Atlascopcosaurus- weighing in at 125kg and measuring 2-3 metres in length remains of this herbivore dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period were discovered at Victoria’s Dinosaur Cove.

Australovenator – this 2-legged carnivore was found near Winton in Queensland. It roamed the area during the early Cretaceous period and grew to 6 metres long and 2 metres high at the hip.

Austrosaurus – found near Maxwelton, Nth Queensland, with a similar find later showing up at Winton, Central-Western Queensland. This is another Cretaceous period herbivore, believed to have stood 4.1 metres tall at the shoulder, 3.9 metres at the hip and up to 15 metres long. The dinosaur whose remains were found at Winton was affectionately named ‘Eliot’.

Diamantinasaurus – another Cretaceous period herbivore discovered near Winton in Central-Western Queensland and nicknamed ‘Matilda’ this Australian dinosaur was an impressive 16 metres long.

Fulgurotherium – this smaller, 1-1.5 metres long, herbivore from the Cretaceous period, was unearthed at Lightning Ridge in New South Wales. Hence it’s name, Fulgurotherium, which means ‘Lightning Beast’.

Kakuru – this is yet another Cretaceous period dinosaur. However, unlike those that we have already looked at, it is believed that it was either an omnivore or even a carnivore. Found in Andamooka, South Australia, it was probably the size of a large turkey.

Leaellynasaura – also found in Victoria’s Dinosaur Cove, this Cretaceous period dinosaur was a herbivore that could have been as big as 2 metres tall.

Minmi - a large number of remains of the Minmi have been dug up, giving us more information on this Australian dinosaur than we have on many others. Found at Minmi Crossing in Queensland, this was a 4-legged, long-tailed, armoured dinosaur. A herbivore from the early Cretaceous period, it was about 2 metres long and 1 metre high to the shoulder.

Muttaburrasaurus – first discovered at Muttaburra in Queensland, though with other finds later made at Hughenden (where there is now a statue in its honour) and as far away as Lightning Ridge in NSW. A big, 8 metre tall herbivore with extremely strong jaws it roamed the country during the early Cretaceous period.

Ozraptor – uncovered near Geraldton in Western Australia, the Ozraptor lived during the Jurassic period and was a carnivore. A biped, it grew to about 3 metres long.

Qantassaurus – at about 1 metre tall and 1.8 metres in length, this was a herbivore from the Cretaceous period. It was unearthed in 1996 the Victorian resort town of Inverloch.

Rapator – another Lightning Ridge, NSW discovery, the Rapator was a carnivore from the early Cretaceous period. Standing up to 9 metres tall, this biped would have been a fearsome sight.

Rhoetosaurus – an impressive 12-15 metres long, this quadruped had a tiny head, long tail and chunky legs. The Rhoetosaurus, a herbivore from the Jurassic period, was first found at Roma, Central Queensland.

Serendipaceratops – from the early Cretaceous period, this dinosaur was a plant loving herbivore that grew to about 2 metres long. It was found near Kilcunda in Victoria.

Timimus – this omnivore was dug up at Dinosaur Cove, Victoria. It roamed the area during the Early Cretaceous period about 106 million years ago and may have been as big as 1.5 metres at the hip and 3.5 metres long.

Walgettosuchus – thought to have been a carnivore, this Lower Cretaceous period dinosaur was discovered at Lightning Ridge, NSW. At about 4.5 metres tall and 3 metres long it was a biped that may well have hunted in packs.

Wintonotitan – also found at Winton in Queensland this Early Cretaceous herbivore was huge – possibly 15 metres long – and probably had armor plating on its back.

But which toy to choose?  There is such as huge range that the choice can be a little bit overwhelming.  In the next few paragraphs we will run through some popular options to help you to decide which to go for.

Plush Dinosaur Toys

If you have smaller children, you may already have a zoo-load of soft toys representing every kind of animal imaginable.   Well even if this is the case, there is always room for something a little bit different, like a dinosaur soft toy, which makes a nice change to the regular gifts of teddy bears, cats and dogs.   If you feel that a ferocious Tyrannosaurus is hardly a suitable bedtime friend for a youngster, play it safe with something like Barney the Dinosaur, or that great Australian icon, Dorothy the Dinosaur.  After all, if you give a cuddly Barney or Dorothy the Dinosaur soft toy, you can follow up later when the child is a preschooler with an educational Dorothy or Barney DVD, so killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

Dinosaur Models and Action Figures

There are some great dinosaur action figures and models which really lend themselves to imaginative play.  Give a child a model Stegosaurus and their sibling a Velociraptor and before you know it they will have created an entire prehistoric world in their bedroom where their 2 dinosaurs can fight it out for supremacy.  If you are looking for added realism, some dinosaur toys have moving parts, snapping jaws and blood-curdling sound effects such as thundering roars.  What more could a child want?!

Dinosaur Robots and Automated Toys

One step up from the straight plastic dinosaur toy or dinosaur model is the moving, rotating, roaring dinosaur robot.  Some of these are amazingly realistic, having been inspired by dinosaur exhibits in major museums.

Dinosaur Eggs

These are my personal favourite, as my own children have had so much fun with them.  Available from most good toy shops and educational toy stores, the ‘dinosaur egg’ is a chalky sphere, about the size of a small ostrich egg, which you sink in a bowl of water.   As the water seeps into the egg, it cracks open and a baby dinosaur toy emerges.   Because the baby dinosaur is made of a rubber-like material which absorbs water, it gradually ‘grows’ – getting bigger and bigger as it soaks up the water.

This is a great toy –simple but educational and fun, especially as you never know exactly which type of dinosaur you have brought home until it ‘hatches’ in your kitchen.

Dinosaur Model Kits

For slightly older children, construction kit toys are often a winner.  The options range from plaster cast dinosaurs and dinosaur fossil kits, through to plastic dinosaur model construction and intricate wooden dinosaur toys which challenge even the most dedicated jigsaw puzzle addict.  Many dinosaur kits come with additional activities such as paint sets, to decorate your finished Triceratops or Apatosaurus, or information booklets, so that your child can read all about their dinosaur, once they have made it.  And if you know one of the many children on this planet who are obsessed with Lego, check out some of the wonderful Lego dinosaur kits that are now available.

Dinosaur Fossil Kits

Just as the dinosaur egg toy gives kids the chance to hatch and raise their own little T Rex, there are loads of educational toys based around dinosaur fossils and the idea of discovery.   Often categorized as science kits, there are some wonderful products on the market such as the dinosaur excavation kits and ‘fossil find’ packs where kids have to dig out dinosaur fossils just like a real archaeologist.  There are also fossil replica kits which come complete with information about the dinosaur that the fossil came from.

Dinosaur toys come in all shapes and sizes, much like the ancient creatures that they are modeled on.  A quick search on the Internet will show you that there is everything from cuddly toys through to complex discovery toys, so you are sure to find something suitable for the dinosaur fan in your family.

The National Dinosaur Museum (Canberra)

This is the mother of all things dinosaur in Australia. The ‘Museum includes an impressive 23 complete dinosaur skeletons including a Brachiosaurus, Plateosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and another 300 plus fossils, making it the largest exhibition of prehistoric fossils and dinosaurs in the country and well worth a visit.

The National Dinosaur Museum has really embraced our love of these incredible creatures and offers all the usual educational activities (workshops and school holiday programs), as well as birthday parties and child focus dinosaur-themed shows. Indeed, one of it’s most popular events is the guided Dinosaurs at Night Tours, which run on Thursday nights in the school holidays – a brilliant way to see some amazing dinosaurs face to face whilst having fun learning all about them.

For more information, see: http://www.nationaldinosaurmuseum.com.au

Australian Museum (Sydney)

Featuring 10 dinosaur skeletons, 8 models and a number of interactive displays, this is a wonderful place to get acquainted with dinosaurs both from home and abroad. Apart from perennial favourites, the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Stegosaurus, the current exhibition includes thrilling movie sequences, information on what we now think happened to the dinosaurs and a fascinating display on Centrosaurus fossils from Canada.

Western Australian Museum (Perth)

The Discovery Centre is packed full of interactive fun for young and old alike, including a selection of dinosaur fossils. In addition to this, the Museum is also running a Diamonds to Dinosaurs exhibit which charts an astonishing 12 billion years of history, taking visitors from the birth of our universe through to our appearance on the planet. Along the way, there are diamonds, lunar rocks and a number of dinosaur skeleton casts and fossils.

Melbourne Museum

Melbourne Museum is home to the Dinosaur Walk, where dinosaur fans can get up close and personal with skeletons of a Protoceratops, a Hadrosaur and a huge Mamenchisaurus (amongst others). The exhibition also contains models and fossils – some of which can be touched.

Apart from the Dinosaur Walk, the ‘Museum also has a great display based on the evolution of Victoria over 600 million years. Blending models, animation, fossils and plenty of interactive experiences the exhibit demonstrates how this little corner of Australia moved across the globe, dipping into the Antarctic Circle before settling in the temperate zone where we currently live.

Dinosaur Trackways (Winton Queensland)

Though a little hard to get to as it is out in the country of Central Western Queensland, Winton has to get a mention due to the uniqueness of its dinosaur ‘claim to fame’. Winton is the stop-off point to Lark Quarry Dinosaur Trackways – these are the fossilized remains of a large number of dinosaur footprints and the only known evidence of a dinosaur stampede yet to be found in the world.

The Trackways are now protected by a carefully designed and constructed conservation building and the only way to currently see the find is by taking a guided tour of the fossilized remains. This a truly worthwhile experience as the tour fills you in on the latest theories of what actually happened 95 million years ago that led to so many dinosaur fossils being found in one place, as well as loads of background information about the Cretaceous period itself.

Dinosaur Party Games

Finding interesting party games for a themed birthday party can often be a bit of a chore, and a dinosaur party is no exception. Here are some ideas for dinosaur games which should help to make your next party a success:

Dinosaur Piñata – A variation on an increasingly popular activity (especially with testosterone fueled little boys!). To add to the prehistoric theme, why not get the children to hit the piñata with a pretend caveman’s club?!

Dinosaur Dig– Hide some dinosaur toys and bones (bone-shaped dog biscuits or cookies are good for this) in a sand pit and let the kids loose ‘excavating’ them.

Dinosaur Treasure Hunt – Hide dinosaurs around the party venue and write a series of simple clues that the partygoers have to follow to find them.

Brontosaurus, Brontosaur, T-Rex – This is a variation on Duck, Duck, Goose, where the children sit in a circle whilst one child walks around the outside of the group, touching the head of each child as he passes, saying ‘Brontosaurus’. When they come to someone that they want to chase them, they shout ‘T-Rex!’ and they both run round the circle as fast as possible. Whoever reaches the spot left by the touched player and sits in it quickest wins and the person left standing is the new caller.

Pin the Teeth on the T-Rex – Buy or draw a picture of a T-Rex and make a set of fearsome teeth. Blindfold the guests and ask them to try and pin the teeth on the correct spot on the picture. Whoever is closest to the right place wins.

Dinosaur Pass The Parcel – Use a dinosaur egg toy as the centre of your parcel (the kind that ‘hatches’ when placed in water) and build up layers of dinosaur wrapping paper around it – you may like to pop little dinosaur models in-between the layers for extra fun.

Dinosaur Egg Hatch – Place small dinosaur models into a balloon and inflate and tie off. Tell the children the balloon is a dinosaur egg and get them to pop it to ‘hatch’ their baby dinosaur.

Dinosaur Cookie Munch – Make dinosaur shaped cookies and hang them from a tree or doorway on a piece of string. Loosely tie the children’s hand behind their backs and ask them to try to eat the cookies from the string without touching them.

Online Dinosaur Games

You may or may not be aware of it, but the prehistoric dinosaur is actually a huge favourite with the computer generation and there are dozens of websites specializing in dinosaur games. Everything from online colouring activities, matching and memory games and race games for the little ones to fossil based battleships, dinosaur name word searches and complex problem solving challenges for the more advanced player. Some of the more imaginative ideas include dino maths sheets, Sudoku problems featuring pterodactyls and triceratops instead of numbers and creating your own dinosaur story by selecting sentences from a range of options. There are also, of course, plenty of games focused on educating players about dinosaurs, their habitats and life cycles.

Some of the best dinosaur game websites include:

www.dinofun.com
www.freedinosaurgames.org
www.dinosaurgames.net