Dino Dana. J.J. Johnson

shows how big each dinosaur is compared to me.

      I’m probably about the same size as you.

      WHERE WE FOUND THEM

      This map shows where each dinosaur’s fossils were first discovered.

      DINO EXPERIMENT 809

      QUESTION: How do baby Albertosaurus survive?

      BACKGROUND RESEARCH NOTES:

      This was JUST a dream.

      (Dexter didn’t REALLY become

      a baby Albertosaurus)

      MY PLAN:

      Baby Dexter got baby food ALL OVER my field guide, so I wished I had a dino brother instead of Dexter, and my wish came true… which ended up helping me solve my dino experiment!

      FIELD NOTES:

      1.Dexter turned into a baby ALBERTOSAURUS and everyone acted like it was totally normal.

      2.The baby dino STOLE my breakfast!! And guess what? Mom just said she was proud of his “dino survival skills.”

      3.THEN he pushed Saara out of our room and built his dino nest where her bed was. And again, Mom said she was proud of him. Poor Saara.

      4.But then he beat me at wrestling, proving he was stronger than ME and I had to move out too!!!

      5.The baby Albertosaurus got all of Mom’s attention which is what he wanted all along. (I like Dexter better!)

      FINDING:

      Baby dinos compete with their siblings to get food, space, and attention from their parents. The strongest baby dino survives!

      DINO EXPERIMENT 820

      QUESTION: Who left the dino poop outside Grandma’s barn?!

      BACKGROUND RESEARCH NOTES:

       Herbivore = a dinosaur that eats plants (hay, grass, leaves…)

       Carnivore = a dinosaur that eats meat (lizards, mammals, other dinosaurs…)

       Omnivore = a dinosaur that eats BOTH plants and meat!

      MY PLAN:

      GLOVES ON! I’ll need to investigate the dinosaur poop I found at Grandma’s barn

      to see what type of dinosaur it came from. If the dinosaur eats meat, Grandma’s animals could be in trouble!

      FIELD NOTES:

      6.I see hay in the poop, so it must belong to a herbivore. AND I see an Amargasaurus nearby, she must be hanging around to eat the farm animals’ hay! Experiment solved!

      »Experiment back on! Because there is also a Troodon near the barn! The Troodon eats plants and animals, so I better check the poop again.

      7.I found a bone in the poop! Since there is hay AND bone in the poop, it must be from the Troodon! Experiment solved!

      »Nope! Because I just saw a T. rex! But the T. rex eats meat, so why would there be hay in its poop?

      8.Grandma helped me figure it out! The poop COULD be from the T. rex, because the T. rex ATE dinosaurs that ate hay! Experiment FINALLY solved!

      FINDING:

      Even though carnivores only ate other animals, their poop could still have plants in it because some of the animals they ate had plants in their stomachs when the carnivore ate them! Isn’t that interesting?

      DINO EXPERIMENT 624

      QUESTION: x Why do baby Brachiosaurus eat so much?

      BACKGROUND RESEARCH NOTES:

      The Brachiosaurus is MASSIVE! It’s a member of the sauropod family which are really big herbivores.

      MY PLAN:

      Observe and brainstorm. Dad is home today and said he would help.

      FIELD NOTES:

      9.I spotted a baby Brachiosaurus outside but ALL HE DOES is eat, eat, and EAT!

      »Dad hypothesizes it’s because the Brachiosaurus needs to become huge! I wonder why it has to be such a big dino?

      10.I found a teen Brachy! He’s WAY bigger than the baby, but

      STILL eating!

      »Dad’s new hypothesis is that the teen still needs to eat so he can reach his full size to DEFEND himself.

      »Update = A Troodon is here and went after the baby and teen Brachy! The teen defended them by stomping his feet. Bye Troodon!

      11.Uh oh! Now a big T. rex is here! She’s going after the baby and teen Brachiosaurus! The teen is trying to scare her away, but he’s not big enough!