Friday, February 27, 2009

Digging Up Dinosaurs by Jack Horner


**Young Reader Challenge**

Do you know a child that is fascinated with dinosaurs? One that can share with you all the complicated names of these reptiles but you cannot even imagine how to begin to pronounce? Digging Up Dinosaurs is the great next step for just this audience! It describes the basics of the lives of dinosaurs and goes into greater detail about how the paleontologists go about finding and excavating the bones and fossils from the prehistoric eras. And, who better to ask than the author Jack Horner . . . the Curator of Paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana and professor at Montana State University. Oh, and did I mention that he was the man behind the character of Alan Grant in Jurassic Park?!?!

Last fall, I took my kids to the Museum of the Rockies, but before going a family member gave my son this book as a gift. I was intrigued by all the random facts that I found when browsing through it and decided to take a more in-depth look at it. For me, I read it in one sitting before heading to the museum the next day. As for my son, who is a pre-reader, he likes to just look through all the pages, taking in the information that the visuals provide. For an older reader, it is one that s/he can absorb through multiple sittings and readings. We have picked up additional facts along the way each time we read it!! A couple of examples . . .
  • Did you know that Montana is one of two states (the other being Utah) that one can find the largest number of the different kinds of dinosaurs?
  • Did you know that most of the dinosaur bones that you see displayed in the museums are actually not the bones themselves, but rather a duplicate molded in plaster of paris or plastic resin? Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, including one at the Museum of the Rockies!!
  • Did you know that there are many programs located in the Rocky Mountains in which your own child can discover the digging of dinosaurs themselves?

This is just a peak into some of the information shared in this book! It's interesting. It's informative. And, of course, it's just plain fun!!

I also thought that I would share a few photos from our own visit to the Museum of the Rockies this last fall. If you have never been, I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

1 comment:

Thank you in advance for your comments! I love to hear reader's thoughts and respond to each one within the comment section. Please feel free to subscribe to the comment feed to ensure you can fully participate in the conversations.

Comments on posts older than 14 days are first approved through comment moderation. Word verification should not be turned on, so please notify me if it randomly appears.