Dinosaurs

Hello there. We are dinosaurs, a very big family that lived a long, long time ago. We were all different and special. Some of us were so huge that our long necks could reach the tops of the tallest trees. Other dinosaurs were small and could run super fast on their speedy legs. We had lots of cool features, too. Some of us had pointy horns on our heads to protect ourselves. Some had strong plates on our backs like armor. And many of us had long, strong tails to help us balance when we walked and ran.

Our world was a wonderful place, full of giant green plants and warm, bright sunshine. We loved our home. There were two main kinds of eaters in our family. Many of us loved to chomp, chomp, chomp on tasty leaves from the big ferns and trees. We were the plant-eaters. But some of us were hunters who ate meat. No matter what we ate, we all started our lives in the very same way. Every single one of us hatched from an egg. We broke out of a little shell, just like baby birds and tiny turtles do today.

We lived a very, very long time ago, during a time called the Mesozoic Era. You won't see us walking around today, but you can still learn all about our amazing family. People find our bones that have turned into hard rocks deep in the ground. These special bones are called fossils. When you go to a big museum and see our giant skeletons all put together, it's like we are saying a friendly hello to you from the past. Our fossils tell our story.