PUPILS came face to face with a life size teenage tyrannosaurus rex and learnt all about her living and eating habits as part of their school’s science week.
Sophie the animatronic t-rex, complete with school lanyard, ambled through the front door and into the hall of Lewes Old Grammar Junior School where stunned reception to year 6 children squealed with delight at her arrival.
Years 1 to 4 had spent the morning digging for the fossils of dinosaurs, overseen by school-visiting group Education Group’s Life Long Ago workshop which teachers had organized to help with Year 6’s evolution topic.
Pupils were then introduced to two animatronic dinosaur babies Mia the triceratops and Bella the velociraptor (see pictures) while the handler explained about their family, diet, habitat and what the era they lived in millions of years ago was like.
But no-one was expecting Sophie, whose puppeteer’s dinosaur-like movements were incredibly lifelike, to appear and inspect the children one by one, showing off her ability to touch her nose to the ground thanks to her giant tail and challenging the children to do the same (no humans can).
Teacher Ruth Beresford said: “We always try to find exciting activities for the children to do in science week and the dinosaurs called out to me as something the whole school could learn from. Fossils and dinosaurs are universally appealing and can be used to learn not just about fossil formation but also about dinosaur habitat, diet and the adaptation and evolution of their bodies. The opportunity to observe a lifesize t-rex first-hand gives invaluable lessons about how the animals can move as well as giving an insight into how paleontologists work.”
And what did the children think?
Said one: “The dinosaurs were so realistic, they looked like they were really alive. It was so interesting when Sophie bent her head to the floor because her tail went up to balance her. Humans can’t do this without using their arms for balance.”
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