Developing a dino quiz

Why is this animal named Parksosaurus?

Dinosaurs get their names from the places their remains are found, in honour of a person (often a funding patron) who supported the excavation, and in description of aspects of their appearance and behaviour.

The latest Palaeo Quiz centres on how specific dinosaurs were named.

• Herrerasaurus
• Oviraptor
• Mercuriceratops
• Acrotholus
• Parksosaurus

Participants are given three plausible explanations for the dinosaur’s name and have to choose the correct one.

In pretesting this activity, one high school co-op student told me that if she does not know the answer, she chooses the longest one. So I have made sure that my false choices are as long, or longer, than the truthful one.

This quiz will be used during our disco night aimed at the 19 to 30 year old crowd.

Scientific Accuracy

Burgess Shale toys website shopping source : rom.on.ca

Only a very few of the items that are sold in the museum’s gift shop are replicas of artifacts for view in the museum. These plastic toys are one of those rare items for purchase which are scientifically accurate reproductions, taken from the reconstruction of fossils in the invertebrate palaeontology collection. Unfortunately the description for the toys found on the museum website is not accurate.

One of these Cambrian animals is mislabeled as another one that is much better known. Can you tell which one? The mistake is akin to identifying a poodle as a Great Dane.