BACK TO SCHOOL SALE - free shipping on U.S. orders of $50+. Use coupon code SHIPSC10 Details

on U.S. orders of $50+. Use coupon code SHIPSC10 Details

Featured Science Book

Researchers discover four new Dinosaur Species

7.26.09 - While most of you probably know the most famous of all dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus rex, researchers in Germany and Australia now discovered four new dinosaur species.

While digging in Tambach-Dietharz in Thueringen, Germany researchers found on July 26, 2009 the skull of a so far unknown dinosaur species.

It is a relatively small skull that fits into your palm. Nevertheless the discovery is very significant since it might help scientists to understand the evolution from dinosaurs as reptiles into mammals.

The location where the skull was found is known as a "historical window". Over the last 30 years scientists found more than 40 skeletons and discovered 13 dinosaur species there. The most prominent discovery was the two legged dinosaur "Eudibamus cursoris". "With these findings Tambach-Dietharz belongs to the most remarkable Paleontology locations world wide", says Martens, Paleontologist at the Museum of Nature Gotha.

The Dinosaurs that have wings on their back, large claws and long tails look pretty impressive. However they have nothing in common with the dinosaurs that lived about 100 million years later, commented Martens. The interesting part is though that similar findings in Europe and America are another proof point that once both continents were part of Pangaea. Pangaea was the supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration.

Australian scientists hailed the country's most significant dinosaur discovery in decades on Friday July 3, 2009 after three new species were unearthed in a Queensland billabong.

Scientists said the three, named Banjo, Matilda and Clancy in honor of Australia's most famous song, "Waltzing Matilda", opened up an exciting new front in the world of dinosaur research.

Banjo - The ferocious-looking carnivore Australovenator wintonensis was 16.5-foot-long (5-meter-long), 6.5-foot-tall (2-meter-tall). The dinosaur is a meat-eater and belongs to the theropod - a group of two-legged dinos related to birds.

Diamantinasaurus matildae - The fossilized creature measures almost 60 feet (18 meters) long.

Clancy - a huge plant-eating sauropod. The 60-foot-long (18-meter-long) dinosaur roamed the region's vast fern-filled plains 98 million years ago in the mid-Cretaceous period, just before the island broke away from Gondwanaland, an ancient supercontinent.

"These discoveries are a major breakthrough in the scientific understanding of prehistoric life in Australia," said state premier Anna Bligh, as she announced the find in Winton.

Scientists said Australia's continent-sized Outback could hold untold treasures for Paleontologists.

"When we think of dinosaurs we think North America, Europe, South America, Africa, not Australia," said Rod Wells, of Flinders University.

"Australia is the exciting new frontier in vertebrate paleontology, a continent as large as North America awaiting exploration."

Want to become a Paleontologist yourself? Check out our huge selection of Dinosaur Kits.

Become a Dinosaur Hunter

Become a Dinosaur Hunter

The Perfect Beginner Experiment Kit!

Stepping into Science

Begin a lifetime of scientific investigation and understanding. Stepping into Science is designed for children 5 & up. It teaches science fundamentals through 25 hands-on science experiments, while at the same time introducing children to the concept and process of experimentation.

The science kit covers five key areas:

Nature
Physics
Chemistry
Air
Water

The first kit in the Little Labs line - Stepping into Science teaches science fundamentals with step-by-step, hands-on experiments. The kit also includes a booklet with easy to follow instructions.

Order Now!

Price: only $34.95

Membership

Teachers

Curriculum

Science Stories

Science Tests

Science Videos

Science News

Science Venues

Science Blog

For Parents

Press and Awards