Dinosaur

Complete as many pages as your age. 

Example: If you are 10, do 10 pages!

Check off activities as you go. 

Bring your completed book 

to a ranger to earn your 

Junior Ranger badge.

Directions

Junior Ranger Activity Book

your name

your age
Welcome to

DINOSAUR 

National Monument!

Travel back in time to visit a place once full of dinosaurs. 

Learn about past people by visiting ancient rock art sites 

and homesteader cabins. Discover today’s river environment, 

canyons, night skies, and wilderness areas.

Unscramble the words to learn some 

of the stories at Dinosaur National Monument.

ssuroaidn

goylgeo

srirev

dloheman

iwld lapces

Word bank: homeland • dinosaurs • 

geology • rivers • wild places

Start at the 

Quarry Exhibit 

Hall to explore 

the world of 

dinosaurs.

1
Imagine you were dropped off in the 

Jurassic. It’s warm, wet, and full of plants 

and animals you have never seen before. 

Draw, write, or tell a story about 

your day in the Jurassic.

2
Meet the

DINOSAURS 

of Dinosaur National Monument

Did you know birds 

are modern day 

dinosaurs?

Invent a dinosaur! 

Draw your own dinosaur above.

Use the scientific name guide 

to give your dinosaur a name.

What is a

DINOSAUR?

Dinosaur is Greek for 

terrible lizard. Dinosaurs are 

group of reptiles that lived 

during the Mesozoic era, 

around 225 to 65 

million years ago.

3
THEROPODS are meat 

eating dinosaurs that walked 

on two legs.

SAUROPODS are huge 

long-necked plant eating 

dinosaurs. 

STEGOSAURS

are known for bony 

plates and spikes.

allo: other

apato: deceptive

avis: bird

baga: little

baro: heavy

camara: chamber

cephalic: head

SCIENTIFIC NAME GUIDE

translation of Greek and Latin words used by scientists to name dinosaurs

ceras: horn

cory: helmet

dino: terrible

diplo: double

docus: beam

giga: savage giant

lopho: crest

nano: very small

nodo: lumpy

odon: tooth

onyx: claw

pachy: thick

pedi: foot

saurus: lizard

These are just a few 

of the dinosaurs found

 at the Quarry. 

Fill in the meaning of each dinosaur name.

stego: roof

torvo: savage

urus: tail

xeno: strange

4
Welcome to the Quarry! 

These are real dinosaur

fossils, still in the rock

for you to see.

RIB

LEG

STEGOSAURUS

PLATE

SKULL

Can you find these bones? Search the Quarry wall and exhibits to 

check off the bones you can find. You don’t have to find them all.

KINDS OF BONES

Explore the QUARRY

5

NECK, BACK, OR TAIL BONES
LOWER QUARRY TOUCH WALL

Touch real dinosaur fossils! Visit the lower Quarry touch wall.

How do fossilized bones feel different from the rest of the rock wall?

6
Discover with BINGO

Dinosaurs are just one chapter in this monument’s ongoing story. 

Use your senses to explore Dinosaur National Monument today.

Find a bird. Explore a 

homestead.

Talk to a 

park ranger.

Smell a 

plant.

Observe: what’s 

the weather 

like today?

Pose like 

a dinosaur.

Make a song 

about the park 

and sing it! 

Feel tree bark. Sit for one 

quiet minute.

Circle what you find. Try to get four in a row or the four corners.

Admire 

a petroglyph.

Find and draw 

animal tracks. 

Wave at 

the river.

Listen to 

the sound 

of nature.

Say hello to 

a lizard. (But 

don’t chase them.)

Find a cool rock 

formation.

Go on a walk 

outside. 

7
Enjoy GEOLOGY

Meet a rock! Find a rock to get to know. When you are 

done, put the rock back where you found it.

Circle the words that describe the rock best.

ROUGH SMOOTH SLICK THIN SHARP 

 GRITTY WAVY HEAVY LIGHT 

What color is the rock? How is it shaped? Take notes below. 

8
Thank the 

RIVERS

The people of the Fremont 

culture lived near these river

canyons. This area and its 

rivers are the ancestral lands 

of many native peoples of 

the southwest.

NATIVE PEOPLES

Some Jurassic dinosaurs lived 

along an ancient river. Their 

bones became fossils in the 

rock. Millions of years later, 

water eroded the rock layers.

JURASSIC RIVER

The Powell Expedition 

traveled here to map the 

Green and Colorado rivers. 

They had many challenges 

and lost a boat at Disaster 

Falls in June 1869. 

EXPLORERS

In the 1800s and 1900s, 

people homesteaded and 

ranched along the Green 

and Yampa Rivers.

HOMESTEADERS

Why are rivers important? 

Read the stories on the left for clues.

List one way you use water. 

Rivers bring life to the desert. 

Rare fish, beavers, big horn 

sheep, and black bears all 

call this place home. Rafters 

explore the rugged canyons.

RIVERS TODAY

9
Think about all the ways you use water. 

Write a thank you note to rivers. 

Many campgrounds

 have easy access to visit 

the Green River. 

Dear River,

TRY THIS! your friend,

Sit with a river in 

view and read your 

note out loud. 

10
Respect the 

LAND

Use the code to complete 

the message.

For thousands of years,

people have lived in this 

area. They left signs of 

their homes in this harsh 

land like petroglyphs, 

fences, and cabins. 

These cultural sites 

are irreplaceable. 

= E = C

= H = P = R

= O

= M

= T

T H E C O D E 

You can see evidence of 

past people because 

others chose to ...

this .

REMEMBER:

The oils on your 

hands are bad 

for the rock art. 

Never touch or 

scratch the rock.

11
Rangers need your help! Some people leave graffiti, throw litter, 

or take artifacts when they visit. Create a poster to help 

teach others how to be respectful visitors. 

Josie’s Cabin, Cub Creek Road 

petroglyphs, Swelter Shelter 

petroglyphs, Pool Creek Ranch, 

McKee Springs petroglyphs

CULTURAL SITES

BEING RESPECTFUL

12
Discover

WILD

PLACES

Echo Park is where the 

Green and Yampa rivers join 

together, surrounded by tall 

canyon walls. These canyons 

were almost flooded by the 

construction of a concrete 

dam. Some people said Echo 

Park was too important to

make into a lake. After years

of disagreement, the dam was

stopped in 1956. Echo Park 

is still the heart of Dinosaur 

National Monument today.

SAVING

ECHO PARK

Read the Echo Park story.

What makes a place feel wild to you?

13
Make your own constellation. 

Draw a picture in the stars.

What action will you take to protect 

dark skies? Get ideas from the list above. 

PROTECT the W I L D 

MAGIC of DARK SKIES

• Go stargazing

• Turn off extra lights at night

• Research constellation stories

• Tell a friend about dark skies

Dinosaur National Monument is 

an International Dark Sky Park. 

Far away from the light of cities, 

you can see the night sky

in all its glory.

14
Learn more: nps.gov/dino

Mail: PO Box 128 Jensen, Utah 84035

Art & Design: CaitlinCampbellArt.com

Share what you care 

about! What was your 

favorite part of your visit? 

Junior Ranger Pledge

As a Junior Ranger, 

I promise:

 to protect the fossils, 

plants, animals and 

history of Dinosaur 

National Monument.

I will explore safely, 

learn new things,

and share what 

I learned 

with others.

15