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[Music from cassette softly playing in background.]
Narrator: Let's introduce the characters in our play. First, the parasaurolophus (PAR-uh-SAW-ruh-LOH-fus) dinosaurs who are duckbill dinosaurs with short muzzles and curved crests on their heads. [Motion for the children with the parasaurolophus puppets to stand up.] The crest was a hollow tube probably used to make loud trumpeting or honking sounds. [To children with parasaurolophus puppets:] Can you honk?
Parasaurolophus: Honk, honk.
Narrator: Thank you, duckbills. You can sit down now. And the dilophosaurus (dye-LOH-fu-SAW-rus) dinosaurs. [Motion for the children with the dilophosaurus puppets to stand up.] I will call you "dilopho" for short. These were meat-eating creatures who had two thin, bony ridges on the top of their heads and sharp teeth. Thanks, please sit down.
Narrator: The velociraptor (vel-OS-ih-RAP-tore) or raptors were quick, dangerous meat eaters. [Motion for the children with the velociraptor dinosaurs to stand up.] They had long, low heads and curved sharp claws. The raptors probably ran in packs. Can we hear you roar? Louder? Scary, uh? [Motion for them to sit down.]
Narrator: The pterodactyls (ter-a-dak-toll-s) were flying reptiles with long wings. [Motion for the children with pterodactyl puppets to stand up.] Show us how you flap your wings. Like pelicans, the pterodactyls probably used their scoop like beaks to snap up fish which the flying animal then swallowed whole. There were also insects such as mosquitoes [motion for children with mosquitoes to show their puppets] that buzzed. Let's hear your buzzes, mosquitoes. Great. [Motion for the pterodactyls and mosquitoes to sit down.] Then there were small, furry mammals [motion for children with furry mammal puppets to stand up.] And finally, the baby duckbill dinosaurs. [To the children with the dinosaur-in-egg puppets:] Can you poke out of your shell for a minute and squeak? That's good. Baby dinosaurs, would you hide behind the nests until we need you? Now we know all of our puppets. Are you ready to act out the story of "Baby Dinosaurs' First Day"?
Narrator: It is a quiet day. A swarm of mosquitoes circle over the shallow water. Pterodactyls lazily glide high overhead, their huge wings stretched from their bodies. [Motion for the children with the pterodactyl puppets to circle the water.] As they fly across the water they bend their heads down. Then they are gone. [Motion for the children with the pterodactyl puppets to leave the stage to the left.] And so are the mosquitoes. [Motion for the children with the mosquito puppets to leave the stage to the left.]
Narrator: A group of dilophosaurus, or dilopho, dinosaurs walk on two legs up to the water. [Point to the children with the dilophosaurus puppets and motion them towards the water at far right corner of the stage.] They begin to quietly drink the water. Occasionally, one raises his head, its thin ridges standing on the top of its head, and looks both directions.
Narrator: Hidden behind the bushes are very small, very scared, furry mammals. Sometimes one of them pokes its head quietly out of the bushes and then hides again. [To children with furry mammal puppets] Furry animals, where are you? Stick your head out. There you are.
Narrator: Next come the huge parasaurolophus, or duckbill, dinosaurs. They are big, heavy animals that walk like ducks on four legs. [To the children with the parasaurolophus adult puppets:] Can you walk like a duck with web feet with toes pointed out? [Narrator can demonstrate a duck walk.] The duckbill dinosaurs waddle over to the shallow water and walk to the small islands. Here they begin to build nests. They push the mud into a pile with their legs. They poke a hole in the middle with their heads.
Narrator: Out of sight, the raptors each roar once. [Motion for each child with a raptor puppet to roar.] The duckbill dinosaurs all look up. The dilopho dinosaurs look up and open their mouths wide, showing their long sharp teeth. The tiny mammals peek out from behind the pine trees and make small squeaking noises. Luckily, the raptors are far away. The duckbill dinosaurs go back to building their nests. The dilopho dinosaurs continue drinking water. The tiny mammals hide again.
Narrator: The duckbill dinosaurs put their eggs into the center of the nest. [Motion for the children with the egg puppets to put their "eggs"up.] With her strong back legs, the mother duckbill dinosaur pushes vegetation over the eggs. The parents then stand next to the nest, waiting.
Narrator: The dilopho dinosaurs finish drinking. They walk over to the grass and stomp their muddy feet on the ground. They lie down on the sand and close their eyes. The hot sun beats down on their leathery skin, warming them. The dilopho dinosaurs roll over on their backs, hold up their feet, and warm their stomachs. Ah, feels wonderful doesn't it?
Narrator: The mosquitoes fly over to the dilopho dinosaurs and buzz over them. The dinosaurs swat lightly at the mosquitoes. The mosquitoes fly over the duckbill dinosaurs and buzz around them. The duckbill dinosaurs shake their heads back and forth, and the mosquitoes fly away. [Motion to the children with the mosquito puppets to leave the stage.]
Narrator: Listen, what's that I hear? [Put your hand to your ear.] [To the children with the baby dinosaur puppets:] Babies in the eggs, tap your feet on the ground. [Narrator can demonstrate how to tap feet.] The duckbill dinosaurs look down at their eggs.
Narrator: The furry mammals peek out of the bushes at the eggs. The furry animals' noses twitch as they sniff the air. What's happening?
Narrator: The taps are louder and then sharp, high honks are heard from the nests. [To the children with the baby dinosaur puppets] Babies, let's hear you honk as you push your heads and bodies out of your eggs.
Babies: Honk, honk, honk.
Narrator: Good, babies. The big duckbill dinosaurs look into nests. What pretty babies they have. Look at the babies' big eyes and square noses. The babies look up at their mothers. They honk again. [Motion for the baby dinosaurs to honk.]
Babies: Honk, honk, honk.
Narrator: [To parent duckbill dinosaurs] Fathers, mothers, your babies are hungry. Go find plants and fruit for your babies. [Point the parent duckbills to the left corner of the stage where the berry bush is.] Look behind the berry bush for branches of leaves and berries.
Narrator: The pterodactyls can open their toothless mouths and make loud cawing noises. [To the pterodactyls:] Can you caw?
Pterodactyls: Caw. Caw.
Narrator: What good voices you have!
Narrator: The dilopho dinosaurs stand up on their two back legs. They yawn and stretch their bodies. Then they run away. [Motion for them to leave the stage at the right corner.]
Narrator: A group of raptor dinosaurs run on two feet across the sand. They move very fast, jumping high off the ground as they run by the nests. Then suddenly they stop and sniff the air.
Narrator: [with finger to lips] Shush, babies, shush. Don't move. Get down into your nests. Furry little mammals - hide in the bushes. Quiet!
Narrator: The raptors slowly turn their head towards the nests. They each roar loudly once. The little furry mammals shiver behind the bushes. The pterodactyls stand up on their tiptoes and flap their wings at the raptors. The mosquitoes each buzz loudly once.
Narrator: Just then, the baby dinosaurs' parents return walking on four legs carrying branches to feed their babies. When they see the raptors, the duckbills drop their food and rear up on two back legs. They each make a loud noise like a trumpet. The raptors open their mouths and snarl, showing their teeth. The duckbill dinosaurs stomp one of their hind legs in the direction of the raptors. The raptors stop snarling. They are fast and strong, but there are too many duckbills. The raptors run away. [Motion for the children with the raptor dinosaurs to leave the stage to the right.]
Narrator: The duckbill parents pick the branches up again and go to their babies. The babies honk happily in high voices and nibble on the berries and leaves. The parents honk back in deep voices. The mice squeak.
Narrator: The pterodactyls fly around the nests, flapping their powerful wings. They swoop down over the water and snap up fish, gulping them down whole. The dilopho dinosaurs return to drink at the water's edge and the mosquitoes circle around them. Far away, the raptors each roar once.
Narrator: This is the baby dinosaurs' first day in a world filled with caring parents, other dinosaurs, flying reptiles, fish, furry mammals, insects, and plants. What a wonderful day it is.
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Contact Information:
Junior Engineering, Utah State University
3735 Old Main Hill
Logan, Ut. 84322-3735
Phone:(435)797-8000
Fax:(435)797-8005
URL:http://juniorengineering.usu.edu/
Email:jreweb@cc.usu.edu