How Did Dinosaurs Become Extinct?

Hi there! Let’s learn about dinosaurs and how they disappeared from the Earth. Dinosaurs were really big creatures that roamed around millions of years ago.

1. What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

About 65 million years ago, something very big happened. It’s called an extinction, which means that all the dinosaurs suddenly disappeared. Imagine a giant magic trick where all the dinosaurs just vanished!

2. The Big Rock

Scientists think that a giant rock from space, called an asteroid, crashed into the Earth. This is kind of like when you throw a baseball, but this rock was huge!

3. The Big Boom!

When the asteroid hit, it made a huge explosion! This explosion was big enough to make lots of dust and smoke go up into the sky. That dust covered the sun for a long time.

4. No More Sunlight

Without sunlight, plants could not grow. And if there were no plants, many animals that eat plants could not find food. This made it hard for the dinosaurs to find things to eat too!

5. A Cold World

After the asteroid hit, the Earth became very cold. Imagine a cold winter day, but much colder! Dinosaurs were not able to survive in this chilly weather.

6. The End of the Dinosaurs

Because of these changes—the dust, no sunlight, lack of food, and the cold—dinosaurs could not live anymore, and they went extinct. But don’t worry! Some little creatures survived, and those turned into the birds we see today!

7. Dinosaurs Are Special

Even though dinosaurs are not here anymore, we can still learn about them from their bones, which we call fossils. They help us understand how amazing these creatures were!

So, that’s how dinosaurs became extinct! It’s a big story, but it all started with a great big rock from space!

Written November 14, 2024