Who doesn’t love dinosaurs? Whether it’s visiting a museum to learn more about fossils or heading to the movie theater for a Jurassic-themed blockbuster, kids (and grown-ups) can’t get enough. But what do we really know about dinosaurs? We’ve put together this list of incredible dinosaur facts to share with your students. You won’t believe some of these tidbits!
Plus, click the button to receive a Google Slideshow of all of the facts below!
Incredible Dinosaur Facts for Kids
1. The word “dinosaur” is Greek for “terrible lizard.”
Coined by English paleontologist Richard Owen in 1842, the word dinosaur means “terrible lizard,” but it’s not because they are scary—it refers to their enormous size!
2. Dinosaurs roamed the Earth for about 165 million years.
So despite becoming extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, dinosaurs must be considered a success to have survived that long!
3. Dinosaurs became extinct about 65.5 million years ago.
This is one of the most famous dinosaur facts for kids. No one is exactly sure why the dinosaurs died out almost 66 million years ago. Some believe the climate became too hot or cold for them to exist. Others say that a huge asteroid collided with Earth—if this was true, why did some species, including the ancestors of frogs, turtles, and even birds, survive? It’s a mystery! Watch this video to explore some of the theories.
4. Baby tyrannosaurs were probably adorable.
The ferocious adult T-Rex was the king of dinosaurs, but re-creations of their tiny hatchlings by the American Museum of Natural History are surprisingly cute!
5. The largest land-based dinosaur was the Argentinosaurus huinculensis.
Incredibly, this massive dinosaur could reach up to 130 feet in length! Watch this video about the biggest dino ever!
6. The first dinosaur to be named was the Megalosaurus.
The Megalosaurus was discovered by William Buckland, a professor of geology at the University of Oxford. Check out this video about the discovery of the first dinosaur in 1824.
7. The oldest dinosaur is the Eoraptor.
We are still learning about dinosaurs, but the oldest one known to us right now is the Eoraptor, an omnivore that roamed the Earth around 230 million years ago.
8. Paleontologists study dinosaurs.
Paleontologists explore ancient life-forms, from the microscopic to Megalosaurus.
9. Dinosaur fossils were first discovered in the early 1800s.
William Buckland shared his fossil findings with the Geological Society of London in 1824, 200 years ago.
10. Scientists believe that birds descended from dinosaurs.
Over generations and generations, dinosaurs evolved into birds. Paleontologists also say that dinosaurs were cousins of lizards, snakes, and crocodiles! Watch this video from National Geographic to answer the question: Are Birds Modern-Day Dinosaurs?
11. Many adult dinosaurs had feathers.
The largest known feathered dinosaur was the Yutyrannus huali (watch this to learn more about this super-predator!). This cousin of the T-Rex was 30 feet long and probably relied on its feathers to stay warm. Lots of other dinosaurs had feathers and some dinosaurs used their feathers to fly.
12. Dinosaurs and humans did not coexist.
Humans did not appear on Earth until about 65 million years after dinosaurs became extinct.
13. Not all dinosaurs were carnivores.
Many of the biggest dinosaurs, including the Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus, were herbivores, or plant-eaters. To protect themselves from their carnivorous counterparts, many had natural weapons such as spikes on their tails or horns as a shield.
14. Dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent.
Dinosaurs lived all over the world in different types of environments and climates, from dry, sandy deserts to lush tropical forests.
15. We drink the same water dinosaurs did.
Billions of years ago, water arrived on Earth, possibly as ice on meteorites that crashed into the new planet. These same water molecules continue to evaporate, condense into clouds, and precipitate. This means we’re all drinking the same water the dinosaurs did millions of years ago!
16. Pterodactyls are not dinosaurs.
These flying reptiles had a lot in common with dinosaurs and their existence overlapped, but they are not dinosaurs by definition. They were, however, the first reptiles capable of flying!
17. Some dinosaurs were smaller than a chicken.
The Microraptor weighed just over 2 pounds (1 kg) and was about 2.5 feet long!
18. Dinosaurs were colorful.
While scientists have believed that dinosaurs were gray, green, or brown, new research has revealed that they were likely more colorful than that! For example, the Sinosauropteryx was a turkey-size dino that was probably orange and white with a striped tail. Paleontologists also think the Caihong juji was rainbow-colored with shiny, iridescent feathers on its chest and neck!
19. Dinosaurs laid eggs.
Most dinosaurs laid eggs and built large nests to protect their babies and keep them together.
20. Young dinosaurs grew fast.
Remarkably, dinosaurs reached their full size, or adulthood, in just about seven or eight years!
21. Some dinosaurs lived to 100 years old.
It’s believed that some large dinosaurs, like sauropods, could live for 50 to 100 years.
22. Not all dinosaurs existed at the same time.
For millions of years, new dinosaur species emerged while others went extinct at different times. By the time the T-Rex was alive, the Stegosaurus was already a fossil!
23. Dinosaurs got sick.
Imagine a sauropod sneezing! There is evidence that non-avian dinosaurs caught respiratory illnesses and developed symptoms like runny noses and hacking coughs.
24. Dinosaurs loved to snuggle.
One of the most surprising dinosaur facts for kids was that these creatures snuggled. Paleontologists discovered the fossilized skeletons, from around 70 million years ago, of three young Oviraptorosaurs who were huddled together. It’s possible that they were roosting together for protection or to stay warm.
25. We haven’t discovered all the dinosaur species yet.
Science is all about searching for answers to questions and then asking even more questions! New species of dinosaurs are found all the time, giving us a clearer glimpse into what life was like for them. It also helps us better understand the species we’ve already found. Isn’t science amazing?
26. Dinosaur fossils are not actual bones.
Most dinosaur fossils are imprints in rock or rock made of minerals without the original bone material.
27. Dinosaurs are divided into two main groups.
Scientists have divided dinosaurs into Ornithischia, or bird-hipped dinosaurs, and Saurischia, or lizard-hipped dinosaurs. The classification is based on how the dinosaurs’ hip bones were shaped.
28. Ichthyosaurus was not a dinosaur.
Ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs were not dinosaurs, they were marine reptiles.
29. Dinosaurs went extinct very quickly.
Scientists believe it was a catastrophic event, like an asteroid or volcanic eruptions that changed the climate, that killed the dinosaurs because they disappeared quickly from the fossil record.
30. Dinosaurs first evolved when all of Earth’s land was one large continent.
In the Triassic period, dinosaurs evolved when all the continents were one large continent called Pangaea.
31. Temperatures during the Jurassic period were warmer than they are today.
Temperatures were warmer and wetter during the Jurassic period, which was when stegosaurus and other large, plant-eating sauropods walked the Earth.
32. The Tyrannosaurus rex didn’t chew its food.
T-Rex, a dinosaur known for its teeth (which were about 6 inches long and serrated), could not chew so it swallowed food in large chunks.
33. Dinosaurs were not cold-blooded.
Scientists have debated this, but since 2014, scientists have generally accepted that dinosaurs were mesotherms, or somewhere between cold- and warm-blooded.
34. Mary Anning was the first female paleontologist.
Mary Anning lived in England in the 1800s and found the fossils of an ichthyosaurus by her house when she was just 12 years old. It was the first of many fossil discoveries, and Anning became well known by dinosaur collectors.
35. Most dinosaur bones have been found in China and the United States.
Dinosaur species have been found in 51 countries and Antarctica, with the most fossils being found in China and the United States.
36. A recently discovered dinosaur is named after a Norse god.
A newly discovered dinosaur, lokiceratops, has a huge, blade-like horn and was found in Montana in 2019. It was discovered by two professors and was named for the Norse god Loki.
37. Mammals fought dinosaurs.
When dinosaurs and mammals lived at the same time, mammals fought back when dinos tried to eat them.
Get my Google Slides!
If you enjoyed these dinosaur facts, click the button to receive a Google Slideshow to share your favorites with your classroom!