Dinosaurs - what's the big deal?

I’ve got a dinosaur vertebra on my mantelpiece as well as other fossils, gems and rocks. I’m going to the Museum at Kimmeridge tomorrow with the Geology group and staying on for a day in Charmouth on Monday. I also want to see Dippy in Dorchester even though I’ve seen it many times in London. The Crystal Palace Park Victorian reoresentations of dinos are fascinating too. Why are so many people interested? Sheer wonder at life and a curiosity that I hope never dies. It needn’t stay only with dinosaurs (& they are not all big & scary).

I agree! To me it's really weird how everyone (no, not everyone of course) seems to go potty about blooming dinosaurs. Then there's all the remarks about why they died out of course. It bores me witless.
As I was a teacher once I had to be enthusiastic and I loved how the littlies were so excited by them. Obviously it's the size factor which the biggest of course. Maybe I have a dinosaur loving gene missing? We can't all be the same. So I try to hide the yawns the mention of dinosaurs brings on, and think that it is amazing ... all that time ago... zzzzz.

Sorry. But then, I shouldn't judge either, because I cringe and breathe fire when people say they hate "modern Art" and come out with the "my grandson could have drawn something better than that" pompous remark. Yup, we're all different. But I'm glad I've grown out of dinosaurs.

I am pretty sure it’s because they stomp and roar as far as out 2yr old DGD is concerned! Our 4yr old DGD is heavily into unicorns - way more girly but who cares!

I've never understood the fascination with dinosaurs either. I much prefer animal species that still exist, and as dinosaurs are supposed to have become extinct due to a natural catastrophe we can't even use them to teach children about conserving nature!

I regard the dinosaurs as a phase and encourage children in my family to look at the birds and animals around us as much as possible. Plus animals like the Bengal and Siberian tigers, who will shortly be extinct if we don't wake up and do something to conserve them.

All my grandchildren went through phases of being fascinated by dinosaurs. Not sure why, but it seems a natural thing. Maybe because they are so huge and unlike anything we have on earth today.
Zebra fascination will come later maybe.

Yes, down with unicorns - dinos forever!

I love dinosaurs, so much more interesting than unicorns.
I’m heartily sick of unicorns especially pink shiny ones on Tshirts that change in to owls when rubbed. What’s that about.
Hurrah for dinosaurs

They are fierce monsters and they go "rrraaaaaghh": they are a big deal!

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.

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.

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

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!!!)

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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.

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

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.

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!
.

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. .