How to show your parents (or grandparents) the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman

Lots of kids visit the museum with a school group before they get a chance to come with their families. Here are a few tips for kids who are bringing their parents or grandparents to the museum for the first time.  

•    Help them pronounce the names of the dinosaurs. Be patient. Kids learn to say these things much more quickly than adults do.  

•    Encourage your grown-ups to touch all the stuff on the gallery carts. Adults are often shy about this and need a kid to help them. Each gallery has something to touch and look at on the carts, and there are docents who can answer your questions and give you lots of information about what they have to show. Take your grown-ups into the Discovery Room, too and let them explore all the objects and activities there.  

•    Ride both “dino-vators” and vote on which one has the best view. Are you a “belly-of-the-beast” person, or an “eye-to-eye” person?

•    See if your grown-ups can name all the rivers on the second floor map of Oklahoma. Can't guess? Ask a docent to tell you.

•    Walk into the pole houses in the Hall of the People of Oklahoma. Who in your group is small enough to walk in through the low doorway without bending over?  Why do you think these doors were built so low?

•    In the Hall of Natural Wonders, take turns challenging each other to find certain things in the dioramas. Can you or your grown-ups find the lizard eggs? A dragonfly? A snake? How many hawks can you find?

Dinosaur Didja Know:

What’s the difference between Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus?
Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus are, in fact, the same dinosaur. In 1877, paleontologist named Othniel Marsh found fossils of a large dinosaur and named it Apatosaurus. Then, in 1879, the same scientist found the fossilized remains of what he believed to be a new and different dinosaur and named it Brontosaurus. Lots of people, including your parents and grandparents, learned about this long-necked plant-eater under the name Brontosaurus. Years later, scientists found that Marsh had made a mistake.  Instead of two separate dinosaurs, the fossils of Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus were actually the same type of dinosaur. This happens sometimes when scientists are naming dinosaurs based on the incomplete fossilized skeletons, and when it does, the scientists keep the first name that was given to the dinosaur, even if the second name is better known. Lots of people still call Apatosaurus “Brontosaurus,” even some scientists. It’s a little like having a nickname.

How did Apatosaurus digest its food?
When you are in the “eye-to-eye” dinovator in the museum, look at the teeth on the Apatosaurus. Notice that all of its teeth are at the front of its mouth. They are flat and sharp, for biting off leaves and branches high in trees. You have sharp, flat teeth similar to these in the front of your mouth, too. These are the teeth you use for biting. Now look at the teeth at the back of your jaw, the ones you use for chewing. Notice that they are broad and bumpy, for grinding up food before it goes to your stomach. Did Apatosaurus have any teeth in the back of its jaws for chewing? Nope. How do think Apatosaurus ground up the tough plants that it ate so it could digest them?  

Give up? Rocks. Apatosaurus, and many other large plant-eating dinosaurs, swallowed rocks that were stored in a special part of its belly. When the dinosaur swallowed leaves and twigs, the plants were crushed by the rocks rubbing together inside its stomach. This made it easier for the Apatosaurus to digest the tough plant fibers. Paleontologists often find groups of rounded rocks—worn smooth by years of tumbling together in the dinosaur’s belly—with the fossils of these large plant eaters. The rocks are called gastroliths. You can see and touch a pile of gastroliths at the museum.

Read More About It:
Want to learn more about dinosaurs? Here are a few books we recommend for young readers. Look for these at your library, in Excavations, the museum store, or in your local bookstore.

Extreme Dinosaurs by Luis V. Rey
Learn about the biggest, smallest, and fiercest dinosaurs in this Parents Choice Award-winning book. Rey showcases newly discovered dinosaurs from around the world, as well as fascinating new information about dinosaurs we already know. Rey’s exciting and colorful illustrations make this a feast for the eyes, as well.

Did Dinosaurs Live In Your Backyard? by Melvin and Gilda Berger
This book of questions and answers about dinosaurs for younger readers is full of fascinating facts in a fun Q&A format.

Dinosaurs! Battle of the Bones by Sharon Siamon
A Level 4 DK Readers book that delves into the stories behind some of the paleontologists and bone hunters who have made discoveries in the so-called “Dinosaur Valley” of Alberta, Canada. This book gives a glimpse into the dramatic and competitive world of early dinosaur hunting, and how the science of paleontology has changed over time.

Dino Poop By Jane  Hammerslough
This is a chunky, fact-filled book with its own piece of real fossilized dinosaur poop attached. It delves into a range of strange and amazing things that have been preserved over the millenia—from fossilized dinosaur poop (called coprolites) to insects preserved in amber, mummies found in peat bogs and mammoths frozen in glaciers. Quick information bits, along with lots of photos and illustrations make this an easy book to get hooked into.

Coming up at the museum
Don’t miss Spring Break Escape, March 17 through 21. The museum will offer many drop-in activities and events, including art workshops, storytelling, animal chat and performances by the Sugarfree All Stars! For more information, visit the museum’s website.