Assembly Information

Congratulations on your decision to have a dinosaur dig. Your
students are going to love it.

Here are some items that will help you and us make the dig go
smoother and easier. Click on the titles to download the files to
your computer. Print as many as you need.

Dig Site Preparation - If you're having your dig site outside, the
area will need to be marked off and the holes will need to be dug in
advance. Here are the step-by-step directions. (Microsoft Word
Format)

Indoor Dig Info - If you're having an indoor dig, you don't need to
prepare anything. But here is a breakdown of what's in each of the
12 dig sites. This can help you assign the students to their dig site
prior to the assembly to make things go quicker.

ID Cards - We want your students to join the DRB as Associate
Special Agents. Print out sheets of cards to give to your students
for successfully completing the dig and test. There's a space for
their name, date, favorite dinosaur and a teacher's signature.
Printing these out on heavier stock works best. (Microsoft Word
Format)

Maiasaura Test - A simple, fill-in-the-blank test that goes over
some of the facts that are covered in the presentation. (Microsoft
Word Format)

Log Book - If you're interested in a before, during and after type of
activity print out these log books to make a memory of the dig that
the students can keep and share. It's broken down into two parts -
the cover and the inside. For best results print the cover on a
heavier stock paper and glue/staple/attach the pages inside. The
books were created with Microsoft Word.
INDOOR Log Book (.PDF)

OUTDOOR Log Book (.PDF)


Web Sites

  • Royal Ontario Museum - Maiasaur Project - Learn about a
    real Maiasaura dig and reconstruction on display in Toronto
  • BBC's Big Al Game - You're an Allosaur trying to survive in
    the wild. Can you find enough food to stay alive?
  • All About Maiasaurs - From a company called Enchanted
    Learning. There are other links and activities at this site
  • Virtual Dinosaur Dig - Make plans, buy supplies, arrange
    transportation and look for dinosaurs. Watch how much
    money you spend.

Books

  • Digging Dinosaurs - A book written by Dr. Jack Horner, the
    man that found the Maiasaurs.
  • Maia: A Dinosaur Grows Up - Also written by Dr. Horner, this
    is a famous children's book that is very hard to track down.
  • The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs - Ms.
    Fizzle and the class become Paleontologists

Movies

  • Dinosaur (Disney)
  • Land Before Time Series


Misc. Tips

  • Please have name tags for the children so we can identify
    them by name (just first name, nice and big!)
  • Practice doing some excavating prior to the dig. One school
    placed items in Dixie Cups full of hardened mud. The
    students used golf tees to chip away at the mixture to get to
    their hidden item. That worked great! So does using
    toothpicks to separate chocolate chips from cookies
  • Invite lots of parents!!! The more the merrier
  • Smaller (preschool) siblings are OK with me if they're OK
    with the teachers.
  • If we're digging outside, make sure the students have
    clothes that can get dirty and hats or glasses to protect them
    from the sun.
  • Bring Your Cameras! There is always time for pictures
    before, during and after we're done.