The Test of Time
Some people believe that after all this time, the only true relatives of the dinosaurs are the birds. Others think the reptiles are all that is left of the dinosaurs. Would the dinosaurs have stayed the same if they lived in a different time?
Some people today are busy using their time to try to fix or save the planet. They also are using their time to look into the past as well as the future. Do you think the dinosaurs would have lived longer if they could have had someone trying to save their planet?
Timing is important, and maybe that is why we are so fascinated by keeping track of time. We measure time by the second, the hour, the day, and the year. One way to measure time is with a stopwatch or a clock.
Have you ever timed how long it takes you to get ready for school or make your bed? Or how long it takes for you eat lunch or walk the dog? These time measurements are just for fun, but there are occasions when you need to measure time; for example, when you are cooking. How did people know how long to cook a hard-boiled egg before there were any clocks?
An early invention that was used to tell time was called an hourglass. Smaller ones were later made to measure minutes. To make your own minute glass you will need two empty 24-ounce pop bottles, a small metal washer, three cups of sand, and a roll of masking tape.
Which dinosaur was the Lone Ranger's sidekick?
Tontosaurus!
Pour the sand into one of the pop bottles.
Place the washer on top of that bottle's opening.
Place the other bottle upside-down on the first one so the tops of the pop bottles are together, and fasten them with masking tape.
Turn the bottles over and time how long it takes for the sand to run from the top bottle into the bottom one. It should take one minute. If it's not accurate, you can unfasten the tape and add or take away sand until you have it right.
Fun Fact
What Color Was That Dinosaur?
Although the skins of several fossilized dinosaurs show different textures and patterns, the color of their skin is a mystery. The colors of the dinosaurs we see in pictures or movies today are only guesses of what their true color may have been.
Once your timer is ready, you can use it when you need to keep track of the time when you are playing games. Use larger bottles and add more sand if you want to measure a longer amount of time.
