Dinosaur Books and Travel
by Caliope, 11 years old
KATH: Hi! I’m Aunt Kathi from Cimarron and I’m here this morning with my niece.
CALLIOPE: Calliope from Wichita.
KATH: What’s the book you read this summer?
CALLIOPE: A True Kansas Story written by Joel Condray and illustrated by Mark Ward.
KATH: Tell me a little bit about the book.
CALLIOPE: So, the book is about a person who found dinosaur bones. He was telling the story to his grandson and then at the end of the book, his grandson says there is no greater treasure than my grandpa.
KATH: How do you feel about grandpas?
CALLIOPE: They can be funny and another thing about grandpas is that they are actually nice, and they care about you and they have your back whenever you need it.
KATH: In this book, the grandpa found some dinosaur bones and he always told his grandson about the dinosaur bones. What was interesting about that?
CALLIOPE: It was a new species which that’s why it is so super exciting. It’s dinosaur bones and it is a new species of dinosaurs. It doesn’t show the pronunciation here. I can’t remember the name of it. I just have to look at it.
KATH: Well, today, you can ask Google to pronunciate it. It says Silvisaurus condrayi (Silvee-SORE-us Con-Dray) is the name of the dinosaur. Did you know that much of Kansas was under an ocean during the time of dinosaurs?
CALLIOPE: Yes because sharks were actually alive before dinosaurs. And then – it would make sense because sharks were before dinosaurs and then there were – The first thing was microscopic organisms. Oh, wait – there was something even before that. I can’t remember all!
KATH: These bones would have been in part of Kansas that wasn’t necessarily under the ocean, but just to find bones and fossils of creatures that were that old must have been very exciting, do you think?
CALLIOPE: Um-hmm.
KATH: Have you read other books about dinosaurs? Did you have a dinosaur stage in your reading?
CALLIOPE: School work. Never actual work. I had a dragon stage. Just never dino. I prefer mythological creatures. I don’t know why.
KATH: This is a little below your reading level, isn’t it? What level do you think it is?
CALLIOPE: I’d say this is about fourth grade level maybe.
KATH: Did you know that you could go see these actual bones that Grandpa Condray found in the Kansas Museum of Natural History at KU?
CALLIOPE: No, I did not know that!
KATH: I thought, oh, wouldn’t it be great to read this book and then go to Lawrence to the museum to see the actual fossils? And then, I was also thinking about another Kansas museum that has fossils. Have you ever been to the Sternberg Museum in Hays? It is worth driving to Hays to go see the fossil of the large fish that has swallowed a smaller fish and was fossilized.
CALLIOPE: That’s neat! I’m Calliope from Wichita for the HPPR Radio Readers Book Club.
A second recommendation for dino lovers.
TRAVEL
Free ap for exploring museums in Kansas May 26 – AUGUST 13Sunflower Summer provides a wide variety of ways for families to get out, explore something new, and enjoy time together. Kansas families with children (grades Pre-K through 12) can visit museums, zoos, historic landmarks and more for free! Over 115 venues at https://www.sunflowersummer.org/
The Silvisaurus condrayi (Silvee-SORE-us Con-Dray) can be seen at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum in Lawrence, KS. https://biodiversity.ku.edu/
One of the world’s most notable fossils, Gillicus arcuatus within the stomach of Xiphactinus audax is considered George F. Sternberg's most famous fossil find. It can be seen at Fort Hays University’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, KS.
