This half term Reception class are learning all about dinosaurs! To begin the topic, we have discussed different ways of finding out information about dinosaurs including using the internet to search for facts, reading non-fiction books and visiting a museum.

On Thursday 16th January, Reception class went to the Great North Museum in Newcastle where they took part in their Dinky Dino workshop. Within the workshop the children explored a variety of activities including finding, researching and measuring different types of fossils. The children were equally amazed and disgusted at the discovery of coprolite which we learned was fossilized dinosaur poop!  

The children re-enacted the fossilization process of ammonites, learning that the sea had a big part to play in covering the shelled species with mud and rock. Interestingly, the children learned that before they were fossils, they moved backwards in the sea by blowing out air.

The children also took part in a dinosaur parachute game and listened very attentively to a story. The lady at the museum was very impressed with our knowledge and understanding of some very important words like ‘extinct’, ‘herbivore’ and ‘carnivore’. The children even got to share some of their prior learning about palaeontologist Mary Anning and some of the facts they have learned through books and internet research. For example, a triceratops has three horns and uses his horned nose to fight off predators!

After the workshop, the children had an opportunity to explore the rest of the museum where they discovered lots more fossils and a huge T-rex skeleton! Everyone had a fantastic day and the behaviour of the children was complimented by museum staff. They really are fantastic representatives of All Saints’! We are looking forward to more dinosaur stories and activities over the coming weeks back in class.