h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Have you ever been fascinated with dinosaurs? Gone to a wonderful dinosaur museum? Seen a good dinosaur film? Had a dream about dinosaurs? I want to hear all about it!

Or do dinosaurs leave you with a dull taste that's, well, just like chicken?

Let me know!

There's even a possibility that if I get a lot of responses, an article for and/or Peer Review might result.

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My earliest dinosaur experience took place on the Isle of Wight, so, no, I won't be sharing, just in case

Oh, go on! Surely h2g2 needs someone else's opinion of the Isle of Wight by now?

Was it Blackgang Chine?

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Yes, Blackgang Chine, circa 1970.

I wrote a ballet for dinosaurs once. I still have the sheet music for it somewhere. This was long before Youtube, so there was no hope of making it available online.

I was fascinated by them as a small child, after somebody bought me a Ladybird book about them. My parents took me to the Natural History Museum because of this - my first trip to London, at the age of 4.

I also remember Blackgang Chine. We visited it when I was about 10. I quite liked the dinosaurs there but preferred the skeleton in the NHM because it was *so big*.

Saw Jurassic Park for the first time on TV, Christmas 1996. I was expecting Nod at the time (she was born 10 days later) and the roar of the T-Rex startled her - I felt her 'jump' inside me. She has turned into a Jurassic Park nerd, possibly as a result of that first encounter.

There's just something so fascinating about dinosaurs. Their size, the fact that they lived on the same planet we do, and yet it wasn't the same planet - the vegetation, the landscape, even the continents were different. And of course the fact that they aren't here any more.

Mol

The Jurassic coast in Dorset is fascinating and a wonderful place to visit. School trips were not always a

And of course the IOW connectins the Brighstone and Jurassic Jims fossil shop near Arreton was always good.

One of my earliest Dinosaur experiences was also at Blackgang Chine.
although getting lost in the maze there also is a similar memory - not quite as early as 1970 though - probably more like 75-76.

As some of you probably know my job is as a scientist - although not palaeontology or archaeology my earliest discovery of this passion was through getting interested in dinosaurs when I was a small child. I still remember the gruesomely scary picture of a tyrannosaurus rex in my dinosaur book as a kid. Didn't have any feathers back then of course

I've also got very fond memories of visiting London's Natural History museum as a slightly older child and being in awe at the size of the triceratops and stegosaurus skeletons - diplodocus not withstanding it was the size of the allegedly 'smaller' dinosaurs that really struck me. I recall that back then the T-rex skeleton was rather disappointing in comparison as it was only half of one.

Most super-cool of all though was when I was a 1st year undergraduate in Oxford we had our organic chemistry lectures scheduled for 9 am in the natural history museum located on a wing of the Bodleian Science library which meant walking past their dinosaur exhibition every morning - their centrepiece was a giant Allosaurus skeleton

It helped a very young me imagine Dragons

I had a Ladybird book of dinosaurs - I might still have it, actually, as it is one of the few I actually kept. I've definitely got the Ladybird version of Conan Doyle's 'The Lost World'. I remember spending ages copying the pictures, back in the days when T Rexes had a more refined upright posture, rather than slouching forward as they do now.

Where are there good dinosaur museums?
I've been to the Dorset County Museum and know there's a Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester (I think it was closed the day we were there?)
Dinosaur Isle on the Isle of Wight, obviously, is excellent and I'd love to visit the Natural History Museum again - the last time I was there was the day before it became free to visit.

Also, what about less serious Dinosaur things? What fun dinosaur activities have you done? I've been on Dinosaur theme-park rides at Animal World, Universal Studios, Legoland and Peppa Pig World. I've also played dinosaur-themed crazy golf in Yorkshire.
You can still climb on the Blackgang Chine stegosaurus, but they have made the legs a lot shorter.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/dinosaurs/9799897/Isle-of-Wight-is-dinosaur-capital-of-Britain.html

I'm interested in dinosaurs, but not a lot.

- I know the names of about five of the big ones, but that's about it.
- Enjoyed the first Jurassic Park, hated the second one.
- Enjoyed a "Dino-Live" exhibition many years ago (animatronic dinosaurs) and the ones in the Natural History Museum in London.
- Would love to see a Tyrannosaurus covered in brightly-coloured feathers.

My youngest daughter, at 11, could not do algebra nor spell particularly well, but she had a comprehensive knowledge of all things dinosaur, to the extent that she would criticise Jurassic Park for having largely Triassic specimens. When we visited Blackgang Chine, a couple of years ago, it was like a pilgrimage for her.

How have dinosaurs captured your imagination?
It's been trapped in a cave by a pack of deinonychus for some time now.

Seriously, I was interested in dinosaurs at the age of 5 or 6 years old, as many children are. Nobody ever told me I could make a career out of it. Jurassic Park has done kids a favour from that point of view. My interest was re-awakened to an extent by Jurassic Park, but mainly by the marvellous Walking With Dinosaurs series produced by Tim Haines. A quick look at my bookshelves shows about 25 books on dinosaurs and pre-historic lifeforms.

‘she would criticise Jurassic Park for having largely Triassic specimens’ – and everyone knows that the oldest-known mosquitoes come from the Cretaceous period anyway

There are other theme parks with model dinosaurs in, including on the mainland in Hampshire Paulton’s Park (according to the website their dinosaur bit is currently closed? Perhaps they’re replacing the dinosaurs/upgrading the area – anyone know more?) and Wellington Country Park. But I think Blackgang was the first (Crystal Palace excepted), at least at allowing children to climb on the dinosaurs. It’s a family tradition to pose on the stegosaurus.
They’ve introduced a year or so ago some animatronic dinosaurs too, claiming at the time they were the largest in the UK. The Tyrannosaurus Rex and Argentinosaurus really were large, with speakers beneath the walkways that vibrated when they roared. Very impressive, but modern technology isn’t the same as climbing on a dinosaur, is it?

This year I’ve seen posters for a ‘Dino Fest 2015’ which is happening across Hampshire, so I’ll be intrigued to see more about that.

I loved the ‘Walking With Dinosaurs/Beasts/Monsters’ etc series, and even enjoyed the silliness of ‘Prehistoric Park’ and ‘Primeval’. ‘Primeval’ especially shows how united as a species we are, as people from Britain, Ireland and Canada all equally became meals for monsters. (Production started in the UK, then moved to Ireland when they had budget cuts and then there was a brief Canadian spin-off).

And did those feet in ancient times walk upon England’s mountains green?

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Only you could confuse the feet of Jesus Christ with those of a woolly mammoth...

We don’t have a dinosaur smiley…

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We don’t have a dinosaur smiley…

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Anyway, talking of s, did you know that during the last Ice Age, the North Sea was above sea level and was home to lions woolly rhinos and bears, oh my? As well as s etc. However, I wish they’d come up with a better name than ‘Doggerland’ as it sounds like a theme park for people of a certain persuasion which has extensive parking facilities…
Not to be confused with ‘Diggerland’, which are everyone’s favourite JCB-based theme parks.

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I'm interested in birds. They are pretty much dino's aren't they?

PP.

Birds are indeed descended from dinosaurs. In fact, it could be argued that dinosaurs are still around but they have feathers and most of them fly.