Dinosaurs Long Ago
Dinosaurs lived so long ago that if every year since then were one page in a book, the book would be taller than a hundred houses stacked up! Thinking about a time that long ago helps us understand what 'long ago' really means.
What You'll Learn
- About how many years ago dinosaurs lived - The difference between 'long ago' and 'a little while ago' - How fossils help us learn about time we cannot see - How to put events in order from oldest to newest
How Long Is 'Long Ago'?
Dinosaurs lived about 66 million years ago until they went extinct, and some kinds lived over 200 million years before that. That is so long ago that humans were not around yet at all! Compare that to your grandparents, who might have been born only 60 or 70 years ago. Dinosaur time is much, much older.
Fossils Are Clues From the Past
We cannot travel back in time to see a real dinosaur, but we can find fossils, which are bones or footprints turned to stone over millions of years. Scientists called paleontologists dig up fossils carefully and use them to figure out how big a dinosaur was and what it might have eaten.
A Tyrannosaurus rex lived closer in time to today than it lived to the very first dinosaurs. That is because dinosaurs existed for such an enormous stretch of time.
Putting Time in Order
When we think about time, we put things in order: first, then, next, last. Dinosaurs came first, long before humans. Then came early humans. Then came your grandparents. Then came you! Putting events in the right order helps us understand history, even history from millions of years ago.
About how long ago did most dinosaurs go extinct?
What is a fossil?
Build a Long Ago Timeline
On a long strip of paper, draw four boxes in a row. Label them, in order: Dinosaurs, Early Humans, Grandparents, Me. Draw a simple picture in each box. Tape your timeline on a wall and explain to a family member which event happened first and which happened last.
Next time you see a picture of a dinosaur, try to imagine 66 million years passing, one year at a time. It helps to know that is far longer than any person has ever lived.
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