when you mix a scientist who loves dinos along with little people who also love dinos
you get bursts of curiosity, awe, and excitement on both sides
especially when one the of the kinder mentioned
it was ‘from the jurrasic period’ and another asked if it was ‘an omnivore.’
perfect match.
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“did you know that the stegosaurus lived further away from the t-rex than we are from the t-rex in time?”
-johan peretti
While most of us know that all sorts of prehistoric creatures once inhabited Earth, you might not realize which ones used to wander around your particular city. Thanks to this interactive map, you can easily find out. Type in your city name, and you’ll see it plotted on the globe, along with a list of species whose fossils have been discovered nearby. If you click on the name of a species, a new webpage will open with details, images, and a map that shows where else that species lived.In addition to searching by city, you can also see what Earth looked like during a specific time period by choosing an option from the dropdown menu at the top. Choices range from 750 million years ago—the Cryogenian period, when glaciers abounded—to 0 million years ago, which is Earth as we know it today. Using a different dropdown menu on the right, you can view Earth during its many notable “firsts,” including “first land plants,” “first dinosaurs,” “first primates,” and more.
As CNN reports, the map was created by California-based paleontologist Ian Webster, who added to an existing model that mapped plate tectonics and used additional data from GPlates, another piece of plate tectonics software.
“It is meant to spark fascination and hopefully respect for the scientists that work every day to better understand our world and its past,” Webster told CNN. “It also contains fun surprises. For example: how the U.S. used to be split by a shallow sea, the Appalachians used to be very tall mountains comparable to the Himalayas, and that Florida used to be submerged.”
You can find other fun surprises by exploring the map yourself here. For the best experience, you’ll want to access the site from a desktop computer or tablet versus a smartphone.
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“observation: i can’t see a thing. conclusion: dinosaurs.”
-carl sagan
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credits: cnn, mental floss, ellen gutosky, orla, getty images
today we took the dinos
out of their safety zone and into the snow
they went
in the playhouse
down the slide
in the hollow log
in the sandbox
climbed up
jumped down
made footprints and snow angels
roamed on dinosaur island
played tag
went to a party
loved the snow
they all had a such a good time and were worn out.
“my son’s always showing me pictures of dinosaurs and asking me what their names are.
i don’t know, so i make stuff up:
that, son is a thesaurus.”
-craig ferguson
my class has recently become enamored with a giant box of dinos
they play with them every day
create wildly imaginative scenarios
ask questions about real dinos
reassure me that the ones in our room are not real
one day when playing, a child asked
“would they wear masks if they were alive now?”
another jumped up to say
“never, ever, ever, ever, try to put a mask on a t-rex!!!!”
and an instant class book was born
what a brilliant title
others jumped in to offer reasons why you shouldn’t try to mask one
brainstorming was in full swing
some became illustrators
it is a fascinating and funny work in progress.
dinos may have left the earth forever, but books will never die.
—
“stories are the common ground that allow people to connect, despite all our defenses and all our differences.”
-kate forsyth
I didn't have my glasses on.... 