Meet the Dinosaurs of the Museum!

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Brachiosaurus was one of the biggest dinosaurs ever! It could grow up to 80 feet long and weigh as much as 4 elephants combined! Brachiosaurus had a super long neck, which helped it reach the tallest trees to eat leaves. It was a herbivore, meaning it only ate plants. Its front legs were longer than its back legs—just like a giraffe! This made its body tilt upward, perfect for reaching high branches.

The name "Brachiosaurus" means "arm lizard." That’s because of its long front legs (or “arms”).

Brachiosaurus lived about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic Period—way before humans!

Even though it was huge, Brachiosaurus was a gentle giant. It didn’t have sharp teeth or claws—it just munched on plants all day. Movie Star

Brachiosaurus has appeared in many dinosaur movies, like Jurassic Park.

The Tyrannosaurus rex, often called T. rex, was one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs that ever lived. It lived about 68 to 66 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. This dinosaur could grow up to 40 feet long and about 12 feet tall at the hips, and it weighed around 9 tons. T. rex had powerful legs that helped it walk quickly and a massive head filled with sharp teeth, some as long as a banana. Its short arms had only two fingers, but they were very strong. Scientists believe it had an incredible sense of smell and very good eyesight. T. rex was a carnivore, which means it ate meat, and it may have hunted live prey and also eaten animals that were already dead. Fossils of T. rex have been found in North America, and it is one of the most famous dinosaurs in the world.

Triceratops was a large plant-eating dinosaur that lived about 68 to 66 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. It had a huge body, could grow up to 30 feet long, and weighed between 6 and 12 tons. Triceratops is easy to recognize because of the three horns on its face—two long ones above its eyes and a shorter one on its nose—and the big frill at the back of its head. These horns and frill may have been used for protection from predators like Tyrannosaurus rex or for showing off to other triceratops. It walked on four strong legs and had a beak-like mouth with rows of teeth for chewing tough plants. Fossils of triceratops have been found in North America, and it is one of the most popular and well-known dinosaurs.

Spinosaurus was one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs, living about 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. It could grow over 50 feet long, making it even bigger than Tyrannosaurus rex. Spinosaurus is famous for the large sail-like structure on its back, formed by long spines that may have been used to attract mates or regulate body temperature. Unlike most other big meat-eating dinosaurs, Spinosaurus spent much of its time in water, and scientists believe it was a strong swimmer. It had a long, crocodile-like snout filled with sharp, conical teeth perfect for catching fish, which made up most of its diet. Its arms were longer and more powerful than T. rex, with big claws for grabbing prey. Fossils of Spinosaurus have been found in North Africa, and it is considered one of the most unique and mysterious dinosaurs ever discovered.

Hadrosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur that lived about 75 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. It was a type of duck-billed dinosaur, named for its flat, wide snout that looked like a duck’s bill. Hadrosaurus could grow up to 30 feet long and weigh around 2 to 3 tons. It walked on both two legs and four legs, using two legs for running and all four when grazing on plants. It had hundreds of tightly packed teeth in its mouth, perfect for chewing tough plants, and it likely traveled in herds for protection. Scientists think Hadrosaurus could make loud calls using a special crest on its head to communicate with other members of its group. Fossils of Hadrosaurus have been found in North America, and it is famous for being the first dinosaur skeleton ever mounted for public display in a museum.

Stegosaurus was a large plant-eating dinosaur that lived about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period. It could grow up to 30 feet long and weigh around 5 to 7 tons. Stegosaurus is easy to recognize because of the two rows of big, bony plates along its back and the four sharp spikes on its tail, which it used for defense. Even though it had a huge body, its brain was very small—about the size of a walnut! Stegosaurus walked on four legs, eating low plants like ferns and bushes. Fossils of Stegosaurus have been found in North America, and it is one of the most popular dinosaurs because of its unique and unusual shape.

Allosaurus was a big meat-eating dinosaur that lived about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period. It could grow up to 30 feet long and weigh around 2 tons. Allosaurus had a large head with sharp, serrated teeth and strong jaws for tearing meat. It walked on two legs and had long, muscular arms with three sharp claws on each hand to help grab prey. Scientists think it was a fast and active hunter that may have hunted in groups to take down big plant-eating dinosaurs like Stegosaurus. Fossils of Allosaurus have been found in North America and Europe, and it is one of the most common large predators from the Jurassic period.

Velociraptor was a small but fierce dinosaur that lived about 75 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. It was only about 6 feet long and as tall as a turkey, weighing around 30 pounds. Velociraptor had sharp teeth and a curved claw on each back foot that it used to grab and hold its prey. It was very fast and smart, making it a skilled hunter of small animals. Scientists believe Velociraptor had feathers, which means it looked more like a bird than the scaly reptiles shown in movies. Fossils of Velociraptor have been found in Mongolia, and even though it is famous in movies, the real one was much smaller than what you see on screen.