Exploring Dinosaurs Through Books, Art, Stickers, & STEM Play

From bestselling author and illustrator Rachel Ignotofsky, Dinosaurs: Exploring Prehistoric Life and Geological Time is an incredible resource for young dinosaur lovers and curious learners alike. Beautifully illustrated and filled with fascinating facts, maps, infographics, and scientific discoveries, the book takes readers on a journey through more than 4.5 billion years of Earth’s history, from the earliest life forms to the age of dinosaurs and beyond. Through engaging visuals and accessible information, children are invited to wonder, question, and discover the incredible creatures and environments that once shaped our planet.

To extend the learning and creativity even further, the book now has companions: Rachel Ignotofsky’s Dinosaurs Coloring Book and Dinosaurs Stickerology. The coloring book invites children to bring prehistoric life to life through detailed illustrations of dinosaurs, ancient creatures, and scenes from prehistoric Earth. The sticker book, filled with over 500 vibrant prehistoric stickers, encourages children to creatively explore the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras through hands-on play and storytelling.

Since we love dinosaurs so much over here, these resources quickly became favorites and inspired us to extend the experience through open-ended dinosaur STEM play. After reading, coloring, and exploring the stickers, the children were invited to see if they could recognize different dinosaur species, recreate prehistoric environments, and reenact scenes inspired by the stories and illustrations.

To set up our dinosaur STEM invitation, we used our Discount School Supply Tuff Tray, Explorer Tuff Tray Grass Playmat, Earth Natural Scene Set 20P, Tender Leaf® Dinosaur Blocks, TickiT® Jurassic Discovery Dividers,  to create an immersive prehistoric world for building, storytelling, imaginative play, and exploration. Through this invitation, children were able to combine literacy, art, science, engineering, and imaginative play while deepening their curiosity and connection to the fascinating world of dinosaurs.