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Earth Science Series - Dinosaurs - STEM Challenge

Shannon Hardy

Measuring Dinosaur Footprints

Did you know that by measuring the footprint of a dinosaur we can determine the size of that dinosaur? And, if there is a track of footprints we can find out how fast that dinosaur was travelling! Let’s put this to the test with this dino-rific activity!

Materials: 

  • Tape Measure (with cm)

  • Pencil

  • Large Format Paper

  • Scissors

  • Sidewalk Chalk

  • Calculator

  • A long piece of string or yarn

Discover the Size of your Dinosaur

  1. Choose a dinosaur footprint from Table 1. If you are doing this STEM challenge in a group, you can each choose a different dinosaur footprint to work on.

  2. Draw a dinosaur footprint, either with chalk on the ground or with a pencil and a large piece of paper. Use the chart below to measure the length so that it’s approximately to scale

  3. If you drew it on paper, cut out the footprint.

  4. Measure and record the length of the footprint from the heel to the tip of the center claw.

  5. Multiply the length of the footprint by 4, this will give you the average hip height of a dinosaur. Record length in cm in Table 2.

  6. Multiply the footprint by 10, this will give you the average head-to-tail length of a dinosaur.

  7. With your chalk draw a line (or use a tape measure) on the ground for each of these measurements to get a sense of how big these dinosaurs actually were. 

Table 1: Dinosaur Footprint shapes and Lengths


Find Out the Speed of the Dinosaur

  1. On the ground, mark out where a second footprint could go - you decide how far apart.

  2. Measure the distance from the heel of one to the heel of the other footprint - this will give you the stride length. 

  3. Divide the stride length by the leg length. Record your calculation in Table 2.

  4. Compare your result in Table 3  to see how quickly your dinosaur was moving. Record ‘running, trotting, or walking, in Table 2.

Table 2: Dinosaur measurements and calculations

Table 3: Dinosaur speeds

Review Your Data

  1. Which Dinosaur had the longest stride length?

  2. How many of your footprints could fit inside the dinosaur footprints?   

  3. Imagine your dinosaur running for its life, what obstacles could it step over? For example: a bus, car or house


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