PIQ:
TEST YOUR
PALAEO INTELLIGENCE
A Distance Learning Program
Test your knowledge, and learn more about dinosaurs
and the science of palaeontology.
TEACHER’S GUIDE
© 2008 Royal Tyrrell Museum. All Rights Reserved.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Program Description
……………………………………………….. 2
Program Outline
……………………………………………….. 3
Activities
Palaeo True or False
……………………………………………….. 6
Amazing Dino Mazes
……………………………………………….. 7
Draw a Sauropod
……………………………………………….. 8
Draw a Stegosaurus
……………………………………………….. 9
Cretaceous Collage
……………………………………………….. 10
Palaeo PlayHouse
……………………………………………….. 15
Palaeo Blank-Out
……………………………………………….. 17
Build a Volcano
……………………………………………….. 18
Colourful Badlands
……………………………………………….. 20
Activities by Grade Level
Palaeo True or False
Amazing Dino Mazes
Draw a Sauropod
Draw a Stegosaurus
Cretaceous Collage
Palaeo Playhouse
Palaeo Blank-Out
Build a Volcano
Colourful Badlands
K
1
2
3
Thank you for choosing to participate in an ATCO Tyrrell Distance Learning program!
The following guide contains information about your program, as well as, accompanying
activities that can be used in your classroom.
The description of your program is as follows:
PIQ:Test Your Palaeo Intelligence
Grades K-3
Think your students have what it takes? Test their knowledge of dinosaurs and palaeontology!
Working in teams, this program is 45 minutes of fun as they are led through a series of six
interactive games and challenges in their efforts to escape a deadly volcano. PIQ makes an
excellent start or finish to any unit related to palaeontology, or anytime young students want to
learn about ancient life and have an absolute blast doing so!
ALBERTA CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
Kindergarten
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Environment and Community Awareness
Science: Seasonal Changes; Needs of Animals and
Plants
Science: Small Crawling and Flying Animals
Science: Rocks and Minerals; Animal Life Cycles
PROGRAM OUTLINE
•
What is Palaeontology?
o The study of the fossilized remains of plants and animals, or their activities.
o Fossils are the traces or remains of ancient life.
•
Round 1: Critter Count
o Description:
• Students must count the critters crossing the screen that are a specific colour:
red, yellow, green or blue.
o Knowledge Shared:
• Not all prehistoric reptiles were dinosaurs.
• All dinosaurs were terrestrial, while reptiles living in the sea are called “marine
reptiles”, and those that flew are called “flying reptiles”.
•
Round 2: Name that Dinosaur
o Description:
• Students are shown drawings of a few features from a dinosaur, and must
attempt to identify it.
o Knowledge Shared:
• Dinosaurs are often named after their physical features, assumed behaviour,
people, or places.
• Triceratops means “three horn face”, derived from the three horns on
its face.
• Stegosaurus means “roofed lizard”, referring to the plates on its back.
• Brachiosaurus means “armed lizard”, a reference to its long front limbs.
• Tyrannosaurus rex means “tyrant lizard king”, in reference to its large
size compared to other meat-eating dinosaurs.
• Raptors get their name from their resemblance to modern birds of prey.
• Parasaurolophus means “similar crested lizard”, as it is related to the
dinosaur Saurolophus, which is another type of crested dinosaur.
•
Round 3: True or False
o Description:
• Students are challenged with a series of true or false questions, that cover
various misconceptions about palaeontology
o Knowledge Shared:
• Humans and dinosaurs never coexisted.
• Dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago and the first members of the
genus Homo don’t appear in the fossil record until 2.5 million years ago.
• Sharks have been around for 400 million years
• Sharks look much the same today as they did back then.
• Long-necked dinosaurs lived on land, not in the water
• Scientists previously thought long-necked dinosaurs would have had to
live in the water to support their massive weight, but further research
•
•
•
has proven that they were perfectly capable of supporting their weight on
land.
Palaeontologists study all ancient life, not just dinosaurs.
• Palaeontologists study ancient invertebrates, mammals, fish, plants,
reptiles and anything that has been fossilized on earth.
The smallest dinosaurs were the size of chickens.
• Compsognathus was about the size of a chicken. There have been recent
discoveries of even smaller dinosaurs such as Microraptor, but there is
speculation that the specimen may be a juvenile.
Dinosaur fossils are found all over the world, not just in the badlands.
• Dinosaur fossils can be found wherever there is exposure of rock layers
from the age of the dinosaurs. The badlands are the best example of this
exposure, but not the only one.
•
Round 4: Fossil Frenzy
o Description:
• Students attempt to identify fossils shown to them using a high-powered camera.
o Knowledge Shared:
• Albertosaurus tooth
• Equipped with serrations on both sides to help it rip through flesh and
bone.
• Euoplocephalus tail club
• Was like a giant sledgehammer for fending off predators, and potentially
protecting its territory.
• Fern leaf
• Much the same as ferns that live today. Would have been very abundant
during the Age of Dinosaurs.
• Dromaeosaurus claw
• Huge, sharp talon that was sheathed in keratin (the same sort of material
human fingernails are made of).
• Hadrosaur toe bone
• Would have looked similar to modern horse’s hoof.
• Ammonite shell
• These are often found in Alberta and Saskatchewan, as these areas were
covered by the an inland sea (the Bearpaw Sea) during the Cretaceous
Period.
•
Round 5: What’s for Lunch?
o Description:
• Students are introduced to an ancient animal, and then must decide what that
animal would like for lunch.
• Mosasaurs were marine reptiles that look similar to alligators or
crocodiles, but are more closely related to snakes.
• Mononychus was a small feathered dinosaur that fed mostly on insects.
• Ammonites were ancient shelled relatives of squid and octopus that ate
crustaceans and many other sea creatures.
• Triceratops was a herbivorous dinosaur that fed mostly on cycad plants.
•
•
Sabre-tooth cats were Cenozoic mammals that would have eaten a
variety of prey, including mammoths.
Didelphodon was a cat-sized mammal, but one of the largest that lived
during the Cretaceous Period.
PALAEO TRUE OR FALSE
Recommended for Grades K through 3
Help dispel some myths and misconceptions about
palaeontology through some challenging true and false
questions!
1. Assign one wall of the room as the “true” side, and the opposite wall the “false” side.
2. Read each statement aloud to your students. If they think the answer to the question is true,
they must run over and touch the “true” wall. And if they think the answer is false, they must
run over and touch the “false” wall.
3. After everyone has run and chosen a wall, give them the answer including the response, and
then have them come back to the middle for the next.
Number
T. rex and Stegosaurus lived at the same
time.
Colour
FALSE
Description
T. rex lived in the Cretaceous Period, millions of
years after Stegosaurus lived in the Jurassic
Period.
All dinosaurs laid eggs.
TRUE
All dinosaurs were reptiles, and all reptiles lay
eggs.
Humans hunted woolly mammoths.
TRUE
Scientists have found mammoth skeletons with
human-made arrowheads and spear points in
them.
There has only been one Ice Age.
FALSE
There have been many ice ages over millions of
years.
Turtles appeared on Earth before
dinosaurs.
TRUE
Turtles were around for millions of years before
the first dinosaurs.
Some dinosaurs lived in the sea.
FALSE
The ancient creatures that lived in the seas,
plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, are marine reptiles,
not dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs used to live in Antarctica.
TRUE
Antarctica used to be warm and full of trees at the
time of the dinosaurs.
Some dinosaurs lived in big herds.
TRUE
Scientists have found whole herds of dinosaurs
that all died and fossilized together.
T. rex was the biggest dinosaur.
FALSE
The first life on Earth was in the ocean.
TRUE
Scientists have found 3 billion year old fossils of
ancient sea life.
Sabre-tooth cats were as big as horses.
FALSE
Sabre-tooth cats were about the size of a big dog.
T. rex was the biggest North American predator,
but sauropods (long-necked dinosaurs) were
much larger.
AMAZING DINO MAZES
Recommended for Grades K through 3
Can you help Dipsy Doodle find her egg, then make
your way through the long-necked dinosaur? Enjoy
these dinosaur mazes!
DRAW A SAUROPOD
Recommended for grades K through 3
Follow the instructions and draw your own longnecked dinosaur at the bottom of the page, or on a
separate sheet of paper.
1
2
3
4
5
6
MY SAUROPOD
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•
•
MY SAUROPOD’S NAME IS:
SAUROPOD FACTS
Sauropods are the largest animals to
have ever walked on Earth; some of
them were bigger than a jet airplane
and weighed more than twelve African
elephants!
Sauropods swallowed hard stones to
help them grind up food in their bellies,
like chickens and crocodiles do today.
Scientists call these stones gastroliths.
Palaeontologists used to think longnecked dinosaurs lived in the water, but
now we know that they were welladapted for walking on land.
DRAW A STEGOSAURUS
Recommended for grades K through 3
Follow the steps below and draw your own Stegosaurus
at the bottom of the page, or on a separate sheet of
paper.
1
2
3
4
5
6
MY STEGOSAURUS
•
MY STEGOSAURUS' NAME IS:
STEGOSAURUS FACTS
The name Stegosaurus means “roofed
lizard”, because the plates on its back
look like old fashioned roof tiles.
•
Compared to other dinosaurs,
Stegosaurus had the smallest brain
compared to its body size. Its brain only
weighed as much as two hard boiled
eggs.
•
Stegosaurus had long spikes on the end
of its tail that it could use for defence.
CRETACEOUS COLLAGE
Recommended for Grades K through 3
Cut out and colour animals and plants to create your own
ancient landscape, then post it on your classroom wall!
1. Photocopy the following pages so all students have a copy of 1 or 2 sheets with different
animals and plants.
2. Have students colour and cut out their pages.
3. Spread a big sheet of paper out on the floor and have students create a background
scene with volcanoes, clouds, mountains, streams and forests for the animals to live in.
You can also use additional materials like coloured paper, cotton balls, pipe cleaners and
glitter. Be creative!
4. Put glue on the backs of the cut outs and place them carefully into the scene.
5. Once the glue has dried, carefully lift and hang the class creation on the wall.
6. Step back and enjoy your magnificent Dino-rama!
PALAEO PLAYHOUSE
Recommended for Grades 1 through 3
Bring the ancient past to life with your students
through role playing!
Each student is given a role to play in one of the following scenarios. The teacher narrates and reads
the text aloud, one sentence at a time. The students then act out their roles in the front of the
classroom, following what the teacher is describing.
Cast:
Mother Duckbill
Baby Duckbill
Mother Triceratops
Some young Triceratops
Some small Raptors
One T. rex
Two little mammals
Some pterosaurs
Some long-necked dinosaurs
Archelon, the giant sea turtle
Scenario 1 – Eggs in Danger
It is early morning in the Cretaceous Period. The sun rises on a tropical world full of strange
plants and animals. It is the Age of Dinosaurs - big ones, small ones, fast ones, slow ones - all acting out
their parts in the great theatre of life.
Near a river, in a clearing underneath a great cedar tree, lies a circle of eggs.
A Mother Duck-billed dinosaur watches her eggs, one of them begins to shake and crack
open.
A Baby Duck-billed dinosaur comes out of its egg and slowly and shakily gets on its feet and
takes its first few steps. Its mother makes comforting sounds and helps it to stand and walk.
Some Raptors creep into the bushes nearby and look at the Baby Duck-billed dinosaur with
hungry eyes.
The Duck-billed dinosaurs are busy and don’t notice the hunters watching them.
The Raptors creep out of the bushes and circle behind the Mother Duckbill. They sneak
closer and closer to the baby dinosaur. Just as they are about to grab it, the Mother Duckbill turns
around, sees them, and gives a mighty bellow.
The small Raptors jump in fright and run away as fast as they can.
The Mother and Baby Duck-billed dinosaurs wander off to find the rest of their herd.
*
*
*
Scenario II – Don’t Step on Me!
Some little Mammals run into the clearing. They move very quickly, sniffing around for
dinosaur eggs. They find an egg to eat but, just as they are about to eat it, some Long-necked
dinosaurs walk into the clearing and start eating the leaves at the tops of the trees.
The small Mammals are scared of the big dinosaur feet that are walking all around them. The
Long-necked dinosaurs don’t even notice the small Mammals.
The Mammals scurry into holes in the ground and hide.
They wait a long time until the sun goes down and the huge Long-necked dinosaurs lay down
and go to sleep.
While the Long-necked dinosaurs are snoring, the Mammals sneak out and eat the dinosaur
eggs. When morning comes, the Mammals go back into their hole underground to sleep and the
Long-necked dinosaurs get up and wander off.
*
*
*
Scenario III – Mistaken Identity
Some Pterodactyls are flying over the sea, dipping down to the water and scooping up fish in
their bills. Suddenly a big wind rises up and starts blowing them all over the place. They need to land
somewhere and get out of the wind!
They fly all over, but the waves are so high and strong that they can’t find a place to land.
Finally, they see a small island, big enough for all of them to land on. The Pterodactyls land on
the island and breathe a sigh of relief.
Then they notice that their island is moving! It’s not an island at all, its Archelon, the giant
turtle!
The giant turtle gives them a ride back to safe calm waters. The Pterodactyls fly away and
Archelon, dives down deep into the ocean.
*
*
*
Scenario IV – Circle of Defense
A family of Triceratops is happily munching on plants and playing among the trees. A T. rex
sees them from far away and begins to sneak towards them. The Mother Triceratops hears T. rex
coming and she gives a warning call.
All of the Triceratops back into a circle with their horns pointing outwards.
The T. rex comes up to the circle of dinosaurs but can’t get close to them because of their
sharp defensive horns.
The T. rex circles around the family of Triceratops but can’t attack them. Finally, the T. rex
gives up, roars a scary roar, and then leaves.
After the danger has gone, the Mother Triceratops gives another call and the family of
Triceratops goes back to playing and eating.
*
*
*
Scenario V – End of an Era
All of the ancient animals are busy doing their own things in the ancient world. The Duckbilled dinosaurs, Triceratops and Long-necked dinosaurs are eating plants. The Raptors, and T.
rex are prowling around in the trees, the Pterodactyls are flying overhead and Archelon is swimming
in the sea. The Mammals are sleeping in their hole in the ground.
Suddenly, all the animals look up, there is a fire streaking through the sky. They watch it as it
smashes into the earth far away. There is a huge explosion! The earth shakes and rumbles. Huge clouds
of ash and dust cover everything.
All of the Dinosaurs and Pterodactyls, as well as Archelon die and lay still.
After everything becomes quiet and still, the little Mammals come out of their hole and see
that all the Dinosaurs are dead. They dance and celebrate, the Age of Dinosaurs is over and the Age
of Mammals has begun.
PALAEO BLANK-OUT
Recommended for Grades 1 through 3
Fill in the missing letters to complete the sentences.
1. An animal that eats meat is a
I V O R E
2. The dinosaur with three horns on its face is called
C E R A
3. Animals with hair that feed their babies milk are called
M A M
4. The dinosaur with plates on its back and a spiky tail is
S A U R U S
5. The remains of ancient animals and plants we find in rocks are called
F O S
6. The study of ancient life is called
A L A E O N T O
7. An ice age mammal that looks like a hairy elephant is called a
M M
H
8. The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is located in Drumheller
A L
T
9. The dinosaur whose name means “tyrant lizard king” is Tyrannosaurus
10. The ice age animal with really long, sharp teeth is called a
A B R E - T
T H
BUILD A VOLCANO!
Recommended for Grades 2 and 3
A classic science experiment that is easy, fun and
educational. Build your own erupting volcano!
MATERIALS:
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
a piece of cardboard roughly 20 by 44 centimetres
cardboard paper towel tube
small vial or cup (plastic measuring cup, film canister, Dixie cup, etc.)
tape
newspaper
aluminium foil
spray paint (optional)
spray glue (optional)
sand or ash (optional)
STEP 1:
Tape the cardboard tube to the centre
of the piece of cardboard standing up.
Tape the plastic vial or cup into the top
of the tube, with the open side up.
STEP 2:
Roll sheets of newspapers into balls
and tape them into place around the
tube in a conical mountain shape.
STEP 3:
Wrap the mountain-shaped object in tin
foil and tape it to the bottom of the
cardboard base. Use a pencil to poke a
hole through the tin foil over the plastic
vial.
STEP 4:
The teacher can use spray paint to
paint the volcano black or brown. The
teacher can spray the volcano with
spray glue and then sprinkle sand on
the volcano.
STEP 5:
Fill the plastic vial two thirds full with
baking soda. Mix two tablespoons of
vinegar with red food colouring and
pour it into the plastic vial. Step back
and watch your beautiful volcano go
kablooie!
DID YOU KNOW?
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Volcanoes have played an important part in the history of the Earth; many landmasses were
created and changed by volcanic activity.
Some of the largest extinction events in Earth’s history are at least partly the responsibility of
volcanoes.
There is evidence that there was a lot of volcanic activity during the end of the Age of
Dinosaurs, which may have been one of the contributing causes of dinosaur extinction.
Volcanoes can be found all over the world, but most of them are located in the “Ring of Fire”
around the Pacific Ocean.
The lava from a volcano here on Earth has temperatures that exceed 1,000 degrees Celsius!