The skulls of dinosaurs evolved to ideally fit the lifestyles of individual species.
Dinosaurs are a fascinating aspect of the natural history of out planet. Those majestic and sometimes terrifying creatures dominated the Earth for 180 million years from the Triassic period to the Cretaceous period. This gave them ample time to evolve into ruthless predators and successful herbivores. Science projects focused on this evolution are highly effective ways of engaging your students and teaching them about the principles of evolution.
Evolution of Dinosaurs over Geologic Time
This project allows high-school students to use their accumulated knowledge of several subjects with regard to the evolution of dinosaurs. Assign your students to produce posters or computer presentations about their findings. They will research the periods of geologic time using the school's resources and examine the changes that took place over this period. These include changes in climate in certain areas of the globe, changes in landmass and changes in the positions of continents. The students will then apply this information to their knowledge of dinosaurs in the Cretaceous period and make observations on evolution.
Dinosaur Variations
A major variation in the bodies of dinosaurs occurred in their hips. Dinosaurs were divided into bird-hipped or reptile-hipped animals. Give your class a dinosaur classification chart and ask them to research which dinosaurs were bird-hipped and which were reptile-hipped. They will discover that Saurapods, such as Diplodocus and Apatosaurus, as well as Allosaurus and other carnivores were reptile-hipped, while other dinosaurs, including Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus, were bird-hipped. Ask your class to use their knowledge of evolution to hypothesize why these types of dinosaurs evolved differently.
Are Birds Dinosaurs?
Ask your class to research the similarities between birds and dinosaurs. Your students might be surprised to discover just how many similarities there are between the two. When a fossil of the Archaeopteryx was discovered in a German quarry, it was described as a "transitional form" between the two vertebrate groups. Using their knowledge of evolution, ask your students to create a presentation arguing either for or against modern birds being descendants of the dinosaurs. This presentation should include information about how birds were able to continue existing after "traditional} dinosaurs became extinct.
Mammals vs. Dinosaurs
This research project requires the class to explore the possible reasons behind the extinction of the dinosaurs and how mammals were then able to take over the planet. Students should use all their knowledge of evolution to produce a poster or presentation outlining why mammals survived almost unaffected while the dynasty of the dinosaurs came to an abrupt halt. This project will engage your students in thinking about biodiversity, natural selection and other theories behind evolution.
Tags: their knowledge, knowledge evolution, their knowledge evolution, your class, your students
