Ways to use this list
- Syllable clapping: spin a long name like Pachycephalosaurus and clap out all seven syllables together, then try Leaellynasaura.
- Dinosaur or not: press Not dinosaurs, spin, and ask the class why the animal misses out: flying reptile, sea reptile, mammal relative, mammal or shark.
- Timeline game: decide whether the dinosaur lived in the Triassic, Jurassic or Cretaceous period, then check and pin it on a long paper timeline.
- Museum labels: each pupil writes a card for the dinosaur they spin, with its name, what it ate, roughly how long it was and where its fossils were found.
- Clay models: give everyone ten minutes to model the dinosaur the wheel picks, then line the models up from smallest to biggest.
Press Spin the wheel, tap the game or press the Space bar. Change the list in the box as you
like: add your own, delete what doesn't suit you, or write *2 after an entry to give it double the
chance. The game buttons switch the same list to a duck race, hat, claw machine and more.
The full list (50 entries)
- Tyrannosaurus rex
- Triceratops
- Stegosaurus
- Velociraptor
- Brachiosaurus
- Diplodocus
- Ankylosaurus
- Spinosaurus
- Allosaurus
- Iguanodon
- Parasaurolophus
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Apatosaurus
- Brontosaurus
- Argentinosaurus
- Giganotosaurus
- Carnotaurus
- Dilophosaurus
- Deinonychus
- Utahraptor
- Gallimimus
- Oviraptor
- Protoceratops
- Psittacosaurus
- Maiasaura
- Edmontosaurus
- Corythosaurus
- Styracosaurus
- Kentrosaurus
- Baryonyx
- Compsognathus
- Microraptor
- Archaeopteryx
- Therizinosaurus
- Coelophysis
- Plateosaurus
- Herrerasaurus
- Eoraptor
- Ceratosaurus
- Megalosaurus
- Mamenchisaurus
- Euoplocephalus
- Albertosaurus
- Acrocanthosaurus
- Suchomimus
- Amargasaurus
- Majungasaurus
- Ouranosaurus
- Minmi
- Leaellynasaura
Questions people ask
Is a Pteranodon a dinosaur?
No. Pterosaurs such as Pteranodon were flying reptiles, close cousins of the dinosaurs but a separate group. Sea reptiles like Mosasaurus and Plesiosaurus were not dinosaurs either, and sail-backed Dimetrodon is more closely related to mammals.
Is Brontosaurus a real dinosaur?
Yes, again. For more than a century scientists treated Brontosaurus as the same animal as Apatosaurus, which was named first. A detailed study in 2015 found enough differences to give Brontosaurus back its own name, and many palaeontologists now use it.
Did T. rex live at the same time as Stegosaurus?
No. Stegosaurus lived about 150 million years ago, in the Jurassic, and Tyrannosaurus rex about 68 to 66 million years ago, near the end of the Cretaceous. Less time separates us from T. rex than separated T. rex from Stegosaurus.
Which was the biggest dinosaur?
Long-necked giants such as Argentinosaurus were the biggest, possibly over 30 metres long and heavier than ten elephants, though estimates vary because only parts of their skeletons have been found. Spinosaurus was probably the longest meat-eater.
Are birds really dinosaurs?
Yes. Birds evolved from small feathered dinosaurs, which is why Archaeopteryx and Microraptor, both with feathered wings, are on the list. Scientists class birds as living dinosaurs, so a pigeon is a distant relative of Velociraptor, which had feathers too.