13 Prehistoric Creatures Kids Will Love: Dinosaur Facts to Explore Together

“What would you do if you met a dinosaur?”

Your child might have an answer ready: hide from a T. rex, wave at a Triceratops, or ask a long-necked dinosaur for a lift. Dinosaurs invite big questions because they were real animals that lived in a world very different from ours.

Some had horns. Some wore bony armour. One had a sail rising from its back. And sharing their skies were flying reptiles that weren’t dinosaurs at all. Here are 13 prehistoric creatures to meet, with a little question for your child at every stop.

1. Tyrannosaurus rex: The powerful bite

It’s hard to miss a T. rex. This meat-eating dinosaur walked on two strong legs and had jaws capable of crushing bone. Its teeth could grow to around 20 centimetres long. Fossils even show T. rex tooth marks on other dinosaurs’ bones. (Natural History Museum.)

If you heard heavy footsteps behind you, would you turn around to look—or find a very good hiding place?

2. Stegosaurus: Plates along its back

Stegosaurus had tall bony plates running down its back and spikes on its tail. Scientists still debate exactly what the plates were for. They may have helped with display or temperature control; the tail spikes were better suited to defence. (Natural History Museum.)

Could your child draw a Stegosaurus without lifting their pencil from the page? Those plates make quite a zigzag.

3. Ankylosaurus: Armour and a tail club

Ankylosaurus was a plant eater protected by bony armour. At the end of its tail sat a heavy club that it could swing from side to side. It might have looked like a walking fortress, but it spent much of its time feeding on low-growing plants. (Natural History Museum.)

Ask your child: if you had dinosaur armour, what colour would it be?

4. Triceratops: Three horns and a frill

The name Triceratops means “three-horned face.” Along with its horns, it had a large bony frill behind its head and a beak for clipping plants. Fossils suggest its horns could help protect it from predators, including T. rex. (Natural History Museum.)

Can your child spot all three horns in a picture—two above the eyes and one above the nose?

5. Velociraptor: Small, quick, and feathered

Movie Velociraptors are usually much bigger than the real animal. A real Velociraptor was roughly turkey-sized and had feathers. It couldn’t fly, but its long, stiff tail helped it turn as it ran. (Natural History Museum.)

Would a feathered dinosaur surprise your child? Ask them what colour its feathers might have been.

6. Brachiosaurus: Reaching for the treetops

Brachiosaurus was a towering plant eater with a long neck. Its front legs were longer than its back legs, giving its body an upward tilt and helping it reach high vegetation. We haven’t found a complete Brachiosaurus skeleton, so scientists continue to work out the details of its appearance. (Natural History Museum.)

What would your child see if they could look over the top of the tallest tree nearby?

7. Pteranodon: Wings above the dinosaurs

Here’s a fun surprise: Pteranodon lived in the age of dinosaurs, but it wasn’t a dinosaur. It was a pterosaur, a flying reptile. Its wings were made of skin stretched across an extraordinarily long finger. (American Museum of Natural History.)

If your child could glide above this prehistoric landscape, which creature would they try to spot first?

8. Spinosaurus: The dinosaur with a sail

Spinosaurus had a tall sail on its back and a long, narrow snout. Its teeth and jaws tell us it ate fish, and scientists think it spent time in and around water. They’re still studying just how much it swam. (Natural History Museum.)

Would your child rather watch Spinosaurus from a riverbank or from very high up in a tree?

9. Parasaurolophus: A crest that may have made music

Parasaurolophus was a plant-eating, duck-billed dinosaur with a long crest curving back from its head. Scientists have modelled how air moving through the crest might have produced a deep, trumpet-like sound. We can’t know exactly what its call sounded like. (Natural History Museum.)

Invite your child to invent a Parasaurolophus call. Is it a honk, a hum, or something entirely new?

10. Diplodocus: A very long tail

Diplodocus was a huge plant eater with a long neck and an even longer, whip-like tail. The Natural History Museum estimates it at about 26 metres from end to end. That length didn’t make it the tallest dinosaur, but it would have been an extraordinary sight crossing the landscape. (Natural History Museum.)

How many children standing in a line would it take to match a Diplodocus?

11. Pachycephalosaurus: A dome on its head

Pachycephalosaurus had a thick bony dome on top of its skull, with small bumps and spikes around it. Some scientists think these dinosaurs may have used their domes in contests with one another. Others suggest the dome was useful for display. (Natural History Museum.)

What do you think a dinosaur with a head like that would be called before you learn its real name?

12. Iguanodon: The spiky thumb

Iguanodon was a large plant eater with a sharp spike on each thumb. Scientists think the spikes may have helped it fend off predators. It could probably move on four legs or rise onto two, which makes it an interesting dinosaur to imagine in motion. (Natural History Museum.)

Try giving your child a thumbs-up, then ask: would you want an Iguanodon to return the gesture?

13. Allosaurus: A hunter from an earlier age

With sharp teeth, three-fingered hands, and small horns above its eyes, Allosaurus was a formidable meat eater. It lived millions of years before T. rex, so the two never faced each other in real life. Allosaurus shared its world with dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus and Diplodocus. (Natural History Museum.)

Which would your child notice first: its teeth, its claws, or the little horns above its eyes?

Step into a dinosaur story

In My Dinosaur Adventure!, a museum visit takes a surprising turn. Your child discovers a glowing, egg-shaped stone and finds themselves in a prehistoric world. Along the way, they encounter all 13 creatures above, from the roaring T. rex to the gliding Pteranodon, before returning to the museum with an adventure to remember.

The book is made for children aged 2–8. Add your child’s name, choose a character to represent them, and include a dedication to make the journey theirs. Personalize and preview My Dinosaur Adventure! to see your little explorer step into the story.