Dinosaurs died out around 65 million years ago, so how can we find out about what dinosaurs really looked like and how they lived?
In this fun hands-on workshop, pupils work in groups to identify a range of fossils, perform their own fossil dig and work out what their mystery specimens might be through observation and measuring.
Pupils will handle fossils, find out what they are, what they can tell us and how palaeontologists study them to explore prehistoric life on Earth.
Workshop rundown
- Pupils learn how the Museum’s collections are studied by different scientists.
- Pupils examine fossil specimens to develop their fossil identification skills.
- Pupils uncover a mystery specimen and examine its features. They measure their specimen, and compare it to known dinosaurs in order to identify what species it is.
- Pupils look for clues about how the dinosaurs behaved from fossil evidence.
Further information
Curriculum links: Rocks, Evolution and inheritance
Note: The activity works best if you visit the Dinosaurs gallery after the workshop.
Support notes PDF (108KB)
Workshop suitability and capacity
This workshop is for KS2 (ages 7-11).
The maximum capacity per workshop is 35 pupils. Bookings must be for a minimum of 15 pupils.
Workshop dates and times
The workshop runs at 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm on selected weekdays. The duration is 45 minutes.
All workshops must be prebooked by phone. To explore individual timeslots for days, please view the availability calendar linked below.
Please note any session must be booked at least three weeks in advance.