Who doesn’t love dinosaurs? Whether you’re visiting a museum to learn more about fossils or heading to the cinema to see a Jurassic-themed blockbuster, kids (and adults) will have plenty of fun. But what do we actually know about dinosaurs? We’ve compiled a list of amazing dinosaur facts that you can share with your students. Some of these tidbits may be hard to believe.
Additionally, click the button to view a Google slideshow with all the facts below.
incredible dinosaur facts for kids
1. The word “dinosaur” is Greek for “terrible lizard.”
The word dinosaur, coined by British paleontologist Richard Owen in 1842, means “terrible lizard”, not because they are scary, but because of their enormous size.
2. Dinosaurs roamed the Earth for about 165 million years.
Therefore, it must be considered a success for dinosaurs to have survived so long, even though they went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period.
3. Dinosaurs became extinct about 65.5 million years ago.
This is one of the most famous dinosaur facts for kids. No one knows exactly why dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago. Some think the climate is too hot or too cold for them to exist. Some say a giant asteroid hit the Earth. If this is true, why have some species survived, including the ancestors of frogs, turtles, and even birds? What a mystery! Watch this video to find out some theories.
4. A baby Tyrannosaurus rex was probably cute.
The ferocious adult Tyrannosaurus rex was the king of the dinosaurs, but the American Museum of Natural History’s recreation of this tiny hatchling is surprisingly cute.
5. The largest land dinosaur was Argentinosaurus finculensis.
Incredibly, this giant dinosaur could reach up to 130 feet in length. Check out this video about the biggest dinosaur of all time!
6. The first dinosaur named was Megalosaurus.
Megalosaurus was discovered by William Buckland, professor of geology at Oxford University. Watch this video about the discovery of the first dinosaur in 1824.
7. The oldest dinosaur is Eoraptor.
We’re still learning about dinosaurs, but the oldest known dinosaur is Eoraptor, an omnivore that roamed the Earth about 230 million years ago.
8. Paleontologists study dinosaurs.
Paleontologists examine ancient life forms, from microscopes to megalosaurs.
9. Dinosaur fossils were first discovered in the early 1800s.
William Buckland shared his fossil discoveries with the Geological Society of London 200 years ago in 1824.
10. Scientists believe that birds are descendants of dinosaurs.
Over many generations, dinosaurs evolved into birds. Paleontologists also say that dinosaurs were relatives of lizards, snakes, and crocodiles. Watch this video from National Geographic and answer the question, “Are birds modern dinosaurs?”
11. Many adult dinosaurs had feathers.
The largest known feathered dinosaur is Yutyrannus huari (watch this to learn more about this superpredator!). This tyrannosaurus cousin was 30 feet long and probably relied on its feathers to stay warm. Many other dinosaurs had feathers, and some dinosaurs used them to fly.
12. Dinosaurs and humans did not coexist.
Humans appeared on Earth about 65 million years after the dinosaurs went extinct.
13. Not all dinosaurs were carnivores.
Many of the largest dinosaurs, including Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus, were herbivores, meaning they ate plants. To protect themselves from predators, many animals had natural weapons such as spikes or horns on their tails as shields.
14. Dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent.
Dinosaurs lived in a variety of environments and climates around the world, from dry sandy deserts to lush tropical forests.
15. We drink the same water as dinosaurs.
Billions of years ago, water probably arrived on Earth as ice on a meteorite that crashed into the new planet. These same water molecules continue to evaporate, condense into clouds, and precipitate. This means we are all drinking the same water that dinosaurs were drinking millions of years ago.
16. Pterodactyls are not dinosaurs.
Although these flying reptiles have much in common with dinosaurs and their existence overlaps, they are not dinosaurs by definition. However, they were the first reptiles that could fly.
17. Some dinosaurs were smaller than chickens.
Microraptor weighed just over 2 pounds (1 kg) and was about 2.5 feet long.
18. Dinosaurs were colorful.
Scientists have long believed that dinosaurs were gray, green, or brown in color, but a new study reveals that dinosaurs were probably more colorful than that. For example, Sinosauropteryx was a turkey-sized dinosaur that was probably orange and white with a striped tail. Paleontologists also believe that Kaihonjuji was iridescent and had shiny iridescent feathers on its chest and neck.
19. Dinosaurs laid eggs.
Most dinosaurs laid eggs and built large nests to protect and keep their babies together.
20. Young dinosaurs grew rapidly.
Remarkably, dinosaurs reached their full size, or adulthood, in just seven to eight years.
21. Some dinosaurs lived to be 100 years old.
Some large dinosaurs, such as sauropods, are thought to live between 50 and 100 years.
22. Not all dinosaurs existed at the same time.
Over millions of years, new species of dinosaurs emerged while others went extinct at various times. By the time Tyrannosaurus was alive, Stegosaurus was already a fossil.
23. The dinosaur got sick.
Imagine a sauropod sneezing. There is evidence that non-avian dinosaurs contracted respiratory diseases and developed symptoms such as runny noses and severe coughs.
24. Dinosaurs loved cuddling.
One of the most surprising dinosaur facts for the kids was that these creatures were cuddling. Paleontologists have discovered the fossilized skeletons of three young oviraptorosaurs that huddled around 70 million years ago. They may have roosted together for protection or protection from the cold.
25. We haven’t discovered all dinosaur species yet.
Science is about finding answers to questions and asking more questions. New species of dinosaurs are being discovered all the time, giving us a clearer glimpse of what their lives were like. It also helps us better understand species that have already been discovered. Isn’t science amazing?
26. Dinosaur fossils are not actual bones.
Most dinosaur fossils are traces of mineral rocks or rock formations that have no original bone material.
27. Dinosaurs can be divided into two main groups.
Scientists divided dinosaurs into ornithischians (dinosaurs with bird-butts) and saurischians (dinosaurs with lizard-butts). This classification is based on the shape of the dinosaur’s hip bones.
28. Ichthyosaurus was not a dinosaur.
Ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs were marine reptiles, not dinosaurs.
29. Dinosaurs quickly became extinct.
Scientists believe that a catastrophe, such as a climate-altering asteroid or volcanic eruption, wiped out the dinosaurs, as they quickly disappeared from the fossil record.
30. Dinosaurs first evolved when all of Earth’s land mass was one large continent.
Dinosaurs evolved during the Triassic period, when all the continents were one large continent called Pangea.
31. Temperatures during the Jurassic period were warmer than today.
Temperatures were warmer and wetter during the Jurassic period, when stegosaurus and other large plant-eating sauropods walked the earth.
32. Tyrannosaurus did not chew its food.
Tyrannosaurus rex is a dinosaur known for its teeth (about 6 inches long and serrated), but because it could not chew, it swallowed its food in large chunks.
33. Dinosaurs were not cold-blooded.
Scientists have debated this, but since 2014 they have generally accepted that dinosaurs were mesophiles, or beings halfway between cold-blooded and warm-blooded animals.
34. Mary Anning was the first female paleontologist.
Mary Anning was living in England in the 1800s when she discovered an ichthyosaur fossil near her home when she was just 12 years old. This was the first of many fossil discoveries, and Anning became well known among dinosaur collectors.
35. Most dinosaur bones are found in China and the United States.
Dinosaur species have been discovered in 51 countries and Antarctica, with the most fossils found in China and the United States.
36. A recently discovered dinosaur was named after a Norse god.
The newly discovered dinosaur, Lokiceratops, had huge blade-like horns and was discovered in Montana in 2019. This dinosaur was discovered by two professors and named after the Norse god Loki.
37. Mammals fought dinosaurs.
When dinosaurs and mammals lived at the same time, when dinosaurs tried to eat mammals, the mammals fought back.
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