About
Dinosaur Devoted is an outreach education initiative created by Matthew Ellerbeck. The goal of the project is to improve the public’s understanding of dinosaurs and their paleobiology. The initiative emphasizes portraying dinosaurs as real animals, countering their depiction as mere monsters or cartoon characters. By combining engaging content, visual storytelling, and current paleontological research, Dinosaur Devoted connects learners of all ages with science, encouraging curiosity and a lifelong interest in dinosaurs.
Why Dinosaurs?
Dinosaurs represent a critical chapter in Earth’s history, offering insight into evolution, adaptation, and extinction. Studying them informs our understanding of ecosystems, climate shifts, and biodiversity, providing lessons applicable to conservation today.
Research increasingly shows that having an affinity animals, or forming close emotional connections with wildlife can serve as a gateway to broader support for conservation. Studies indicate that individuals who feel a strong connection to animals exhibit higher empathy and stronger pro-environmental attitudes overall (Whitburn et al., 2020). Reviews also highlight that emotional and cognitive bonds with animals, such as storytelling, recognition, and empathy are powerful motivators for conservation behavior (Marzluff et al., 2017). This can apply to dinosaurs, as there's growing evidence and expert consensus suggesting that a childhood fascination with dinosaurs can serve as an early pathway into broader interest in nature, science, and conservation.
While few studies examine dinosaurs specifically, related research in environmental education and psychology supports the idea that gateway taxa (extinct or living) can ignite lasting curiosity about the natural world. Children who develop deep, sustained interests, like those in dinosaurs, often show stronger scientific reasoning, observational skills, and ecological awareness later in life (Alexander et al., 2008; Patrick & Tunnicliffe, 2013).
These interests frequently expand from prehistoric life to modern animals, ecosystems, and environmental stewardship. Moreover, the same mechanisms that link affinity for living species to conservation concern empathy, curiosity, identification, and storytelling also operate with extinct ones.
Dinosaurs offer a vivid entry point into understanding evolution, extinction, and environmental change, which can foster appreciation for biodiversity and the fragility of ecosystems. Educators often note that dinosaur enthusiasm helps children grasp concepts of adaptation and extinction, bridging to modern conservation topics like habitat loss or climate change (Patrick & Tunnicliffe, 2013).
Therefore, a deeper comprehension of dinosaurs can enhance the appreciation of our present natural environment for both children and adults.
Lastly, dinosaurs have immense intrinsic value. They are incredibly captivating, evoking wonder, passion, and enthusiasm.
Research increasingly shows that having an affinity animals, or forming close emotional connections with wildlife can serve as a gateway to broader support for conservation. Studies indicate that individuals who feel a strong connection to animals exhibit higher empathy and stronger pro-environmental attitudes overall (Whitburn et al., 2020). Reviews also highlight that emotional and cognitive bonds with animals, such as storytelling, recognition, and empathy are powerful motivators for conservation behavior (Marzluff et al., 2017). This can apply to dinosaurs, as there's growing evidence and expert consensus suggesting that a childhood fascination with dinosaurs can serve as an early pathway into broader interest in nature, science, and conservation.
While few studies examine dinosaurs specifically, related research in environmental education and psychology supports the idea that gateway taxa (extinct or living) can ignite lasting curiosity about the natural world. Children who develop deep, sustained interests, like those in dinosaurs, often show stronger scientific reasoning, observational skills, and ecological awareness later in life (Alexander et al., 2008; Patrick & Tunnicliffe, 2013).
These interests frequently expand from prehistoric life to modern animals, ecosystems, and environmental stewardship. Moreover, the same mechanisms that link affinity for living species to conservation concern empathy, curiosity, identification, and storytelling also operate with extinct ones.
Dinosaurs offer a vivid entry point into understanding evolution, extinction, and environmental change, which can foster appreciation for biodiversity and the fragility of ecosystems. Educators often note that dinosaur enthusiasm helps children grasp concepts of adaptation and extinction, bridging to modern conservation topics like habitat loss or climate change (Patrick & Tunnicliffe, 2013).
Therefore, a deeper comprehension of dinosaurs can enhance the appreciation of our present natural environment for both children and adults.
Lastly, dinosaurs have immense intrinsic value. They are incredibly captivating, evoking wonder, passion, and enthusiasm.
To join simply send in your name and email address here.
Dinosaur Fact of The Week
Image credit: Joanna Kobierska
The basal neotheropod dinosaur Liliensternus possessed a subtle crest-like ridge that appears to have run along the top of its snout. Fossil skull material attributed to Liliensternus liliensterni indicates that the nasal bones formed a low midline ridge, somewhat reminiscent (though far less pronounced) to the paired crests later seen in Dilophosaurus. Because the known skull remains are incomplete, the exact size and shape of this ridge remain uncertain, but some researchers have suggested it may have supported a soft-tissue display structure (Rauhut, 2003).If so, this would indicate that visual display features emerged very early in theropod evolution. Liliensternus, which lived during the Late Triassic around 210 million years ago, represents one of the earlier large predatory dinosaurs, and even a modest cranial ornament suggests that structures used for species recognition, intimidation, or mate signaling were already beginning to evolve near the base of the theropod lineage (Brusatte et al., 2010). Such features later became far more elaborate in many theropods, making the ridge in Liliensternus a possible early step in the evolution of dinosaur display structures (Rauhut, 2003).