Thames & Kosmos DIG IT! DINOS GIANT DINOSAUR SKELETON KIT User Manual

STEM EXPERIMENT KIT

GIANT DINOSAUR

GIANT DINOSAUR

SKELETON KIT

SKELETON KIT

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© 2018 Franckh-Kosmos
Verlags-GmbH
& Co. KG
Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184
Stuttgart, Germany
Tel. [phone]

This work, including all its
parts, is copyright protected.
Any use outside the specific
limits of the copyright law
without the consent of the
publisher is prohibited and
punishable by law. This
applies specifically to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and
storage and processing in electronic systems and networks. We do
not guarantee that all material in this work is free from copyright or
other protection.

Project Management: Dr. Mark Bachofer, Linnéa Bergsträsser
Design and Text: Linnéa Bergsträsser
Technical Product Development: Björn Stolpmann
Layout, packaging, instructions, and pre-cut sheet of model pieces,
aswell as all illustrations: Friedrich Werth, Horb

Photos: Skull of Tyrannosaurus rex (Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 David
Monniaux); Sue (Wikipedia CC BY-SA 2.5 Fritz Geller-Grimm);
tracefossil(Wikipedia CC BY 2.5)

1st English Edition © 2018 Thames & Kosmos, LLC, Providence, RI,
USA
Thames & Kosmos® is a registered trademark of Thames & Kosmos,
LLC.
Editing: Camille Duhamel and Ted McGuire; Additional Graphics: Dan
Freitas

Distributed in North America by Thames & Kosmos, LLC. Providence,
RI 02903; Phone: [phone]; Web: www.thamesandkosmos.com

Distributed in United Kingdom by Thames & Kosmos UK LP. Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HE; Phone: [phone];
Web: www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk

We reserve the right to make technical changes. Printed in Thailand / Imprimé en Thaïland

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 Tyrannosaurus rex
Skeleton Parts with Base

If any parts are missing or
defective, please contact

Thames & Kosmos customer
service:
US: techsupport@
thamesandkosmos.com

UK: techsupport@
thamesandkosmos.co.uk

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Contents

632120-0 2-0 60318

Dear Parents!

This kit offers your child a fun way to discover the world of prehistoric animals. By
assembling the dinosaur skeleton independently and by working with the skeleton
parts, your child will learn about the anatomy of the Tyrannosaurus rex. Your child can
experience hands-on how the skeleton is constructed and will get fascinating insight
into these prehistoric creatures.

Before assembling the skeleton, carefully read the instructions together with your
child, and discuss the safety information. Help your child build the skeleton, and
decide with him or her where to safely display the model.

We hope you and your child have fun putting together the Giant Dinosaur Skeleton!

Safety Information

WARNING. Not suitable for children under 3 years. Choking hazard — small parts
may be swallowed or inhaled.

Replica: Model is not suited to climb or sit on.

Please keep out of reach of small children.

Dear Kids!

The Tyrannosaurus rex is one of the best known dinosaurs from prehistoric times.
This giant carnivore was also one of the largest dinosaurs, and with its massive teeth
it was a fearsome predator.

This kit is designed to
give you fun insight
into the anatomy of
the T. rex. You’ll learn
about the various parts of
theenormous skeleton and how
these parts worked together. You’ll
also learn fun facts about dinosaurs
and their life during the Cretaceous period.

The last section of the instructions explains
how fossils are formed.

And now let’s get started. Begin building the
T. rex skeleton!

Assembly of the T. rex Skeleton

It takes a steady hand and careful work to build the dinosaur skeleton model. Please
handle the parts with care so that they do not break.

STEP 1

First, connect the two
parts of the spinal
column to each other.
This will give you a
sense of the entire
length of your giant
skeleton.

STEP 2

Connect the right and the left
hip joints to the back of the

spine. Put the pieces together,
so that the insertion tab of the
left hip bone is positioned
above the right one.

STEP 3

Connect the right leg to the
right hip bone and the left leg
to the left hip bone.

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STEP 4

Now place the T. rex body
carefully on the base by putting
the left leg into the corresponding
notch in the base plate. Make
sure that you put the skeleton
onto the base plate oriented in
the correct direction.

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STEP 5

Now it gets a little complicated.
When putting together the
ribcage, it is important to
assemble the ribsin the right
order. In total, the T. rex has
 rib bones. The part numbers
are molded into the plastic ribs
so you can identify them. They
each have to be placed in the
corresponding slot in the spine.
They are set up as follows:
Start with the smallest rib (part

1), and insert it into the slot
closest to the hip bone.

STEP 6

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2

Then continue inserting more
rib bones, parts 2, 7, 8, and 9,
up the spine. Now the bottom
half of the ribcage is complete.

STEP 7

Next, continue by inserting
part 6, followed by parts 5, 4,
and 3, completing the upper
half of the ribcage.

Check the picture to verify.

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Assembly of the T. rex Skeleton

STEP 8

Now connect the arms to the
ribs of your dinosaur skeleton
by attaching them to the
frontof the second rib.

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FUN FACT In comparison to its body, the T. rex had very short arms.

The reasons for this are debated by paleontologists. Some theories claim that
the short arms with the two sharp claws at the end were used to capture and
hold prey. A different theory says that they played a role in mating or in
rivalry fights. Today, the short arms of the T. rex are the basis of countless
dinosaurjokes.

STEP 9

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The head is assembled from
three parts. Connect the two
parts of the upper jaw with the
lower jaw, but don’t fully push
the parts together yet.

STEP 10

Now put the head over the ball
joint on the neck and then

push the parts of the dinosaur
head together firmly, securing
it around the ball joint.

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Digging Deeper

DINOSAURS

Ever since the first dinosaur bones were discovered, humans have been
fascinated by the geologic periods of the past. In fact, giant bones, huge

teeth, and strange skeletal forms continue to puzzle scientist to this day.
Unfortunately, no human has ever seen a living dinosaur. These
huge animals went extinct  million years ago. At that time, a large

meteorite crashed into Earth and extinguished almost all living things.

Our planet looked

different during the time in
which the dinosaurs lived on

Earth, compared to today. The
climate was warmer everywhere

and was very humid. The
continents looked different from

how we know them today, and
together they formed one

massive continent called
Pangea.

NORTH

AMERICA

AFRICA

SOUTH

AMERICA

TYRANNOSAURUS REX

The name Tyrannosaurus rex means the

king of the tyrant lizards. They lived
during the Cretaceous period and were one
of the largest carnivores that ever existed
on Earth. They were roughly up to 20 feet
tall and up to 42 feet long. With a weight of
over 15,000 pounds, a T. rex was as heavy
as a male elephant.

TYRANNOSAURUS REX

Another fascinating thing about

Tyrannosaurus rex was their teeth. With
more than  teeth, each with a length up

to 8 inches, they could easily rip flesh from
bones and even bite through the bone itself.

T. rex used its long tail to keep its balance
while running. The home of the
Tyrannosaurus rex was in today’s North
America. Currently, about 50 skeletons of
this large dinosaur have been found.
However, they are all only partial
skeletons. So far, no fully preserved
skeleton has been discovered. The most
complete skeleton was found in South
Dakota in 1990. It was named Sue.

FOSSILS

Everything we know about dinosaurs
today we know through the discovery
of fossils. It is rare that an animal turns
into a fossil.

The animal has to die in a location
where it is protected from scavengers,
decay, and decomposition. Suitable
locations for this are, for example,
rivers or sea basins. Due to sediment
deposit and environmental changes in
the mud or sand, the body sinks deeper
into the rock. The pressure on the body
increases and water is squeezed out of
it. The organic components are replaced
by minerals from the rocks, resulting in
a copy made of stone. This stone copy
is the fossil.

After more time passes, weathering and
erosion removes the layers of rock
covering the fossil, bringing it to the
surface, and allowing us to find it!

There are also fossils

known as trace fossils. These
show impressions from animals

and plants, like foot prints or leaf
prints. The oldest discovered

trace fossils are from bacteria.

They are estimated to be 3.4
billion years old!