Terry has recently learned that being a Tyrannosaurus isn’t so bad. It doesn’t matter how tiny his arms, or how big his mouth, he is perfect just the way he is. When Terry isn’t at school he usually spends as much time as he can playing soccer at the park with his friends. Terry comes from a long line of musically talented Tyrannosaurs, and now enjoys practicing his ukulele whenever he can’t be outside playing. He loves spending time with his Dad and hearing his dad tell stories about when he was a young dinosaur like Terry.
Tyrannosaurus Rex Facts
Tyrannosaurus is a type of dinosaur known as theropod. Theropods are characterized by having three-toed limbs and hollowed bones. There is some debate as to whether T-Rex had feathers or did not. There is currently no actual fossil evidence that supports this theory. What we do know is that T-rex was one of the fiercest dinosaurs to ever walk the Earth. This is why we still talk about T-rex today and they tend to be a favorite dinosaur for many people around the world. We also know that they were as long as a school bus, about 40 feet in length, were 12 feet tall, and weighed as much as 8 tons!
Tyrannosaurus Rex means “king of the tyrant lizards”, and T-Rex was definitely a king among dinosaurs. They ate other dinosaurs such as Triceratops, Edmontosaurus, Santanaraptor, Corythosaurus, and other Tyrannosaurs, because T-Rex ate meat he is known as a carnivore which means, “meat eater”. Tyrannosaurus had 60 sharp teeth that were the size of a banana when fully grown. Their jaws were so powerful that they could even crush a car, just like in the Jurassic Park movies. However, until those movies, T-Rex could only walk about 12 miles per hour, which means they weren’t as fast as they were depicted in the movies.
What’s That Size? Activity
Get a grown up to help you with the following activity. This can be done in outside, or in a gym, or modified for inside.
Measure your own height with a measuring tape. Stand back and look at how tall you are. Record your height.
Then have a parent make the measure tape go up to 12 feet. This is how tall T-Rex was compared to how tall you are now! And this is just the SMALLEST T-Rex! Record this number.
Have a parent make the tape measure go out 20 feet. This is how tall a large T-Rex would be! Record this number.
Outside, have a parent help you use chalk to mark your height as if you were laying on the ground.
Then have a parent help you mark the 12 foot T-Rex and the 20 foot T-Rex. Wow! look at how big they are!
Then imagine that the T-Rex is as long as a bus from it’s head to the back of its tail. A bus is roughly 45 feet. If you have the space, measure out 45 feet from the T-Rex’s feet and mark how long they would be. Imagine this animal roaring at you! This is how it would feel to be standing next to a real life T-Rex.
Alternatives: If you do not have chalk, you can use string, or simply place items around your yard or sidewalk to mark the measurements. People can stand at each marker to see how large the T-Rex really was!
With a parents help, Send us your pictures or reflections after completing this activity!