Event information
Event type: Workshop
Location: Investigate, Lower Ground Floor (Green Zone)
Suitable for: Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11)
Capacity: 35 pupils
Duration: 35 minutes
Ticket prices: £3 per pupil
Booking required by phone
Dinosaurs died out around 65 million years ago, so how can we find out about what dinosaurs really looked like and how they lived?
In this fun hands-on workshop, pupils work in groups to identify a range of fossils, perform their own fossil dig and work out what their mystery specimens might be through observation and measuring.
Pupils will handle fossils, find out what they are, what they can tell us and how palaeontologists study them to explore prehistoric life on Earth.
Workshop rundown
- Pupils learn how the Museum’s collections are studied by different scientists.
- Pupils examine fossil specimens to develop their fossil identification skills.
- Pupils uncover a mystery specimen and examine its features. They measure their specimen, and compare it to known dinosaurs in order to identify what species it is.
- Pupils look for clues about how the dinosaurs behaved from fossil evidence.
Further information
Curriculum links: Rocks, Evolution and inheritance
Note: The activity works best if you visit the Dinosaurs gallery after the workshop.
Our Year 3 children have loved learning about dinosaurs and the pre-historic world in their Humanities lessons so it was brilliant for them to become palaeontologists for this hands-on workshop. They were given the opportunity to handle the different types of fossils and even uncover a dinosaur skull!
They particularly loved using the paintbrushes and measuring the skull to find out which dinosaur it belonged to.
Micaela Facino
Humanities co-ordinator, NQT Mentor and Year 3 Teacher, Oakfield Preparatory School
Event dates and times
The workshop runs at 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm on the weekdays shown below. The duration is 35 minutes.
Oct 2024
1, 14, 15
Nov 2024
12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 26, 28, 29
Dec 2024
3, 5, 6, 10, 13, 17, 19, 20
Jan 2025
15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 28, 30, 31
Feb 2025
5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 26, 27, 28
March 2025
3, 4, 6, 11, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 31
April 2025
2, 3, 4
View live calendar
The above dates are not live - to view all school sessions please open the School Sessions Availabilty calendar.
How to book
All workshops must be prebooked by phone. The dates listed above are not live. To explore individual timeslots for days, please view the School Sessions Availability calendar.
You can book for dates up to April 2025, during term time. Bookings must be made at least three weeks in advance.
This workshop is for KS2 (ages 7-11).
The maximum capacity per workshop is 35 pupils. Bookings must be for a minimum of 15 pupils.
To check dates and make a booking, please read our essential information page, then phone the bookings team.
Related galleries and activities
Dinosaurs
The Museum's dinosaurs are world-famous. Meet the roaring T. rex, see the skull of a Triceratops and wander among fossils in the Dinosaurs gallery.
Earth Hall and Stegosaurus
Meet our incredible dinosaur specimen, the most intact Stegosaurus fossil skeleton ever found. At three metres tall and almost six metres long, it's a dramatic welcome to Earth Hall.
Fossils from Britain
Trace our fossil record through mud, silt, sand and time. See preserved shark teeth and spot the fossil fakes in the Fossils from Britain gallery.
Useful resources
-
Mary Anning: Fossil Hunter - gallery activity guide
Download this free work booklet to explore Mary Anning and the Fossil Marine Reptiles Gallery.
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DinosaursWhat dinosaur are you?
Take our quiz to find out which dinosaur you're most like - could it be the terrifying T. rex or the placid Plateosaurus?
-
DinosaursHow to draw a dinosaur
Learn how to create a cartoon T. rex. Plus find out how palaeoartists draw dinosaurs.
