Dinosaurs - what's the big deal?

Because they are part of Earths past and extinct, my Granddaughter finds them fascinating too and soaks up any information she can find. There are hundreds of different species to learn about I don't think living animals that can be seen in the flesh hold the same sort of mystic and fascination.

Inclined to agree actually. Don't mind the friendlier looking dinosaur characters but some of them are terrifying and my dgd went through a stage of being terrified there was a T-rex under her bed for ages.

My two year old granddaughter is fascinated by them too!

One of my favourite books when I was a child was a book about dinosaurs I bought at London Zoo when we went on a school trip; I was fascinated by it. And we're still learning about them. A programme the other day showed a bird that I'd never heard of before that had claws on it's wings to enable it to climb; yet another link to it's dinosaur past. However, neither of my grandsons are interested in them.

I'm not suggesting write them out of history! I'm just overwhelmed by them on every T-shirt, duvet cover, book cover, TV show etc etc when there are other living creatures we never hear about. Do shops decide what the kids should be interested in, or do the kids get a say in the matter?

I think it's something that can be worn by both girls and boys so, in the current climate it's a safe bet for shops to stock up on.

My 6year old dgd has just shown me her library book about great women who changed the world, she informed me with delight it has Mary Anning in it!
We are all amateur palaeontologists in this family!

My five year old GS told me he "wants to be a paleontologist." at the moment. He likes long words.

Most young children are interested in them and the teachers can tap into their interest to teach. .

Dinosaurs are a big deal!
My 2, 3 and 4 year old DGS all obsessed with dinosaurs
Diplodocus was one of the first words spoken by my middle grandson.
Imagine as a GP learning names such as velocipeden, Argentinosaurs or Eorataur from a 2 Year old!
.

It passes.
Do your gc go to nursery or school and are they doing a project on dinosaurs?
My gs has now moved on to space and planets.

ALL our younger ones love dinosaurs.
But so do all their parents!!!

I think there is a connection between dinosaurs and dragons - they are big, and usually green and have big jaws and mouths. There are theories that dragons are based on dinosaurs and dragons occur in many ancient mythologies from China to Wales. I think it's fascinating the way the same stories can be found in different cultures. There must be some deep common roots in all humans' psyches.

My 4 year old grandson is very knowledgeable about palaeontology and the small school he attends in NZ have been amazing in helping him understand a huge amount. They made dinosaur eggs and waiting patiently for several weeks for the eggs to hatch out small dinosaurs. This then led to discussions about the ice age as they put the dinosaurs into water and froze them. He has now moved on to all things Egyptian and in particular mummies - one of his favourite Christmas presents was a mummy in a sarcophagus . He is also fascinated with geos, fossils and gems. I hope I'm still around when he grows up to find out what career path he finally chooses!

It passes
It does; DGS went on the 'dinosaur trail' last year, learned a lot and has now moved on to space.

Of course, they are still around today - didn't birds descend from theropods?

I've been obsessed with dinosaurs since I was six! I still watch all the latest programmes on them. It's the fascination of a whole world which we are never actually going to be able to see, although we are learning far more about them than was thought possible when I was six.

A boy in my son's class at school had absolutely no interest or aptitude for anything else at all, but was totally switched on to dinosaurs. At five years old he could read about them, write about them and talk about them with a great deal of accuracy and facts and figures at his fingertips. He was the same all the way through Primary School and then I lost touch with what happened at High School. He really didn't participate in school life at all unless dinosaurs could be included in some way.

Dinosaurs are usually studied at school in Year 3 or 4 so most children will find out about these fascinating creatures. Dinosaur hunting is like being a detective. You have to find the remains. Then work out what you've found. Children love the puzzle aspect. The wide range of dinosaurs and the sheer size of some are captivating. Children love the alien world aspect of the time of the dinosaur and remember the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World films brought them to life.

My GS was really interested in dinosaurs too. When he was about 9 I took him to see Walking with Dinosaurs at Wembley Arena. I had got good seats near the front.
We were sitting waiting for the show to start when he leant towards me with a worried face and said ‘These aren’t real dinosaurs are they Grandma? ‘ bless him - think he thought being near the front made him lunch fodder!
The show was brilliant though. The animated dinosaurs were life size and the T-Rex was very scary!

My lit agent has a large collection of dinosaurs, and she is a very grown up
lady indeed!

I’m currently volunteering at the Dippy the Dinosaur exhibition in Dorchester ( part of his grand tour of the U.K. )
It’s not just children, I’ve worked in various Museums over the years, but I’ve never seen so many excited visitors! Adults, children and tinies. It’s wonderful to see. I’ve met so many very knowledgeable youngsters this week. they’ve brought drawings, pet dinosaurs, worn hats, shoes coats etc
Good to see children so excited and engaged. And I must admit I loved them when a child...(and I think my GC think I was alive when they were on the Earth!!!)

i Knew nothing about diosaurs untio I had my own DCs. {Third world country education, I suppose]. DCs grew out of them very quickly. DD wasn't interested, DSs were, DS1 more than DS2.
Apart from the big dinosauars, one doesn't learn much about the insects, the botany, etc. FOssils are far more instructive IMHO

Mine has been on an unwavering course to be a dinosaur fan from birth, as he is called Rex. It seems to reflect my daughter's obsession with Henry VIII and a soft spot for tyrannosaurus, so I suppose he has got off quite lightly.

As you say, I think many children go through a fascination with dinosaurs - perhaps because they're so 'other worldly.' Like you, as an adult I find them less than fascinating - maybe as I feel that I am fast becoming one.