Union Station Kansas City, Inc. is proud to host this uniquely North American, one-of-a-kind

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1 EDUCATOR S GUIDE

2 About the Exhibition Experience dinosaurs like never before in Dinosaurs Revealed: The Exhibition only at Union Station Kansas City, Inc. The exhibition takes visitors on an immersive journey through time to see dinosaurs from world-famous geologic dig-sites across America. A blend of like-life animatronic dinosaurs, actual fossils, full dinosaur skeletons, and interactive exhibits, Dinosaurs Revealed provides new insights about the latest dinosaur discoveries and how these amazing, prehistoric creatures ruled on land for over 200 million years. In the exhibition, visitors travel across America, while also passing through successive geologic periods in Earth s history, including the Triassic, Jurassic & Cretaceous Periods. All the while they will hear and see how the Earth s environment changed over time, and how dinosaurs evolved along the way too. Over 26 animatronic dinosaurs, 2 full skeletons, and dozens of actual fossils realistically recreate each geologic period. See first-hand what scientists believe dinosaurs looked like, what sounds they made, and how they moved in their own environments. Learn where famous dinosaur dig sites currently exist in North America, and the work it takes to reveal and uncover their fossilized remains. Listen to paleontologist experts, meet dinosaur bone hunters in the exhibition, hear about their fossil hunting experiences, and see what fossils they have found and pieced back together. At Dinosaurs Revealed, visitors will also engage in interactive, dinosaur-themed science exhibits that combine both educational content and fun hands-on activities to inspire visitors of all ages from a 3D Augmented Reality Volcano table, to dinosaur dig-sites, interactive projection, dino tracks, puzzles, and more. Union Station Kansas City, Inc. is proud to host this uniquely North American, one-of-a-kind How to Prepare Students should be ready to experience an immersive and educational journey. The exhibition presents relevant information about our planet, recent dinosaur discoveries, and finds from the past. There are learning opportunities for all ages. The information in this guide will help orient students and prepare them for the experience. Encourage your students to read the age-appropriate books from the list included here. These books will familiarize your students with dinosaurs and the environment they lived in, and help make the most of their visit to the exhibition. 2 01

3 During Your Trip to Dinosaurs Revealed, Students Will: > Travel back in time to see dinosaurs of North America. > Journey through all 3 major geologic periods the Triassic, Jurassic & Cretaceous. > Encounter animatronic dinosaurs from each period. > Understand how the Earth s climate changed over millions of years. > Experience how dinosaurs adapted to the changing environment on Earth. > View full dinosaur skeletons and skulls from various geologic periods. > See and touch real dinosaur fossils. > Dig for fossils at a replicated dig-site. > Create volcanic events on a 3D augmented reality sandbox. > Learn about major extinction events during the time of dinosaurs. > Interact with dinosaur video projection. > View dig-site footage of fossil hunting expeditions from world-famous sites across North America. Fast Facts/ Did You Know? Quick Tips The word dinosaur originates from the Ancient Greek language, meaning terrible lizard. When dinosaurs first evolved 252 million years ago, the Earth had one super continent called Pangea. The Mesozoic Era is the time dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The Mesozoic was divided into 3 major periods The Triassic, The Jurassic, and The Cretaceous. The Triassic Period ended abruptly with a major extinction event of super-volcano eruptions occurring over a period of 600,000 years. The Cretaceous Period ended with an even bigger extinction event, caused by the impact of a gigantic asteroid measuring 7 miles across. The impact occurred off the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Over 80% of all animal and plant life on Earth was wiped out by this cataclysmic event, including the last of the dinosaurs. This meteorite impact is called the K-Pg Extinction Event, and occurred 66 million years ago. The exhibit entrance is located on C Level, accessible via the stairs/escalators by Ticketing, or via the NW elevators. On average, most groups will spend 60 minutes in the exhibition. Restrooms are located in the Atrium. There are no restrooms in the exhibition. No food or beverages are allowed. We encourage guests to connect via WiFi network USKCExhibit and share your experiences with us #USKCDinosRevealed 3 02

4 What to Expect Intro Theatre A short introductory program provides an orientation to the exhibition, helping set the scene for your journey back in time to the age of dinosuars. Hall of Skulls Begin your journey face to face with dinosaur skulls from each geologic period the Triassic, Jurassic & Cretaceous. See how the Earth s land mass of Pangea split up during a 200 million year period, and how the climate and dinosaurs changed along the way. Triassic Hall Meet the earliest dinosaurs and see their environment. Animatronic dinosaur models make the Triassic Hall come to life. Create volcanic simulations at the 3D Sand Table, representing the extinction event that ended the Triassic Period. Jurassic Hall Travel into the tropical climate of the Jurassic Period, where plant growth thrives and allowed dinosaurs to reach epic proportions of size. Animatronic models show the next evolution for dinosaurs as their scale and diversity increased. Explore dinosaur topics with fun and educational magnet puzzles, video projection and other interactives. Cretaceous Hall A See recent fossil discoveries from the Cretaceous Period of the Kaiparowits Formation with full skeletons of the Utahraptor and Kosmoceratops. Challenge your inner Paleontologist and see what fossils you can uncover at the dig-site. Cretaceous Hall B Step into the Cretaceous Period where T-Rex became King. Observe how the dinosaurs evolved in the last period before the meteorite impact that ended their reign. See first-hand video footage and fossil specimens uncovered in the Hell Creek Formation by the University of Kansas Paleontologist Team

5 Pre Field Trip Questions Animals Diets 1. Based on diet, what are the 3 distinct groups of animals called? 2. What diet category do human fit? If more than one, why? Climate Change 1. How has the Earth s climate changed over time? Cite specific examples. 2. In what ways has life on Earth adapted as the climate has changed? Cite specific examples. Adaptation 1. What is adaptation? 2. Name an animal, or organism, and describe how it has adapted over time. 3. Are there any animals that have essentially remained the same on Earth for millions of years? If so, name 3 of them. Fossil Records 1. What is a fossil? 2. How is a fossil made? 3. What significant discoveries have been found in the dinosaur fossil record? Post Field Trip Questions Animals Diets 1. What diets are typical of herbivore dinosaurs? 2. What diets are typical of carnivore dinosaurs? 3. What diets are typical of omnivore dinosaurs? 4. Based on what you eat, what type of dinosaur would you be? Climate Change 1. How did the Earth s climate changed from the Triassic to the Jurassic, and from the Jurassic to the Cretaceous? 2. Can humans adapt to different climates? If so, describe some tools or technology we utilize to adapt. 3. Describe how continental drift impact the climate for land-dwelling dinosaurs? 4. What is the significance of the K-Pg Boundary found in soil & rock layers at the end of the Cretaceous Period? Adaptation 1. How did dinosaurs adapt to a changing environment? 2. When the environment changed rapidly, due to volcanic eruptions, or a meteorite impact, were dinosaurs able to successfully adaption to the new conditions? 3. Have humans adapted over time? if so, describe how. Fossil Records 1. What is a fossil? 2. What significant discoveries have been found in the dinosaur fossil record? 3. Why are the same species of dinosaurs found across several continents today? 4. Have any scientific theories about dinosaurs proven false? If so, name one theory, or idea that was false. 04

6 Suggested Books for K-12 Classrooms and Libraries Elementary School, Grades K-5 1. How Big Were Dinosaurs? By Lita Judge (2013) 2. Dinosaurs by Penelope Arion (2012) 3. National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs by Catherine D. Hughes and Franco Tempesta (2011) 4. Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs by Kathleen Kudlinski (2008) 5. Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur? All About Dinosaurs by Bonnie Worth (1999) Middle School, Grades DINOSAUR! by DK and Smithsonian (2014) 2. Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages by Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. (2007) 3. The Fossil Factory: A Kid s Guide to Digging Up Dinosaurs, Exploring Evolution, and Finding Fossils by Niles, Gregory, and Douglas Eldredge (2002) High School, Grades The First Fossil Hunters by Adrienne Mayor (2011) 2. Dinosaur Odyssey by Scott Sampson (2011) 3. The Bonehunters Revenge by David Rains Wallace (1999) 4. Digging Dinosaurs by John Horner and James Gorman (1990) Recommended Websites fieldguide/ category/dinosaurs/ dino-directory/index.html 05

7 Vocabulary Terms Fossil The remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock. Plate Tectonics A theory explaining the structure of the earth s crust and the associated phenomena from the interaction of rigid lithospheric plates that move slowly over the underlying mantle. Climate Change A change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time (i.e., decades to millions of years). Triassic Denotes or relates to the earliest period of the Mesozoic era, between the Permian and Jurassic periods. Jurassic Denotes or relates to the second period of the Mesozoic era, between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods. Cretaceous Denotes or relates to the last period of the Mesozoic era, between the Jurassic and Tertiary periods. Herbivore An animal that feeds on plants. Carnivore An animal that feeds on flesh. Omnivore An animal that eats food of both plant and animal origin. Adaptation An advantageous inheritable physical or behavioral trait that serves a specific function and improves an organism s fitness for survival in its environment. Evolution The process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth. Ecosystem A complex community of organisms and their environment functioning as an ecological unit. Bipedal (Of an animal) using only two legs for walking. Quadruped An animal that uses four legs for walking. Sediment Material deposited by water, wind or glaciers. Flora The plants of a particular region, habitat, or geological period. Fauna All of the animal life of any particular region or time. Polyphyodont Any animal whose teeth are continually replaced. 06

8 What is a Dinosaur? Activity for Grades K-5 Introduction Dinosaurs are prehistoric reptiles that lived on Earth from about 232 million years ago to the present. Modern birds are one kind of dinosaur because they share a common ancestor with non-avian dinosaurs. Non-avian dinosaurs (all dinosaurs besides birds), which are now extinct, varied greatly in shape and size. Some weighed as much as 80 tons and were more than 120 feet long. Others were the size of a chicken and weighed as little as 8 pounds. All non-avian dinosaurs lived on land. Some may have gone into the swamps and lakes for food, but they did not live entirely in water. Meat-eaters walked on two legs and hunted alone or in groups. Plant-eaters walked on either two or four legs and grazed on plants. The feature that distinguishes dinosaurs from other reptiles is a hole in the hip socket. This feature allowed dinosaurs to walk upright. Pterosaurs, or flying reptiles, and plesiosaurs, ocean-dwelling reptiles, did not have this feature and were not dinosaurs. Objective This activity will help students understand the difference between dinosaurs and other animals. Materials Picture of a dinosaur and a picture of a lizard or alligator (from a nature magazine or calendar) Dinosaur or Not? duplicated for each student Crayons Recommended Dinosaur Books on Pg. 05 of the Educator s Guide. Procedure 1 Write What Is a Dinosaur? on the chalkboard. Instruct students today you will explore this question. Have students work in small groups. Distribute dinosaur books to each group. Give groups 10 minutes to look through the books and find three interesting facts about dinosaurs. 2 Have groups report their facts to the class. Using students responses, create a bubble map like the one shown. 3 Display the pictures of the lizard and the dinosaur. Ask students how the two reptiles are different. Point out the lizard has legs that sprawl out to the side, while the dinosaur s legs are directly underneath its body. Explain dinosaurs had a hole in their hip socket which allowed them to stand upright. Other reptiles, like crocodiles, do not have such a hole and therefore are not dinosaurs. Call on student volunteers to imitate a sprawling stance and a dinosaur stance. Have them try walking forward using each stance. 4 Distribute Dinosaurs or Not? to each student. Instruct students to look carefully at each animal and to color those that are dinosaurs. When students are done, review their answers with them. (Answers: The lion, woolly mammoth, and alligator are not dinosaurs.) 5 As an extension to this activity, have students play a riddle game. Have students work with a partner. Distribute index cards. Have partners choose a dinosaur or another animal. Have them write three clues that tell about the organism s features on one side of the card. The answer to the riddle should be written on the back. Call on partners to read their clues aloud. Have the class guess what animal or dinosaur is being described. 08

9 Dinosaur or Not? Name Date Look at the animals. Color the animals that are dinosaurs. 09

10 What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur? Activity for Grades 6-8 Introduction What distinguishes dinosaurs from other reptiles? Reptiles, such as crocodiles and lizards, have legs that sprawl out to the side. Their thigh bones are almost parallel to the ground. They walk and run with a side-to-side motion. Dinosaurs, on the other hand, stand with their legs positioned directly under their bodies. A hole in the hip socket permits this upright stance. This posture allows dinosaurs to run faster and with greater endurance than other reptiles of the same size. During the Age of Dinosaurs there were other reptiles living on the land and in the seas. While these animals lived alongside dinosaurs, they did not have a hole in their hip socket and thus were not dinosaurs. Modern birds are one kind of dinosaur because they share a common ancestor with nonavian dinosaurs. They have features such as the three-toed foot and s-shaped neck, and therefore are classified as dinosaurs. Objective In this activity, students will explore dinosaur stance and the dinosaur-bird connection. Materials Picture of a four-footed dinosaur, such as Apatosaurus Picture of a lizard and birds (from a nature magazine or calendar) Procedure 1. Display the picture of the lizard and the picture of the dinosaur. Instruct students to compare the stances and discuss how the lizard s legs are sprawled out to the side, while the dinosaur s legs are directly underneath its body. Inform students all dinosaurs had a hole in their hip socket that allowed them to stand this way. The hole in the hip socket distinguishes dinosaurs from other reptiles. 2. Call on volunteers to duplicate the lizard stance by assuming a crawling position and then moving their arms and legs out to the side. Back feet should point forward, hands should point slightly away from the body. Have volunteers walk forward as students observe. They should shift their weight from side to side (waddle), move slowly, and awkwardly. 3. Call on volunteers to duplicate a quadrupedal dinosaur stance, with arms and legs positioned directly under their bodies. Have volunteers walk forward as students observe. They should move more quickly, not as awkwardly. 4. Discuss with students how paleontologists classify birds as dinosaurs. Instruct students to examine pictures of birds and a dinosaur to find similarities. 5. Divide students into work groups. Distribute duplicates of the T-Rex and modern day bird skeletons. Have groups compare the two and note which features the two animals share. Give groups time to share their findings. Discuss shared features such as the s-shaped neck and three-toed foot. 10

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12 educational standards Grades K-5, Next Generation Science Standards, Life Science 2-LS LS LS LS LS4-4. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. Analysis and interpret date from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago. Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change. Grades K-5, Next Generation Science Standards, Earth and Space Science 2-ESS ESS ESS ESS ESS2-1. Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly. Examples of events and timescales could include volcanic explosions and earthquakes. Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth s features. Maps can include topographic maps of Earth s land and ocean floor, as well as maps of the locations of mountains, continental boundaries, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time. Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing. Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact. 12

13 educational standards Grades 6-8, Next Generation Science Standards, Life Science MS-LS4-1. MS-LS4-2. MS-LS4-4. Analysis and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past. Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships. Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment. Grades 6-8, Next Generation Science Standards, Earth and Space Science MS-ESS1-4. MS-ESS2-1. MS-ESS2-2. MS-ESS2-3. Construct a specific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth s 4.6-billion-year-old history. Emphasis is on how analyses of rock formations and the fossils they contain are used to establish relative ages of major events in Earth s history. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process. Emphasis is on the process of melting, crystallization, weather, deformation, and sedimentation, which act together to form minerals and rocks through the cycling of Earth s materials. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth s surface at varying time and spatial scales. Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions. Examples of data includes similarities of rock and fossil types on different continents. 13

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