rex figure is part of the invertebrate series produced by CollectA.
A selection of Calymene trilobite fossils on display. Some of the specimens show that these trilobites could roll into a ball to protect themselves. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Trilobite Body Fossils
Fossils are used by scientists to identify the relative age of rock strata. Rocks can be correlated through the examination of the fossils that they contain. Trilobites are important zonal fossils. The trilobite fossils shown (above), are from the Silurian (Wenlock Group, Shropshire). They represent examples of the Calymene genus. Some of the specimens are rolled up into a ball, presumably a defensive behaviour.
The spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur added:
“A trilobite fossil might be one of the first fossils that a young person is given as a gift. It can ignite a passion for nature within them and lead to a lifetime of fossil collecting and learning about prehistoric animals.”
Team members at Everything Dinosaur observed a small Common frog in the office pond this evening. It could be from the frogspawn laid in February. This year (2023), was the first year that frogspawn had been laid in the pond during the month of February. The first batch of frogspawn was produced on February 28th.
In the late evening, a small Common frog was observed in the pond. It was much larger than the froglets that had been seen recently. It could be a frog that is at least twelve months old. Perhaps, it is a well-fed adult that metamorphosed from this year’s spawn.
Can you spot the frog in the picture? The frog could be from a batch of spawn laid in February this year. The species is the Common frog (Rana temporaria). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A Common Frog (Rana temporaria)
Team members have been busy helping to improve the small office pond. Native pond weed was purchased and introduced to help reduce the level of algae and to oxygenate the water. Pebbles have been added to the shallows to permit easier access for birds that want to bathe.
Two different types of pond snail (Great Ramshorn and Great Pond Snail) have been added. These snails Lymnaea stagnalis and Planorbarius corneus respectively, were removed from a local ditch that had recently been cleaned out. With little to eat in the ditch, ten Great Ramshorns were taken along with four Great Pond Snails and added to the office pond. By removing some snails from the ditch, this would help that ecosystem as well as permitting a small population of snails to assist with managing the algae in the office pond.
Invertebrate life is thriving and recently Backswimmers (Notonecta) have repopulated the pond.
All these invertebrates and the abundance of vegetation in and around the shallow pond have made an ideal habitat for frogs.
A close-up view of the frog spotted in the office pond. This could be a frog that emerged from spawn laid in February. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Spotting a Frog
We are not sure whether the small frog we spotted is from this year’s frogspawn. However, if the frogspawn was laid early in the season, then the frogs once they have emerged from the pond, would have a longer growing season. So, it is possible that this year’s frogs would have grown to the size of the one photographed. There is certainly plenty for the frogs to eat and lots of places for them to hide.
Team members will continue to work hard to keep the office pond healthy and its inhabitants happy.
On a visit to the Manchester Museum a team member overheard a grandmother challenging her grandchildren. Her young charges were tasked with counting the fossils in a display cabinet. The cabinet contained various ichthyosaur fossil specimens. Part of the exhibit included marine reptile fossil dung (coprolite). The grandmother asked the children to have a go at counting ichthyosaur coprolites.
Counting ichthyosaur coprolites. A grandmother visiting the Manchester Museum played a counting came with her grandchildren. It involved counting ichthyosaur coprolites. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
The children were enjoying their visit to the Manchester Museum. After the photographs in front of the Tyrannosaurus rex cast (Stan), the grandmother set the counting challenge. We are not sure whether she knew that the display cases contained fossils of marine reptile poo, but the children were undeterred. They eagerly accepted the counting challenge.
Counting games can help young children become more confident. Counting games can help them to develop confidence with numeracy.
The Tyrannosaurus rex cast on display at the Manchester Museum. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“There is lots to see and lots to do at the Manchester Museum. Staff hand out worksheets and encourage children to take part in various activities themed around the exhibits. We have not come across an activity that involved counting ichthyosaur coprolites before. We congratulate the family for their innovation.”
A model of an ichthyosaur. The Ichthyosaurus model (Wild Safari Prehistoric World) ready to take its turn on the Everything Dinosaur turntable. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The image (above) shows a typical replica of an ichthyosaur. This is the Wild Safari Prehistoric World Ichthyosaurus model.
“There is an extensive display of ichthyosaur and other marine reptile fossil material on display. Several of the fossils of ichthyosaurs come from the Dorset coast. We have found some ichthyosaur fossils on the Dorset coast too. We do have ichthyosaur coprolite fossils in our collection. However, we have never played a counting coprolite game unlike the grandchildren.”
Whilst looking through their archive of school photographs, team members spotted a happy Triceratops. The artwork was on one of the gates at Thorpe Hesley Primary. Everything Dinosaur visited this school in May 2017. Children at the school were studying dinosaurs, rocks and fossils. Everything Dinosaur was invited to visit and to provide teaching support.
A friendly dinosaur is featured in the school artwork. A happy Triceratops to greet schoolchildren. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Happy Triceratops Artwork
The very friendly and happy horned dinosaur stands guard at one of the school gates. The Triceratops welcomes the children and visitors. Our congratulations to the artist for creating such a colourful piece of dinosaur-themed art.
Visit the award-winning, user-friendly website of Everything Dinosaur: Everything Dinosaur.
How did our species evolve? What does our evolutionary history tell us about being human? These questions and many more are posed in a fascinating new book edited by a leading researcher at the American Museum of Natural History. Entitled “Humans Perspectives on our Evolution from World Experts”, this new publication provides an insightful analysis into the origins and the future of our species.
Research scientist Sergio Almécija has compiled an eminent list of contributors. These experts, drawn from a variety of academic fields, share their insights on the study of human evolution. Leading figures in palaeontology, primatology, archaeology, genetics and anthropology reflect on some of the most profound questions centred around being human.
The front cover of the recently published book “Humans – Perspectives on our Evolution from World Experts”. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Evolution of Homo sapiens
Sergio Almécija has been fascinated by the multiple narratives surrounding our origins, behaviours and the prospects for our future. He has taken an innovative approach to his subject. A list of questions was compiled and then he contacted leading academics and researchers and recorded their thoughts.
Some of the questions included are:
Which discovery, research study, or book would you highlight as a “game changer” in the way we look at our own evolution? How did it influence your career or life?
If you had a one-shot round trip in a time machine, to which specific time period—past or future—would you go and why?
What will be shaping human evolution in the future? What will humans look like in 100, 100,000, or 1 million years?
How did our species evolve? Why us and not other hominids? What does it mean to be human? A new book examining human evolution with contributions from over a hundred leading academics and experts. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Perspectives on our Evolution
The eminent and accomplished cast of contributors to this new book includes Kay Behrensmeyer, Frans de Waal, Nina Jablonski, Mike Benton, Richard Leakey, Robert Sapolsky, and Ian Tattersall. In total, there are contributions from over a hundred distinguished scientists and researchers.
Published by Columbia University Press, “Humans Perspectives on our Evolution from World Experts”, is a remarkable book. It has been designed to permit the reader to dip in and out of it, to explore a variety of topics and to gain fresh insights and perspectives.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“Highly respected researchers at the very top of their game provide an insightful and informative examination of what it is like to be human. It is a very fitting compendium that caters for an essential human characteristic – our curiosity.”
“Humans Perspectives on our Evolution from World Experts” – The Details
Published by Columbia University Press. Available in both paperback, e-book and hardcover. ISBN (Paperback) = 9780231201216. Pages = 520.
Search for the author (Sergio Almécija) or by book title.
Contributors opine on the fundamental relationship our species has with the natural world and remark upon the key moments in time that have driven human evolution. In addition, many contributors provide invaluable advice for those members of our species considering embarking on similar careers.
The Everything Dinosaur spokesperson added:
“This book allows the reader to explore a cornucopia of ideas about humanity, our past, present and future. It is an engaging publication, a book that will leave you with a deep sense of wonder.”
