Wonder Time: A Story About Dinosaurs and Fossil Clues

[music] Welcome to Storytime Explores, a podcast full of stories, imagination, and growing hearts and minds. Let's go on an adventure together. Are you ready? One, two, three, come explore with me! Hi, I'm so glad you're here. This story is about dinosaurs from long, long ago. Dinosaurs were real animals. They came in many shapes and sizes. Some had long necks, sharp teeth, horns, bony plates on their backs, or spiky tails. Even though we cannot see dinosaurs walking around today, there are still clues that help us know what they were like. Let's slow down for a moment and take a closer look together. Hugo the hippo and Leo the lion are sitting at a table coloring. Hugo leans close to his paper, moving his crayon slowly. Leo scoots closer. Hugo, he says, "What are you drawing?" Hugo looks up with a big smile, a dinosaur. On Hugo's paper, the dinosaur has a long tail, long legs, and a neck that stretches up, up, up. Hugo loves dinosaurs. He's been looking through dinosaur books all week. Leo's head tilts. He taps his chin with his paw. "I wonder," he says in a curious voice, "if we don't see dinosaurs, how do we know they are real?" Hugo sits up tall. "Fossils," he says. "Fossils can be old bones, teeth, footprints, or marks left behind in rock. They are clues from long, long ago. Hugo's eyes get bright. Did you know dinosaurs are extinct?" He says. "Extinct means a living thing is not alive anywhere on earth today. Dinosaurs like the one Hugo is drawing lived millions and millions of years ago. Hugo keeps working on his dinosaur picture. Next, he adds two oval eggs near the dinosaur's feet. Did you know dinosaurs hatched from eggs?" He says. "Leo can barely believe it. How could something so big start from an egg?" "Baby dinosaurs come from eggs?" he asks. Hugo nods his head, "Yes." "Tiny at first," he says. "Then growing and growing and growing." Leo feels curious. He taps his chin. "I wonder what did dinosaurs eat to grow so big?" Some dinosaurs ate plants. They were called herbivores. Some dinosaurs ate meat. They were called carnivores. Hugo reaches for a green crayon and draws leaves. "This one is an herbivore," Hugo says. Leo looks at the dinosaurs' long neck. It is tall so it can reach all the leaves in the tree. Hugo adds more green leaves to his picture. "Hmmm," he says. "Like a yummy salad." Leo can tell Hugo really loves dinosaurs. He knows so much about them. Hugo, Leo asks, "What is your favorite dinosaur in the whole world?" Hugo thinks for a moment. He has so many favorites. He decides on two. A brachia-saurus, Hugo says. It has long legs and a long neck to reach leaves way up high. He points to the tall dinosaur on his paper, just like this one. Then Hugo starts drawing on another sheet of paper. "My other favorite is a stegosaurus," he says. He draws a shorter dinosaur with triangle-shaped plates all down its back and spikes on the tail. "Pokey tail," Hugo says. "Look out!" The stegosaurus used its spiky tail to help protect itself. Then Hugo asks, "Leo, what's your favorite dinosaur?" Leo thinks. "Hmmm." "My favorite is a triceratops," he says, because it was really strong and had three horns. Leo picks up a crayon and starts to draw. One, two, three horns. Then Leo pretends to be a big, strong triceratops. "Rrrr," he says. "Stomp, stomp, stomp." Hugo stands up too and stretches his tallest he can, just like a brachia-saurus. "Boom, boom, boom." Leo giggles and looks at Hugo. "Wow," he says. "You sure do know a lot about dinosaurs." Hugo feels proud. "I really love learning about them," he says. Then he looks down at all the dinosaur pictures. Maybe when I grow up, I'll be a paleontologist. Leo tilts his head. A paleo, what? A paleontologist. Hugo says, "A scientist who studies fossils." Hugo imagines finding fossils and telling everyone all about the dinosaurs that lived long ago. The end. Dinosaurs were real animals from long, long ago. Fossils help us learn about them, like old bones, teeth, footprints, and marks left behind in rock. Some dinosaurs ate plants. Some ate meat. And dinosaur babies hatched from eggs. Do you have a favorite dinosaur? Yes. A triceratopsinity rack. Maybe you like to draw dinosaurs, look for dinosaur clues, or pretend to be one too. Do you want to pretend to be a dinosaur together? Shhh! Ready? Ready. RAAAAAAA! Thanks for listening to Storytime Explores today. Until next time, keep being kind and stay curious.