ARTS CENTRE TO INSERT Erth’s
PICTUREDinosaur
Zoo
Presented by the Arts Centre Melbourne
Years Prep - 4
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The Arts Centre Melbourne’s Performances Program is dedicated to fostering the arts by giving
schools the opportunity to see a diverse range of excellent theatre in fully produced form.
Activity suggestions are arranged according to theme and/or broad focus area. This
arrangement is designed to serve educators as a useful guide toward drawing cross-curricular
links across the Australian Curriculum and to complement whole school planning.
These education resources have been created for students in Years Prep - 4. The content is
designed so teachers can adapt and develop the discussion and activities according to their
students’ learning needs and individual school contexts.
The resources have been developed with a view to addressing the following:
Learning Areas
General Capabilities
Cross Curriculum Priorities
English
 Language
 Literacy
Literacy
Asia and Australia’s
involvement with Asia
Mathematics
 Number and algebra
 Measurement and
geometry
 Statistics and
probability
Science
 Science
Understanding
 Science as Human
Endeavour
Numeracy
Sustainability
The Arts
 Dance
 Drama
 Visual Arts
Personal and social
capability
Critical and creative thinking
Teachers’ notes by Katy Warner.
NOTE: Please remember to arrive 30 minutes before the starting time of the show.
Contents
ABOUT ERTH'S Dinosaur Zoo .............................................................................................................. 3
THEATRE ETIQUETTE......................................................................................................................... 4
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
THEME #1:DINOSAURS ....................................................................................................................... 5
THEME #2: EXTINCTION ................................................................................................................... 12
THEME #3: PUPPETRY AND PERFORMANCE ................................................................................. 16
RESOURCES ...................................................................................................................................... 20
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About ERTH’S Dinosaur Zoo
ERTH’S widely acclaimed show, ERTH’S Dinosaur Zoo, takes audiences into a new dimension of theatre.
The experienced Zoo Keeper / Dinosaur Wrangler takes the audience up close and personal with
the menagerie of insects and dinosaurs that once roamed free around the world and are now in
daily residence at ERTH’S Dinosaur Zoo.
Dinosaur Zoo is an experiential theatre performance which features a cast of large-scale Australian
dinosaur puppets brought to life by sophisticated design, electronics and theatrical presentation.
These amazingly life-like dinosaur recreations are developed in consultation with palaeontologists,
based on current science and specialist interpretations of dinosaur fossil evidence. ERTH'S dinosaur
puppets stimulate the imagination about dinosaur life in a way that connects children to the real
science of palaeontology.
Audiences have the chance to meet incredible prehistoric creatures, from cute baby dinos to
some of the largest carnivores and herbivores that have ever walked the planet!
Director: Scott Wright
Designer: Steve Howarth and Erth Visual & Physical Inc.
About ERTH Visual & Physical Inc.
ERTH have continually created live theatre at the forefront of new performance practice.
ERTH started in 1990, in Ballarat, with a focus on creating “eye-popping visual experiences”.
In its twenty five years, ERTH has created incredible site specific, installation and performance
based projects using giant puppetry, stilt walking, inflatable environments, aerial and flying
creatures and more.
They have created and toured events and festivals in Australia and internationally; including, the
Sydney Olympic Games Opening Ceremony (2000).
Now based in CarriageWorks, Sydney, ERTH has an extensive design and construction program
which uses a lot of non-traditional costume, inflatable and puppeteer disciplines as well as new
technology.
More information on ERTH can be found at http://www.erth.com.au/
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Theatre Etiquette
Seeing a live show in the theatre is very different to going to the movies or watching the television.
Here are some hints and tips to make sure you get the most out of your visit to the theatre:
Arriving
Leave your bags at school. You won’t be able to take them into the theatre with you
anyway. If you really can’t leave your bag behind it will have to wait for you out in the foyer.
Don’t worry – an usher will look after it for you.
Arrive at Arts Centre Melbourne 30 minutes before the start of the performance. You don’t
want to be late and miss the start of the show! There are a lot of people coming to see our
shows and it takes time to get everyone in their seats.
Visit the bathroom before the show. It will be disruptive for other people in the audience if
you leave your seat.
In the theatre
Turn off your mobile phone. Make sure your teacher or parent or friends have turned off their
mobile phones too! If a phone rings in the middle of a show it is disruptive for audience
members and the performers on stage (plus, it can also be very embarrassing).
The lights will go down … That means the show is about to start. Time to stop chatting and
start listening!
During the show
DO laugh (if you think it is funny), cry (if you think it is sad), gasp, smile, cheer, and applaud
(especially at the end).
DON’T eat, take photos, chat with your neighbour, knit a scarf, jump on your trampoline or
move around the auditorium.
REMEMBER – theatre is live! Be a supportive audience member. The performers can often
hear you and see you (yep, they can) – you don’t want to disrupt their performance.
At the end of the show
Applaud! Cheer! Thank the performers.
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Learning Activities
THEME #1: DINOSAURS
The following activities are engaging, introductory, creative ideas for your unit on Dinosaurs. The
following activities are designed to hook your students and work a starting points in your
exploration of this topic.
OUR FAVOURITE DINOSAUR
Students take a survey of the favorite dinosaur, summarize the information on a bar-graph and
count the votes in each category to identify the class favorite.
What you will need:


Create a chart with the names of the dinosaurs students met during ERTH’S Dinosaur Zoo names may be replaced by illustrations of the dinosaurs (see Resources for a link to this
information)
A small, piece of self-adhesive paper to place on the graph, one per child, with the child's
name written on it
What to do:
Each student places his/her piece of paper on the bar-graph chart to register a vote.
Count the votes for each type of dinosaur.
Students count the total number of votes to ensure that everyone voted and that no one voted
more than once.
The students identify the class favorite dinosaur and the one least liked.
Extension:
Take the survey outside of the classroom. Ask students to survey their family and / or other year
levels.
Use graphs to display the findings.
THE DINOSAUR VS. ME
Students will compare their size to the size of the dinosaurs they met at ERTH’S Dinosaur Zoo.
What you need:


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A ball of string
Scissors
1 meter long ruler or tape measure
Tags
What to do:
Ask students to hypothesize as to the size of dinosaurs.
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Take students outside and ask them to measure the length (and or height) of the selected
dinosaurs (see below for measurements of dinosuars seen in ERTH’S Dinosaur Zoo). Attach a tag to
each measurement to identify the dinosaur they have measured.
After marking out the height and / or length, students can begin to compare these measurements
to the own height.
Have the students list a number of things they would like to compare to the length of the their
dinosaur. Ask them to guess first, and then measure and record their results. How does their height
compare to that of dinsoaur? How many multiples of themselves would fit into the dinosaur?
Dinosaur
Dryosaurus
Leaellynasaura
Australovenator
Titanosaur
Height
1.5m
60-90cm (approx.)
1.6m
18m
Length
3.7m
2 – 3m
5m
The biggest Titanosaur for
which experts can estimate a
size is Argentinosaurus, it grew
up to 35m in length!
Extension activities:
Dinosaur Diet
Students estimate how much food a dinosaur like the one they measured would need to eat every
day. If they compare their height to the height of the dinosaur, can they get a better estimate?
Scale Drawings
Show students scale drawings of dinosaurs – notice how they often use a human as a way for
readers to get an understanding of how big the dinosaur is. Using the information they gathered in
the measurement activity, students can learn about ratio and create a scale drawing of a
dinosaur compared to themself.
DINOSAUR INVESTIGATION
Draw and Label
Provide students with a selection of plastic dinosaur models and encourage them to make
detailed observation drawings.
Depending on the level of your group, students can draw, label and write a caption of some
dinosaurs (the caption can be as simple or as complex as required); or, students could share one
word, verbally, which describes the dinosaur and have teacher support in labelling their drawing.
Sort and Classify
Explain to students that you are going to investigate how some dinosaurs are similar to other
dinosaurs in certain ways and different in other ways. Put two hoops in the middle of the floor.
Ask students to pass the dinosaur models around a circle and talk about each one is as much
details as possible. Choose two dinosaurs with similar characteristics and put them in the same
hoop. Ask the class: Why have I done this?
Encourage students to explain their choices.
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For example, you may choose a Brontosaurus and a Diplodocus – students will notice that both
have long necks. Ask the class to find any other dinosaurs which could fit into this same hoop. Ask
them to identify the type of dinosaur which should go in the opposite hoop – the dinosaurs with
short necks.
Ask students to choose their own criteria and place dinosaur in the correct book. Students may like
to record the sorting using pictures or a simple Carroll diagram (as per example below).
Long Neck
Short Neck
Draw an empty Carroll diagram on the board as follows:
Herbivore
Carnivore
Lives in the ocean
Lives on the land
Discuss with the class what they think herbivore and carnivore means. Show a model of a dinosaur
of each type. Discuss the key features of each type; how can we tell what this dinosaur liked to
eat?
What features could help us decide whether this dinosaur lived on land or in the sea?
Encourage students to talk in partners to think about where the dinosaurs fit on the diagram. As a
class, complete the Carroll diagram on the board.
In pairs or independently, students can sort the dinosaurs into their own criteria using a Carroll
diagram they label themselves; or, you may like to provide some headings for them.
Advanced and older students may like to classify dinosaurs like a scientist. Explain to students that
although we sometimes think about dinosaurs as a single group, there are in fact lots of different
sorts of dinosaurs. Scientists have grouped dinosaurs under seven headings:

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
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Therapods – all two-legged dinosaurs which were carnivores (e.g. Tyrannosaurus Rex).
Sauropods – gigantic plant eating dinosaurs (e.g. Diplodocus).
Ornithopods – plant eating dinosaurs which walked on two legs (e.g. Hadrosaurs).
Ceratopsians – horned dinosaurs (e.g. Triceratops).
Stegosaurs – dinosaurs which had plated armour (e.g. Stegosaurus).
Ankylosaurs – included armoured dinosaurs which were not like Stegosaurus.
Pachycephalosaurs – dinosaurs which had particularly thick skulls.
Ask students to consider the best ways in which to present this information. What sort of table or
diagram could be used to present this information? Can they use the models or pictures to help
sort the dinosaurs? Or would some further research be needed?
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DINO WRITING
Dino Adjectives
Brainstorm a list of adjectives that students associate with dinosaurs.
Create sentences using these words. Older students can start to use connectives to create more
complex sentences: because, however, but, so, and, while.
Dino Haiku
Explore syllables through looking at the names of dinosaurs.
Explain to the class that haiku is a form of Japanese poetry which is written as follows:



First Line = 5 syllables
Second Line = 7 syllables
Third Line = 5 syllables
Use the adjectives that the class brainstormed.
Count the amount of syllables in each word.
Students can select words from their adjectives list to create a haiku about a particular dinosaur.
DINO NAMES
How Dinosaurs are named – name your own
Explain to students that the word DINOSAUR means "fearfully great lizard”. The palaeontologist Sir
Richard Owen created the term in 1842. The word comes from the Greek, deinos means "fearfully
great" and sauros means "lizard."
Newly discovered dinosaurs are named by the discoverer or palaeontologist.
There are many different ways to choose a dinosaur name:

A name that describes something unusual about it
Triceratops = “Three horned face”

Named for its size
Titanosaurus = “Titanic lizard”

Named after the location where they are found
Albertosaurus = “Lizard of Alberta” – it was discovered in Alberta, Canada
Minmi = named after Minmi Crossing, Australia, where it was discovered

Named after their behaviour
Tyrannosaurus Rex = “King of the tyrant lizards”

Named in honour of a person
Leaellynasaura = "Leaellyn's lizard" – named after Leaellyn Rich the daughter of the
palaeontologists (Tom Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich) who discovered it.
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Explore with students the words could we put together to describe a mash-up of a few different
dinosaurs – what if a Tyrannosaurus Rex had the head of a Triceratops? What would we call this?
Students can create their own dinosaurs and name them using the system above. Remind students
that all dinosaur names must be approved by the International Commission on Zoological
Nomenclature – so they must pass it by the teacher for approval!
MAKE YOUR OWN DINO LANDSCAPE
How is a Jurassic Forest different to where we live?
Ask students to draw or write about a Jurassic forest. What do they think a forest would have
looked like all those millions of years ago?
Show students images of how scientist believe a Jurassic forest would have looked like.
In partners or small groups, discuss how it is different to where we live.
Explain to the students that they are going to make a dinosaur habitat for their dinosaur model to
live in.
What you will need:




Ice cream container or tray or half of a carton (as the base for the landscape)
Potting mix / soil
Moss and seedlings (optional)
Leaves, twigs, rocks – anything that will add to the landscape from outdoors (take an
expedition outdoors to collect bits and pieces for their landscape)
What to do:
Help students to put potting compost into their container and cover it with moss. Sink small bits of
bushes into the compost and place rocks and dinosaurs on top.
DINO FACT FILE
Ensure each student has a different dinosaur to research. Each student will complete a fact file
(see template ideas on the following page) about their dinosaur. Compile all the pages into one
book for the class, or the library.
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Dinosaur Name:
___________________________________________________________________________
Name Meaning: __________________________________________________________
Length: ________________ Height: ___________________ Weight: _____________
Diet: ______________________________________________________________________
Defence: __________________________________________________________________
Appearance: ______________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Interesting Facts: _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
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NAME:
LOOKS LIKE …
EATS …
SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT IT …
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THEME #2: EXTINCTION
The following activities look at the theme of extinction and encourage your students to ask some
big questions. These are starting points into more in-depth units of work that can cover extinction,
endangered species and sustainability.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DINOSAURS?
How did the dinosaurs become extinct?
Ask students to consider why there are no longer any dinosaurs – what could have happened?
Explain that there are many theories about why the dinosaurs died out:
-
Asteroid / meteorite
Volcanic eruptions
Climate change
Diseases
Do the students agree with any of these theories? Discuss.
In small groups, ask students to choose one of theories and convince the class their theory is
correct. You may like groups to create a poster or a PowerPoint present their ideas.
For younger students, discussion and lessons surrounding extinction may need to be presented in a
different way.
-
-
Dinosaurs that ate plants needed to eat particular types of plants in order to survive. Very
slowly, the earth changed and different kinds of plants grew instead. Without their plants to
eat, some dinosaurs starved.
Dinosaurs were alive a very long time ago. In those times, the earth was very different – not
like where we live now. But all those millions of years ago things slowly started to change;
there were changes on earth such as the plants that lived, the animals that lived on it, the
temperature of the earth, how much water there was on the earth, etc. Dinosaurs could not
continue to live the same way with all these changes, and they began to die. Eventually,
there were no more dinosaurs left.
Some people think that large comets crashed into the earth millions of years ago, which
killed the dinosaurs. (Some students may need reassurance that nothing will crash into "their"
earth now and kill people—reassure them that this was a very long time ago and that they
are safe.)
Build a Volcano
As a class, or in small supervised groups, create a volcanic eruption.
What you will need:



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Modelling clay
Small plastic cup
Large tray
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons baking soda
10cm square tissue paper
1/3 cup vinegar
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

1 drop of food colouring
Safety glasses
What to do:
1. Using the tray as a base, build the volcano with the modelling clay. Make sure that the
opening in the top is large enough to hold the small plastic cup.
2. Put the flour and baking soda in the centre of the tissue paper and wrap it up, making
sure the ends are tightly twisted.
3. Put the package in the cup
4. Add a drop of food colouring to the vinegar
5. Wearing safety glasses pour half the vinegar into the cup
6. When the foaming stops, add the remaining vinegar
Reflect:
Use this activity to help students to understand how volcanoes change the landscape.
HOW DO WE KNOW DINOSAURS EXISTED?
Fossils
What is a fossil?
You may like to begin by asking the class if they know what fossils are. This could be done
using ‘think, pair, share’ with the class. Using their ideas create an accepted class definition of the
meaning of the term fossil and write it on the board. For example, ‘fossils are the traces of animals
and plants that were once alive, preserved in rock.’
How are fossils made?
Give each a group a large piece paper (butchers paper) and some pens. Ask them to discuss and
then draw pictures to show how they think fossils are formed. There is more than one way. Ask each
group to elect a spokesperson and then collect feedback from each group. You are likely to get a
variety of answers some relating to animals getting trapped in ice or insects trapped in amber,
trace fossils such as footprints and mould and cast fossils.
Make your own fossils.
Fossils are extremely useful records of the past.
Explain to students that we will be making our own fossils; however, the fossils made in class will
leave an impression of an object you own whilst fossils found by scientists around the world can
date back to the time of dinosaurs. These fossils allow palaeontologists to study what life might
have been like millions of years ago. Fossils (such as those made in class) can leave delicate
patterns and a surprising amount of detail.
What you will need:

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Plasticine
2 paper cups
An object that you would like to use as the fossilized impression
Plaster
Water
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What to do:
1. Flatten a ball of plasticine until it is about 2 cm thick while making sure the top is smooth.
2. Put the plasticine inside a paper cup with the smooth side facing up. Carefully press the
object you want to fossilize into the plasticine until it is partially buried.
3. Carefully remove the object from the plasticine. An impression of the object should be left
behind.
4. Pour half a cup of plaster into the other paper cup. Add a quarter cup of water to the
plaster and stir until the mixture is smooth. Leave it for around two minutes.
5. When the mixture has thickened pour it on top of the plasticine in the other cup. Leave the
mixture until the plaster has dried (leave it for 24hrs if you want to be sure).
6. When the plaster has fully dried, tear away the sides of the paper cup and take out the
plasticine and plaster. Keep it in a warm dry place and enjoy your very own fossil.
Dinosaur Colours
Fossils tell scientists a lot, but they can’t tell them everything. For example, the scientists at the
Smithsonian Natural History Museum write:
The color of dinosaur skin remains a mystery. Artists may choose to use the colors of living animals
as their palette when they depict dinosaurs, or they may let their imaginations run wild.
What colour would students choose to make their dinosaurs? Why? Using plastic dinosaur models
or images of dinosaurs, ask students to consider the colour and coverings (fur, feathers, spikes). Do
these dinosaurs remind them of any animals alive today? Students may like to colour and
decorate dinosaurs – ask them to justify their choices.
Could animals that are alive today offer clues about dinosaurs?
Explain to students that even though dinosaurs became extinct, other animal species and animals
that were a little like dinosaurs lived on the earth right after them. As the earth changed, the
animals changed, too. Even today, there are animals that have some similarities to the dinosaurs
that lived long ago.
Birds are examples of animals that may have evolved from dinosaurs.
In ERTH’S Dinosaur Zoo, students will meet Meganeura. This was a gigantic primitive dragonfly with
a 70cm wingspan! This creature lived 300 million years ago but it is related to present-day
dragonflies. With this in mind, ask students complete a compare and contrast activity – finding the
similarities and differences between dinosaurs and reptiles, insects and birds alive today.
Students may use the dinosaur they researched for their Fact File to complete this comparsion
activity. Students compare these ancient creatures with some animals that are alive today. You
may decide to have students choose their own animal for comparison; ask them to consider
animals familiar to them such as dogs, cats, or snakes; or have them compare dinosaurs to very
large animals that currently live.
Younger students may benefit from comparing animals with which they are most familiar, such as
dogs and cats, because concepts such as size and shape would be more tangible. Older students
may be ready for more abstract comparisons to large animals they know about but may never
have seen. If students are researching the larger animals, consider asking them to learn about
whales, giraffes, or alligators.
Students may use this information to create a Venn diagram (using words and / or pictures) or
construct a simple compare / contrast essay based on their findings.
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EXTINCT AND ENDANGERED
Dinosaurs are not the only animals which have become extinct. Explain to students how in the
modern age, animals have died out and have become extinct. There many are at risk of
becoming extinct – these animals are endangered.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) keeps a list of endangered animals you can view online:
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status
Explain the reasons animals become endangered:
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Changes to the environment
New predators
New diseases
New competitors
Students can research animals that are extinct and / or endangered and summarise the
information they find as below:
Species
Habitat
Reasons why it is
extinct /
endangered
Details
Extinction Timeline
Brainstorm as a class and make a list of extinct animals (include dinosaurs)
In pairs, students find out when these animals lived and when they became extinct.
Make a class timeline covering 300 million years and place pictures of the extinct animals on it.
Discuss the following questions: Why are there a great many extinctions crowded in the last tiny
part of the timeline? What are some of the reasons for extinction? Should we try to stop
endangered animals becoming extinct because of human actions?
What can we do?
Choose an endangered species and create a poster that informs and educates people about
how they can help ensure this animal doesn’t disappear from the planet.
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THEME #3: PUPPETRY AND PERFORMANCE
The following activities have an Arts focus. These activities encourage exploration of dinosaurs and
the performance style of ERTH’s Dinosaur Zoo through creative play, Dance, Puppetry and Drama.
IMAGINATIVE JOURNEY
Before you begin this activity, explain to students that this is an independent task. Everyone will be
doing the task at the same time but it is very important not to notice others / interrupt them etc.
In an imaginative journey, the teacher narrates a story whilst the class acts it out. Encourage the
students to show, don’t tell and let their imaginations go wild!
It’s a normal, average day. You are standing in your bedroom – a little bit bored. Suddenly, you
notice a weird light coming from your wardrobe (or under the bed). You have a closer look.
It is a TIME MACHINE.
There are instructions inside.
You have to press the red button – find it, press it. Then you pull on the lever … Pull it down as far as
it will go.
The Time Machine is moving. It’s making you wobbly on your feet!
Hang on tight and close your eyes.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 …. It stopped.
Open your eyes.
Open the door.
You are on Planet Earth at the time of the Dinosaurs!
You are in a lush forest surrounded by ferns and tall, tall trees. Some of them look a bit like palm
trees. Have a look. Feel the earth under your feet. It is hot and humid here.
Have a look around – explore. Show me what else you can see here.
You find a nest. There are giant eggs inside. Be careful. You don’t want to break them or come
face to face with the mummy dinosaur.
What can you hear? Listen carefully.
What can you smell?
You look down and notice a footprint … and another … and another … Which dinosaur does this
footprint belong to? Can you tell?
Follow the footprints.
As you follow the footprints you hear a loud screeching sound above you. Look up, what can you
see? What was that noise? Is there a dinosaur flying above you in the sky? What does it look like?
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You are at the foot of hill. Climb the hill. What view you have from there! Have look all around you.
What can you see ..... maybe you can see volcanoes? Dinosaurs? Birds? Rivers? Waterfalls?
You hear the Time Machine whirling – it is time to go …
You head back to the Time Machine.
But, standing, right in your way, is the biggest dinosaur you have ever seen. Don’t make a sound,
no sudden movements. Have a good look at him and sneak past it … quietly, quietly …
There’s the Time Machine. Jump inside. Press the green button and push the lever up.
It wobbles and moves … hold on tight, close our eyes.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 … Open your eyes. You’re home.
Students will want to share with the class what the saw in their journey.
You may like to have the students draw their responses or re-enact their favourite part for the rest
of the class.
DINO DANCE
Wondering
Divide the class into pairs: Give each pair a model of a dinosaur to discuss with each other. Ask
questions such as: Why do you think that dinosaur has a long neck/tail? Why has that dinosaur only
got short arms? Discuss as a class. Guide the children into suggesting that a long neck needs a
long tail to balance. Ask the children to stand in a variety of positions until they feel balanced. Why
is this?
Group Work
Ask the group to move through the space in different ways (heavy, slowly, quickly, lightly etc.). Call
out a number – students are to make groups of that size as quickly (and queitly) as possible. Once
they have formed the group, call out the name of a dinosaur or show an image of a dinosaur.
Groups then have 10 seconds to work together and create a statue / frozen image of that
dinosaur. Everyone in the group must be included. Admire each dinosaur (you may like to also
hear the noise/s it makes) and then repeat – ensure different sized groups are made each time,
and children are working with a range of people.
Dinosaur Egg Dance
Discuss with students the different shapes and sizes of the dinosaurs that have been explored.
Explain that all dinosaurs start as an egg shape.
Tuck up small in an egg shape – on back, on side, on knees – find a way of tapping the egg shell
and jumping out of the shell. Encourage students to begin still and low – limbs beating time, roll
over and jump into a LARGE still shape. What type of dinosaur has just cracked out of the shell?
Dinosaur Shapes
Look at images of dinosaurs with distinct shapes and explore how the body can be used to “draw”
those shapes.
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For example, look at the back of a Stegosaurus. Students can “draw” the back of the
Stegosauruas with their bodies: start high, curvy, spiky, getting lower.
Encourage students to try out different shapes. Prompt them: Are you stretching all your body?
How high can you jump?
Dinosaur Movements
Look at an image of a Pterodactyl. Discuss with the class all the different shapes they can see in
this creature – spiky, triangles, wide wings, narrow feet, sharp claws. Try to make shapes with
different parts of body – feet, legs, arms, hands, whole body.
Call out a body part and shape for students – e.g. “Triangle Arms” or “Whole Body Point”. Each
student can create two shapes; they are to hold these shapes for 4 counts.
Explore the ways a Pterodactyl could travel. Working in small groups, create a Pterodactyl
formation: the leader leads his / her group
Explore the swooping motion of the Pterodactyl – use swooping to travel between the shapes. This
is the “travelling” phrase of the dance – students swoop / run in a circle and jump into a pounce
positon. Create a dance which looks like:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Still position
Swooping
Pounce
Still position
Watch footage of some large dinosaurs (Walking with Dinosaurs can be a good resource for this
sort of activity – see resources list). Watch how some dinosaurs move in a slow and heavy straight
pathway. Dinosaurs are large and slow – look at the Tyrannosaurus Rex as an example; it is slow,
but can also be fast as they race for their food.
Call out a different way to travel at different speeds:
 Crawling
 Sliding
 Walking
 Skipping
 Stomping
Ask students to brainstorm adjectives to describe the different ways dinosaurs travel and move –
explore these movements in the space.
Students could create a short routine to music which shows three different ways of moving in the
space.
PUPPETRY
The main style of puppetry used in Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo is a modified style of “Bunraku” (bunrahkoo), a form of puppetry that originated in Japan over 400 years ago. In Bunraku, there are usually
several puppeteers who manipulate the puppet directly and are visible throughout the play rather
than being hidden. Usually 3 puppeteers will operate 1 puppet in Bunraku- each puppeteer is
responsible for moving a different part of the body.
What you will need:
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

Lots of newspaper
Many, many rolls of masking tape
What to do:
1. Spilt the class into groups of three
2. Each group will choose a dinosaur – it will be easier for students to choose a dinosaur which
walks on two legs; however, a nothing is impossible!
3. Break the dinosaur image down into three major part: head, torso (including arms) and feet
(including tail)
4. Use the newspaper to create these major parts. Scrunch and roll the paper into the shapes
needed to represent the dinosaur and wrap it in masking tape. It doesn’t have to be neat
and tidy.
5. When all the parts have been created, stick them together but ensure the arms, feet and
head can move. Don’t attach them too tightly. There needs to be movement in the parts.
The dinosaur puppets will be quite large and will need three operators. In their groups of three,
students will take on one of the following roles (it is probably a good idea to switch the roles
around so students have an experience in every role):



HEAD PUPPETEER (the omo-zukai) – operates the puppet's head and face with left hand,
and uses right hand of operate the puppet’s right arm
LEFT HAND PUPPETEER (the hidari-zukai) - uses right hand to operate the puppet’s left hand
FOOT PUPPETEER (the ashi-zukai) - uses both hands to suggest the movements of the
puppet’s legs and feet.
The puppeteers must work in “perfect harmony” or the puppet will never “come to life” – give
students time to explore how they can move their puppet. You may like to play music so they can
work with rhythm in their movement.
Discuss the ways in which this dinosaur moves – how they can present these different movements?
How well can they work together to manipulate and manoeuvre their puppet?
Students may like to use these puppets to create their own Dinosaur Zoo. Choose someone to be
the zoo keeper (or an opportunity for Teacher-In-Role) and present each dinosaur to the zoo’s
visitors.
The puppets could also be used to help tell story about dinosaurs, or recite the haiku (see Theme
#1 – Dinosaurs). The options are endless!
MY PET DINOSAUR
Ask students to list typical pets – cats, dogs, birds, fish …
Choose one pet and create a short sequence which show the audience how to look after this
animal. This sequence will be entirely non-verbal. What do you need to do to keep you cat happy
and healthy? What happens when you, for example, neglect to change the kitty litter? Or if you
don’t feed your dog at the right time?
Now, explain to students they have a new pet … A dinosaur …
Students rework their initial performance, making the necessary changes required for taking care
of a pet dinosaur. You may like to extend on this idea with the use of the Bunraku puppets. Other
ideas include presenting this as a segment in a television program – like Totally Wild (Channel Ten).
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RESOURCES
About the Show:
Interview with Artistic Director of ERTH
http://manninggreatlakes.focusmag.com.au/erth/
Reviews
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/stage/erths-dinosaur-zoo-at-the-arts-centre-thrills-youngsters20140108-30hbi.html
https://radio.adelaide.edu.au/review-erths-dinosaur-zoo-by-helen-meyer/
http://www.australianstage.com.au/201401096632/reviews/melbourne/dinosaur-zoo-%7C-erth-visualphysical-inc.html
Behind the News segment and related resources:
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3962779.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4226620.htm
Dinosaurs
Museum of Western Australia – Dinosaur Discovery
http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/dinosaur-discovery/
Smithsonian – Museum of Natural History
http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/backyard-dinosaurs/faq.cfm#2
ABC TV - Walking with Dinosaurs
http://www.abc.net.au/dinosaurs/
Natural History Museum – The Dino Directory
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/dinosaurs-other-extinct-creatures/dinodirectory/name/a/gallery.html
Palaeontology
Make Your Own Trace Fossil
http://www.mos.org/sites/dev-elvis.mos.org/files/docs/education/mos_dig-into-dinosaurs_make-your-ownfossil.pdf
Junior Palaeontology Program
http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/paleontology/jr_paleo.cfm
Extinction
Behind the News - Extinction
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3974781.htm
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – endangered species
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species
Puppetry
Bunraku Puppets
http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/bunraku/en/index.html
The World of Puppetry
http://theworldofpuppetry.weebly.com/japanese-bunraku-puppets.html
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