Dinosaurs Around the World

Activities to try

1. 1

   Map the finds: dinosaurs lived everywhere

   Why it works: Dinosaurs were not a local curiosity confined to a few hot places — they lived across the whole planet, and fossils of them have been found on every continent.

   1. Work with a world map and place or reveal find-pins for famous dinosaurs, one or more on every continent: T. rex (North America), Argentinosaurus (Argentina, South America), Iguanodon (England and Belgium, Europe), Spinosaurus (Egypt and Morocco, Africa), Velociraptor (Mongolia, Asia), Muttaburrasaurus (Australia) and Cryolophosaurus (Antarctica).
   2. For each pin, say the dinosaur's name and the continent/place it was found in.
   3. Count the continents represented and state out loud that fossils have been found on all seven, including Antarctica.
   4. Use a shading or density layer to notice where most finds come from (North America, China, Argentina) versus the sparse Antarctica.
2. 2

   The Antarctica surprise: fewer finds is not fewer dinosaurs

   Why it works: Antarctica was once warm and forested and had dinosaurs; the few fossils found there reflect how hard they are to find under ice, not a lack of dinosaurs — an 'absence of evidence is not evidence of absence' nuance.

   1. Compare a 'then vs now' picture of Antarctica: once warm and forested → today an ice sheet.
   2. Explain why Antarctica has the fewest dinosaur finds: ice now covers most of the rock, making fossils very hard to find.
   3. Decide whether 'fewer fossils found in Antarctica' means 'fewer dinosaurs lived there', and explain your reasoning.
   4. State that Cryolophosaurus lived in Antarctica back when it was warm and forested.
3. 3

   Reassemble the land: why the same dinosaur appears oceans apart

   Why it works: Matching dinosaurs and plants on now-distant continents are evidence the land was once joined and has slowly drifted apart over millions of years; the dinosaur walked across land that later split, rather than crossing an ocean.

   1. Start from today's continents and slide/drag them back together so they fit like a jigsaw into one giant landmass (Pangaea/Gondwana).
   2. Line up a shared dinosaur or plant (e.g. Glossopteris) so it sits across a seam where two continents once joined.
   3. Explain in your own words how the same kind of dinosaur ended up on two continents now separated by a huge ocean (e.g. Africa and South America).
   4. Contrast two explanations: 'the dinosaur swam across the ocean' versus 'the land was joined then and has since drifted apart' — and say which the fossil pattern supports.