Earth Science Focus: The little Palaeontologist - T-Rex

After the couple of rough months my son has had, we have decided to give him a little break and let him focus on science and the things he loves. Yesterday he found a fruit bat in one of the treas, and if you now how rare that is to find one here you would appreciate it with us. He totally forgot to walk home and just sat there and watched the bat. When my husband went to call him, both of them where gone. They talked for a long time about the rarity of the bat in our part of the world and it got me thinking about the dinosaurs and how wonderful creatures they where.

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One of the greatest predators of the dinosaur era:

The T-Rex (a.k.a. Tyrannosaurus Rex)

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History

Tyrannosaurus Rex means Tyrant Lizard, fittingly, since the T-Rex was one of the biggest meat eating dinosaurs (carnivores) from the dinosaur era, more specifically the late cretaceous period. . They had powerful back legs that helped them to hunt their prey over very short distances at a speed of about 20mph or 32kph and where up to 12 meters in length. They also had a flexible neck that could adjust the angle of attack.

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The T-Rex had a very big brain for a dinosaur which most likely helped them to hunt better, helped them with their vision and smell. Some paleontologist also believe that they could have had telescopic vision.

Video about the T-Rex from Dinosaur Train

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Fun project 1: Dinosaur Ice Egg Excavation

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You will need:

1. Small dinosaurs
2. Water
3. Balloons
4. Water droppers
5. Cups
6. Warm water

Instructions

1. Put one dinosaur in each balloon.
2. Fill the balloon with water.
3. Freeze the water balloon
4. Cut of the balloon.
5. Use the water droppers and warm water to melt the eggs and get the dinosaurs out.

T-Rex art: Paper plate T-Rex

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You will need the following:

1. Paper plates
2. Paint
3. Eyes
4. Split pins

Instructions

1. Cut the body of the T-Rex like in the picture.
2. Cut the head and the legs from the left over paper plate.
3. Use the split pins to put everything together.
4. Paint the T-Rex

Some other wonderful ideas

Follow this link to find more amazing craft ideas for preschoolers
https://za.pinterest.com/explore/preschool-dinosaur-crafts/?lp=true

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