Background:
The Okanogan territory of Washington State has a volcanic prehistoric past where dinosaurs roamed the plains, ancient birds soared overhead and strange beasts swam the steaming waters. Many important discoveries have been made by archeologists, professional and amateur alike, such as the Tripodosaurus, the Batkite and the Screwhopper, never before seen until they were found near Boomtown, and now on display in the Boomtown Museum.

The Dinosaur Project

TEACHERS and STUDENTS! Join The Boomtown School in compiling the "Boomtown Encyclopedia of Undiscovered Dinosaurs!" (Click here to see the Encyclopedia...)

You can be a part of this exciting project by sending in drawings and descriptions of your dinosaur.

Teachers, here's what you can do:

• Read Chapter 10 of Boomtown (Book 1) to your class (it tells about the amazing dinosaurs on display in the Boomtown Museum).
• Have students DRAW a picture of their imaginary dinosaur on an 8.5x11" sheet of paper.
• Hand write or type a description of what the dinosaur was called, what it looked like, what it ate, where it lived, when it lived, how it died, etc.
• Send your Microsoft Word documents, Publisher Documents, PDFs, or scans to: [email protected]
• Click here for a downloadable example and a proposed lesson plan...

Students, here's what you can do:

• Tell your teacher you want to be a part of The Dinosaur Project.
• Or, you can do it on your own! Send us your own dinosaur drawing and description. Make sure it's weird and wonderful!

There's more! Check out Crazy Inventions, Cool Experiments, Write On Boomtown and Classroom Ideas.

TRIPODOSAURUS

Name's Meaning: "Three-legged lizard"

Approximate Age: Lived sometime during the latter Jurassic Period, about 150 million years ago.

Physical Description: Five feet at the shoulder, twelve feet at the head, a total of 24 feet in length from head to tail and weighing approximately 4-6 tons. It had small armored plates down center of back, thick green skin with spots, heavy tail with feathers at the tip, and a round muscled body that tapered to a long neck with flattened head.

Distinctive Behavior/Feature: The Tripodosaurus had only three legs (thus its name), two in the back and only one in the front. It shuffled forward by using it's long neck and flattened forehead as a fourth leg.

Food Source: As a herbivore, it subsisted entirely on plants growing close to the ground.

Habitat: The Tripodosaurus stuck close to mesas, plateaus and plains, since with its ungainly method of walking, it had difficulty climbing hills or navigating rocky terrain.

Probable Cause of Extinction: As a slow-moving dinosaur, it was natural prey for faster-moving carnivores. It also fell over cliffs and into holes because it had trouble seeing where it was going while walking on its head.

Discovered By: Dr. Mfana Losotu, 20 miles ENE of Boomtown, Washington