Welcome to Summer Wonder at Home Creativity Challenges! Every Monday from today to August 31 there will be a new challenge where you can build, create, design or discover something new - all using stuff you have at home.
This week's challenge is to design a dinosaur fossil. We know that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago because of their preserved remains found all over the world. Read more about fossils on the Wonder Wall! But did you know that there are some dinosaurs still alive today?
Scientists have found evidence that some dinosaurs called theropods had feathers. Modern day birds are descendants of this group. So you could say that all birds are dinosaurs! The next time you see a pigeon, imagine it at a family reunion with a T-rex.
Try making your own dinosaur fossil at home with an adult's help. You can use cardboard tubes or boxes, cotton swabs, popsicle sticks, string, building blocks, rocks, twigs or anything you have on hand as a building material. Design your fossil to look like your favourite dinosaur or invent one of your own! Think about the following questions:
- Where does your dinosaur live? Can you describe its habitat?
- What does your dinosaur eat? Is it an herbivore (plant eater), a carnivore (meat eater) or both (an omnivore)?
- Imagine if your dinosaur were alive! Draw a picture of it. Does it have scales? Feathers? Claws?
- Don’t forget to give your dinosaur a name. Many dinosaur names end in “saurus” from an Ancient Greek word meaning lizard.
Dig dinosaurs? Fascinated by fossils? Learn more from these books:
Curious About Fossils by Kate Waters
Living Fossils: Clues to the Past by Caroline Arnold and Andrew Plant
Feathered Dinosaurs by Brenda Guiberson and William Low
We'd love to see what you create! Ask a grown-up to take a picture of your fossil and share it with the Toronto Public Library on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #TPLSummerWonder.
Try all the other Creativity Challenges:
Every Bird Needs a Nest
Create a Time Machine
Dream Library
Graffiti Prints
Animal Sun Print
Build a Monument
I Remember!
Build a Fort