Meet Our Dinosaurs
60 Minute Life Science Lesson
Classroom and Gallery Program
Grades: PreK-Kindergarten
TEACHER GUIDE
Meet Our Dinosaurs
Objectives
Description
See Dinosaur skeletons in our Museum up
close and personal. Touch real dinosaur
specimens! Discover how and when they
lived and why these magnificent creatures
became extinct. Learn about the dinosaur’s
modern day relatives, birds.
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Learn how we know dinosaurs really
existed.
Explore animals that are and are not
dinosaurs.
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Explore the main characteristics of a
dinosaur.
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Learn the names of the dinosaurs at
our Museum.
Ohio’s Learning Standards
Pre-Kindergarten: Inquiry – Science Inquiry and Application
 Make careful observations.
 Describe, compare, sort, classify, and order
 Make inferences, generalizations and explanations based on evidence.
Pre-Kindergarten: Life Science – Observation of Living Things
 Similarities and differences exist among individuals of the same kinds of plants and
animals.
Produced and published by the Education Division
1 Wade Oval Dr., University Circle, Cleveland, OH 44106 7/20/16
Before Your Museum Visit
If this will be your first trip to the Museum for your students, you may want to review the following:
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What is a Museum?
What is our purpose for visiting The Cleveland Museum of Natural History?
How should we handle objects at the Museum?
Introduce the vocabulary and additional resources provided below.
Vocabulary
carnivore – a meat-eater
cast – a replica of an actual fossil
dinosaur – a prehistoric extinct reptile from the Mesozoic Era with upright legs
extinct – animals that do not exist anymore
fossils – the remains (or an impression) of a plant or animal that existed in a past geological age
and that has been taken from the soil
herbivore – a plant-eater
paleontologist – a scientist who studies the fossils of plants and animals of prehistoric times
paleontology – the study of the prehistoric plants and animals
skeleton – the set of bones that some animals have inside their bodies
Extension Activities
Make your own fossil
 Prepare a chunk of potter’s clay for each student, smoothing the pieces to approximately
2”x2”x1”.
 Have children press a leaf, shell, or even a lost tooth into the clay and then remove the
object. Explain to the children that this is one way in which fossils are formed, from the
impression of a living thing. Another example would be a footprint. These are called mold
fossils.
 Set the clay in the sun to dry (about 24 hours).
 As a paleontologist would do to study the fossil, pour plaster of paris into the mold fossil
and allow the plaster to dry. Pop out the cast of the fossil. Explain to the children that the
cast is not the actual fossil, but a copy of the real thing.
Produced and published by the Education Division
1 Wade Oval Dr., University Circle, Cleveland, OH 44106 7/20/16
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Some of the examples that the children will view and touch during the program are casts,
as real fossils are often too fragile to touch.
Online Resources for Teachers and Students
Click the link below to find additional online resources for teachers and students. These websites
are recommended by our Museum Educators and provide additional content information and
some fun, interactive activities to share with your class.
CMNH Educators regularly review these links for quality. Web addresses often change so please
notify us if any links have issues.
Cleveland Museum of Natural History https://cmnh.org/edlinks
Educator Resource Center (ERC)
Materials for Loan
The Educator Resource Center offers
educator workshops, thematic teaching
kits, animal dioramas and more for loan to
area teachers.
Contact the ERC at 216-231-2075 for
information on individual or school
membership.
Visit the Museum’s ERC website for more
information on workshops.
https://www.cmnh.org/ERC
Hours
o Monday through Friday, 1 to 5 PM
o Wednesday, 1 to 6 PM
o Saturday, 9 AM to 2 PM
If you’re interested in additional resources
be sure to check out the following ERC
materials or browse ERC materials online at
http://cmnh.hosting.l4u.com
Related ERC kits for this topic include:
Discover Dinosaurs: Let dinosaurs come
alive with specimen casts of a Theropod
footprint, Allosaurus claw, Tyrannosaurus
rex tooth, Oviraptor egg and more. Trade
books with corresponding activities are also
included.
Dinosaur Fossils: This kit is a wonderful
accompaniment to the Discover Dinosaurs
kit. It includes several fossil replicas of
dinosaur skulls, eggs, and more!
Produced and published by the Education Division
1 Wade Oval Dr., University Circle, Cleveland, OH 44106 7/20/16