Where did the dinosaurs go?

The dinosaurs ruled the Earth for a very long time. Then, quite suddenly, the big ones were gone. Where did they go? Let’s follow the clues.

A giant rock from space

Most scientists think a huge space rock, called an asteroid, crashed into the Earth long ago. It was so big and fast that it made an enormous bang and threw dust high into the sky.

The dust spread all around the world and blocked out the sunlight. Without bright sun, the Earth grew cold and dark for a long time.

When the weather changed

Plants need sunlight to grow. With the sky full of dust, many plants died. The plant-eating dinosaurs had nothing to munch, and then the meat eaters had nothing to hunt.

The weather had changed too fast for the big dinosaurs to survive. Little by little, they disappeared. This is called going extinct — when a whole kind of animal is gone forever.

Dinosaurs are still here!

Here is the happy surprise: not every dinosaur vanished. Small feathered ones lived on and slowly changed over time into birds. So the sparrow at your window is a tiny living cousin of the dinosaurs!

Wonder fact: Scientists found a giant hidden crater near Mexico — the very dent that asteroid may have punched into the Earth!