The “Summer of Dinosaurs” is almost here!

June 4, 2025 Alyssa Beno Leave a Comment

Dinosaurs may be long extinct, but our fascination with them is alive and thriving! As we eagerly await the arrival of the new six-part series Walking with Dinosaurs on June 16, we invite you to dig into these fascinating facts and series to celebrate the “Summer of Dinosaurs” with us!

Explore the digital series Eons

Join hosts Michelle Barboza-Ramirez, Kallie Moore and Blake de Pastino as they take you on a journey through the history of life on Earth, from the dawn of life in the Archaean Eon through the Mesozoic Era – the so-called “Age of Dinosaurs” – right up to the end of the most recent Ice Age.

And, get a special behind-the-scenes look at Moore’s work as a science communicator for the series (and her work as collections manager for the University of Montana Paleontology Center) with the PBS Wisconsin-exclusive University Place episode, “Can You Dig It? Paleontology and Eons.”

Celebrate Wisconsin’s role in dino discovery

Rendering of a chicken-sized dinosaur bent over to drink water from a stream.

An artist’s rendering of the Ahvaytum bahndooiveche by Gabriel Ugueto. Courtesy of UW-Madison.

If you haven’t heard, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers and paleontologists kicked off 2025 in a big way – by publishing their findings on a new dinosaur species in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society that challenge long-held beliefs about where dinosaurs originated.

Paleontologist David Lovelace, a scientist at the UW Geology Museum, led research on the study and discovery of the oldest dinosaur in the northern hemisphere: Ahvaytum bahndooiveche.

In 2017, Lovelace shared some of those findings in the University Place lecture “Shaking the Dinosaur Family Tree.”

Help preschoolers hop on the Dinosaur Train

Embrace and celebrate the fascination that many preschoolers have with both dinosaurs and trains with Dinosaur Train!

Learn about natural science, natural history and paleontology with half-hour episodes that follow Buddy, a preschool-aged Tyrannosaurus rex, and his adoptive Pteranodon family traveling on a special train to meet all kinds of dinosaurs and explore the world inhabited by these amazing creatures. Also included are live-action segments hosted by paleontologist Scott Samps. Download the free PBS KIDS Video App to watch anytime!

Enjoy these clips from your favorite PBS programs

David Attenborough Befriends a Dinosaur | Nature

Sir David Attenborough befriends a lifelike diplodocus as its towering skeleton replica comes to life. During this encounter, surprising truths are revealed about this extinct dinosaur.

How Birds Survived the Dinosaur Apocalypse | NOVA

Birds are the only dinosaurs still alive today, but how did they survive the asteroid? Most birds were wiped out, along with the rest of the dinosaurs and 75% of all life on Earth, but one group of birds made it through. Discover how they endured and which traits made them resilient in the brutal aftermath of the mass extinction event.

A Collector Shows Off His Dinosaurs | Secrets of the Dead

Collector Ralph Wunsch shows off his collection of dinosaur fossils, including a Diplodocus and an Allosaurus that are 155 million years old and were excavated in Wyoming in 2016. Wunsch thinks of dinosaur skeletons as a similar to fine art – able to be displayed in museums and in private homes and collections.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *