How do we know about dinosaurs?

No person has ever seen a real, living dinosaur. They were gone long before we were born. So how can we know they ever existed? The answer is hidden under the ground!

Bones turned to stone

When a dinosaur died long ago, its body was sometimes covered by mud and sand. Over a very, very long time, the soft parts disappeared, but the hard bones and teeth slowly turned to stone.

These stony leftovers are called fossils. When the wind and rain wear away rock, fossils can peek out. Then scientists carefully dig them up with little brushes and tools.

Footprints and clues

Bones are not the only clues. Sometimes a dinosaur stepped in soft mud that later hardened. Those footprints turned to stone too! They tell us how big a dinosaur was and how fast it walked.

There are even fossil eggs, fossil poo, and fossil skin patterns. Every piece is a little clue about life long ago.

Putting the puzzle together

Scientists who study fossils are called paleontologists. They fit the bones together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Bit by bit, they figure out what each dinosaur looked like, what it ate, and how it lived.

Wonder fact: Some dinosaur skeletons are so complete that you can see them standing tall in museums — built from real fossils millions of years old!