Welcome to the Lost Kingdom here at Paultons Park! A land of dinosaurs, from Tyrannosaurus Rexes to Diplodocuses and Stegosauruses. But do you have the dinosaur key-stage 1 facts to make sure you are a brave explorer who is ready to conquer the Lost Kingdom? Read below!
Dinosaurs roamed the earth 180 million years ago, (that’s a very long time ago) and ruled the earth for a staggering 160 million years! Did you know that the dinosaurs didn’t all live at the same time?
The Stegosaurus had already been extinct for approximately 80 million years before the dinosaur the fierce T-Rex! In fact, the time separating Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus is greater than the time separating Tyrannosaurus and you. Wow!
What happened to the Dinosaurs?
65 million years ago about 70% of all life on Earth died out, including dinosaurs. Scientists don’t know for sure what happened because it was such a long time ago. Some scientists believe it could have happened because an asteroid hit the Earth, others believe the world got so cold that there was an ice age that the dinosaurs couldn’t survive. What do you think happened?
Here is our dinosaur fact guide for KS1 to some of the best dinosaurs that you can see when you visit the Lost Kingdom.
T-Rex
Let’s start with one of the fiercest and most well-known of the dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus-Rex (T-rex)! A lone hunter, this dinosaur was the length of a bus and twice the weight of an elephant. This fearsome carnivore would use its powerful jaw and its 8 inch long teeth to rip its prey apart- its bite was 3 times as powerful as a lions! No wonder it’s one of the most well-known meat eating dinosaurs ever!
T-Rex Facts:
- T-Rexes are too big to sit on their eggs, instead, they make a nest out of rotting plants to keep them warm and safe.
- A T-Rex’s bite is three times stronger than a lion’s and can cut through almost any animal skin.
- T-Rexes are carnivores, meaning they eat meat only. No veggies for them!
If you’re brave enough, you can get up close to the parks Tame(ish) T-rex Max, when coming to join us at the Alive! Dinosaur Encounter.
Velociraptor
These carnivores are actually a lot smaller than you see in the movies! A raptor is believed to be the size of a turkey! So, when trying to imagine a Velociraptor, it is probably best to picture some sort of turkey you eat at Christmas- but a carnivorous one with long teeth and vicious claws…. Scary!
Velociraptor actually means ‘speedy thief ‘or ‘quick plunderer’, and this is a very suitable name for these clever hunters. They hunted in packs and could reach speeds of up to 40mph.
Funnily enough, the Velociraptor rollercoaster at Paulton’s Park reaches this top speed as well! You can really imagine how fast they ran when you ride this rapid rollercoaster. Crikey!
Velociraptor Facts:
- These small dinosaurs were only 6 foot tall (as tall as a big 4×4 car) and so often hunted in packs.
- Velociraptors were scavengers, meaning that they usually ate dinosaurs that were already killed by bigger dinosaurs, like the T Rex.
- Some velociraptors used to have feathers!
- T Rex and velociraptors did not live at the same time. Velociraptors lived around 7 to 10 million years before the T Rex.
Pterosaur
Despite their wings and dinosaur-like appearance, these creatures were neither birds nor dinosaurs. In fact, pterosaurs were winged reptiles closely related to dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs have limbs under their body, but pterosaurs (like lizards and crocodiles) have limbs that stick out from the sides of their bodies. This is one feature that separates the Pterosaurs from the Dinosaurs.
Pterosaurs could be as large as F-16 fighter jets or as small as paper planes and they were the first animals to fly except insects. Weirdly enough, they have no relationship to insects or birds though. Truly puzzling!
Pterosaur facts:
- They were able to fly because they had hollow (empty) bones which made them light, so they could fly to look for food and avoid predators. They usually ate fish as a result!
- Scientists thought they walked on two legs when walking on land, like a pigeon. Turns out they walked on all fours, like a bat!
- There have been times where pterosaur bones have been found in big dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, scary!
Argentinosaurus
Now, not all dinosaurs were meat-eating menaces, some were very peaceful plant-eaters just like the Argentinosaurus. This dinosaur’s food was leaves, seeds and fruit off of trees and roamed the earth 100 million years ago!
Scientists believe that this dinosaur moved in herds of around 20 and that its long neck was perfect for picking leaves from the tallest trees- a bit like a giraffe.
Not a lot is known about this dinosaur because only a few fossils have been found and studied. Maybe you’ll have better luck putting on your explorer hat and finding some fossils yourself in the Little Explorers play park.
Argentinosaurus Facts:
- The Argentinosaurus was first discovered in guess where – Argentina!
- The Argentinosaurus was one of the biggest dinosaurs on earth, at around 100 feet long and 100 tons in weight! That’s as tall as an aircraft and as heavy as one too!
- They could lay up to 15 dinosaur eggs at a time.
Stegosaurus
Our dinosaur facts for key stage one doesn’t end here. Our next stop? A slow-moving plant-eating dinosaur. It’s the Stegosaurus! They could only reach speeds of 5mph so they would not have been able to out-run predators but had 17 long plates on its back to protect it. Despite its large size, its brain was only the size of a walnut!
Stegosaurus Facts:
- Stegosauruses were usually 9 meters long, the same as a double-decker bus!
- They had 2-3-foot-long spikes on their tail to protect them against other dinosaurs.
- Stegosauruses have plates on their back that change colour to red. This could be to let their herd know about different dinosaurs getting near them or to show them that there is food nearby.
Bonus Dinosaur Facts
1. Dinosaurs lived in the Mesozoic Era, also known as “The Age of the Dinosaurs”.
2. There were more than 1,000 different types of dinosaurs.
3. The longest dinosaur’s name is the Micropachycephalosaurus. Which means “small thick-headed lizard.’ Did you know they were only 60cm long? That’s two school rulers!
4. “Dino” comes from the Greek word “deinos” meaning “terrible” and “Saurus” comes from the Greek word “sauros” which means lizard.
5. Lizards, snakes, crocodiles, and snakes all came from dinosaurs.
So that’s it! Our key-stage one dinosaur fact guide to all things dino-tastic at the Lost Kingdom! We have a few more if you really like your dinosaurs, which you can click here. Our fearsome facts are sure to get you ready for your adventure here at the Lost Kingdom at Paultons Park, we can’t wait to see you. And remember: don’t forget your explorer hat!
