Dinosaurs and Fossils
How do we know about dinosaurs?
Duration: 2:01
No one ever saw a T. rex alive. So how do we know about dinosaurs? Join our little explorer on a dig and discover the secret hidden in the rocks!
In short
Dinosaurs lived a very long time ago, millions of years before the first people, so no person ever saw one alive. We know about them thanks to fossils: what is left of a plant or an animal from long ago, turned into stone. A fossil forms when mud and sand cover the bones, more layers pile on top for a very long time, and tiny bits of rock fill the bones until they are as hard as stone. Millions of years later, wind and rain wear the rocks away and the fossil appears, and scientists called paleontologists dig it out very gently. Fossils are clues: footprints show how dinosaurs walked, sharp teeth show a meat eater, teeth made for munching leaves show a plant eater, and sea shells on a mountain show that the land was once under the sea. The big dinosaurs disappeared long ago, but birds are part of the dinosaur family.
What you will learn
- Dinosaurs lived millions of years before the first people
- What a fossil is: what is left of a plant or an animal, turned into stone
- How a fossil forms, in 3 steps
- How paleontologists dig for fossils
- What footprints and teeth tell us about dinosaurs
- Why sea shells can be found on top of a mountain
- Why birds are part of the dinosaur family
Let's talk about it
Questions to ask after watching, at home or in class. Tap a question to see a short answer.
How do we know about dinosaurs if no one ever saw one?
Thanks to fossils: bones, teeth and footprints from long ago, turned into stone.
What did a dinosaur with big, sharp teeth eat?
Meat, like T. rex. Dinosaurs with teeth made for munching leaves ate plants, like Triceratops.
Which animals you can see today are part of the dinosaur family?
Birds! They are part of the dinosaur family, still here today.
