A Trip to the Museum of Natural History: A Day With Dinosaurs

The Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institute
10th Street and Constitution Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20560
(202)357-2700
(202) 357-2747 (Education Department)


Instructional Unit:
This trip will reveal when the dinosaurs lived, their classifications, characteristics, and the life styles of the creatures. Our dinosaur unit will be completed with a visit to the exhibits.

Curriculum Unit:
Grade 2
Science

Objectives:
Our visit to the museum will be a culminating activity. The children will have been taught all the unit objectives. Students will be able to:
1. Explain that dinosaurs lived long before people were on Earth.
2. Classify dinosaurs by similar characteristics.
3. Identify the following dinosaurs:

Allosaurus
Brachiosaurus
Brontosaurus
Diplodocus
Iguanodon
Monoclonius
Stegosaurus
Triceratops
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Dimetrodon
Hypsilophodon

4. Identify the characteristics of the above mentioned dinosaurs, their dietary habits, and survival methods.
5 . Identify a fossil.
6 . List the steps in transporting dinosaur bones.

Pre-Visit Activities:
The children will have read various books on dinosaurs during the unit study. During this time, the students will:
1. Present various dinosaurs and their characteristics.
2. Do research on one dinosaur of their choosing.
3. Draw various pictures and make fact cards for each of the dinosaurs.
4. Write a story about a day in the life of a dinosaur.
5. Propose a theory as to the extinction of dinosaurs.

On-Site Activities:
The children and parents will follow a "Parent-Guide" sheet for the tour. The children will be introduced to many dinosaurs. This will reinforce their knowledge gained through the unit on dinosaurs.

Follow-Up Activities:
The children will discuss their answers to the "Parent-Guide" sheet. They will afterwards write in their journals about their favorite exhibit. From this, the children will present a dinosaur program which will include performance of songs from the record "Our Dinosaur Friends". The children will also watch the "Land Before our Time" video and point out fact from fiction through the use of a Venn Diagram.

Appendices:
A Day with Dinosaurs Worksheet

Bibliography:
Dinosaur Time, Peggy Parish, Harper Crest, 1971.
Brachiosaurus, Janet Riechecky, Children's Press, 1989.
Dinosaurs, Mary Lou Clark, Rourke Enterprises, 1984.
Diplodocus, Ron Wilson, Rourke Enterprises, 1984.
Allosaurus, Ron Wilson, Rourke Enterprises, 1984.
Tyrannosaurus Rex, Millicent, Belsam, Harper & Row,1978.
Dinosaurs, Gail Gibbons, Holiday House, 1987.
My Visit to the Dinosaurs, Aliki, Thomas Cromwell, 1985

Music:
And Now For Something Completely Dinosaur . Teresa Jennings, Jenson Publication Inc. 1987.
Our Dinosaur Friends. For the early years, American Teaching Aids 1978.

Videos:
Digging Up Dinosaurs. Reading Rainbow, GPN-WNED TV- 1983.
Land Before Time. MCA Home Video- 1989.

Computer:
Dinosaurs. Apple, Commodore. Berkeley, California; Advanced Ideas, 1984.

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