Intrepid young dinosaur hunters are being invited to take part in an exciting new project digging for fossils at the University of Aberdeen.
A Dinodig workshop, straight from the Edinburgh International Science Festival, will allow youngsters as young as three to uncover, through careful digging on a replica dinosaur site, not only lots of fossils but a stegosaurus skeleton. They will also get the chance to see more fossils and many interesting modern day dinosaurs in the Zoology Museum.
The Dinodig has been organised by the Conoco Natural History Museum, based at the University of Aberdeen’s Department of Zoology, as part of a series of events for the summer holidays. It will take place daily, excluding weekends, from Monday, July 2, to Friday, July 13,
Later on in July and in August there is a series of fun workshops for primary school children to attend. The complete programme is as follows:
Dinodig: Monday 2, to Friday 6, and Monday 9, to Friday 13 July. The workshop is free due to generous support from Aberdeen City Council, Texaco and the Department of Zoology.
Ages 3 to 8 – 10.30 to 11.30am each morning
Ages 8 and above – 2 to 3pm each afternoon
These are for all those children you know who like finding out about wildlife and getting messy!
Busy bees: Mondays 23 July, and 6 August. Come along and find out about some stripey animals that buzz and make a nest for some bees to sleep in during the winter.
Munching moths: Tuesdays 24 July, and 7 August. Moths are great! Come and find out all about some marvellous moths and make some sugary moth-catching goo!
Fossil Hunters: Wednesdays 25 July, and 8 August. Come along and see some real fossils, find out about the dinosaurs that live today and make your very own ancient fossil!
Crawlies do more than just creep: Thursdays 26 July and 9 August. Creepy crawlies are everywhere - some live in waters and some live on land. Come and see how many you can find!
Prehistoric Paint: Fridays 27 July and 10 August. Come and discover how people used to make paint from plants and animals and get messy by making some prehistoric paint of your own.
All the above workshops, except for the Dinodig, are for children at school (already in P1 to P7. Due to popular demand, children are being restricted to a maximum of 3 workshops each. The workshops will take place every day from 10am to noon and are free.
Booking is absolutely essential for all the workshops, including the Dinodig, which is aimed at younger as well as older children. This workshop is free thanks to the generous support of Aberdeen City Council, the Department of Zoology at Aberdeen University, Texaco and The Lighthouse Cinema in Aberdeen.
Further information from Mandy Tulloch at the Conoco Natural History Centre on (01224) 493288 or e-mail m.tulloch@abdn.ac.uk
University Press Office on telephone +44 (0)1224-273778 or email a.ramsay@admin.abdn.ac.uk.