Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for more than 150 million years, and kids can't get enough of them. Here are 30 dinosaur facts for kids, perfect for curious minds, school projects and dinosaur-themed birthday parties.
When you're done, print a stack of free dinosaur coloring pages and see how many dinosaurs you can name.
When dinosaurs lived
- Dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic Era, which is split into three periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous.
- The first dinosaurs appeared about 230 million years ago.
- Most dinosaurs died out about 66 million years ago, when a huge asteroid hit Earth near what is now Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.
- No humans ever saw a living non-bird dinosaur. The first humans appeared tens of millions of years after they were gone.
- T. rex lived closer in time to us than to Stegosaurus. Stegosaurus lived about 150 million years ago, and T. rex about 68 to 66 million years ago.
Dinosaurs are still here
- Birds are dinosaurs. Scientists have found that birds evolved from small, feathered meat-eating dinosaurs. That means the robin in your yard is a living dinosaur.
- Many dinosaurs had feathers. Fossils show that lots of dinosaurs, including Velociraptor, were covered in feathers.
Big and small
- The biggest dinosaurs were long-necked plant-eaters called sauropods. Some, like Argentinosaurus, may have been longer than three school buses.
- Not all dinosaurs were huge. Some were the size of a chicken or even smaller.
- Velociraptor was about the size of a turkey, much smaller than in many movies.
- T. rex had teeth up to about 12 inches (30 cm) long, including the root.
- T. rex's arms were short but strong. Scientists are still debating what it used them for.
What dinosaurs ate
- Most dinosaurs were plant-eaters (herbivores).
- Meat-eaters (carnivores) usually walked on two legs and had sharp, curved teeth.
- You can guess a dinosaur's diet from its teeth. Flat or peg-like teeth were for plants; sharp, serrated teeth were for meat.
- Some dinosaurs swallowed stones to help grind up food in their stomachs, like some birds do today.
Famous dinosaurs
- Triceratops had three horns and a big bony frill around its neck.
- Stegosaurus had large plates along its back and spikes on its tail.
- Ankylosaurus was covered in armor and had a heavy club at the end of its tail.
- Spinosaurus had a tall sail on its back and probably spent a lot of time in water, catching fish.
- Brachiosaurus held its long neck high, like a giraffe, to reach treetops.
Not dinosaurs (but often confused with them)
- Pterosaurs, like Pteranodon, weren't dinosaurs. They were flying reptiles that lived at the same time.
- Swimming reptiles, like plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, weren't dinosaurs either.
- Dimetrodon, the sail-backed animal in many toy sets, lived before the dinosaurs and was more closely related to mammals.
Eggs and babies
- All dinosaurs hatched from eggs.
- Some dinosaurs cared for their young. Maiasaura, whose name means "good mother lizard," nested in groups and likely looked after its babies.
- The biggest dinosaur eggs were only about the size of a soccer ball, tiny compared to the adults.
How we know about dinosaurs
- Everything we know comes from fossils: bones, teeth, footprints, eggs, skin impressions and even fossilized poop (called coprolites).
- Dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent, including Antarctica.
- The word "dinosaur" means "terrible lizard." It was coined in 1842 by the British scientist Richard Owen. Scientists who study dinosaurs and other fossils are called paleontologists.
Dinosaur activities for kids
- Color and label. Print our free dinosaur coloring pages and write each dinosaur's name and diet underneath.
- Plant-eater or meat-eater? Look at the teeth on each coloring page and guess.
- Measure a T. rex. T. rex was about 40 feet (12 m) long. Measure it out with string in a hallway or yard.
- Dig for fossils. Bury toy dinosaurs or bones in a sandbox and excavate them with brushes and spoons.
- Invent a new dinosaur. Give it a name, a diet and a special feature, then turn it into a coloring page with the AI Coloring Page Generator.
FAQ
What was the biggest dinosaur?
The biggest known dinosaurs were sauropods, such as Argentinosaurus, which may have been more than 100 feet (30 m) long. Scientists are still debating exact sizes because complete skeletons are rare.
Are birds really dinosaurs?
Yes. Birds evolved from small, feathered theropod dinosaurs, so scientists consider them living dinosaurs.
What color were dinosaurs?
For most dinosaurs, we don't know. Fossils rarely preserve color, though scientists have found clues in a few feathered fossils. That's why every color is fair game on a coloring page!
How did the dinosaurs die out?
Most scientists agree that a giant asteroid struck Earth about 66 million years ago, causing fires, darkness and climate changes that wiped out most dinosaurs, except the ancestors of birds.
Was a pterodactyl a dinosaur?
No. Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs but belonged to a different group.
