RECONSTRUCTION OF SAUROPOD AND THEROPOD TRACKWAYS FROM THE PURGATOIRE VALLEY DINOSAUR TRACKSITE IN SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO FOR A YOUNG AUDIENCE

The goal of this project was to put information about dinosaur locomotion, specifically theropods and sauropods, into an easily understandable format that can be used for a wide audience. The bony anatomy of dinosaurs gives us insight on their locomotion, but it still leaves many possibilities for how they moved. Analysis of dinosaur trackways is a better method as these kinds of fossils are more abundant. Previous studies described the locomotion of dinosaurs and provided numerical data pertaining to trackways. We focused on the Purgatoire Valley dinosaur tracksite in the Morrison Formation in southeastern Colorado. This is North America’s largest assemblage of Late Jurassic dinosaur tracks. This tracksite, along with a few others, was used to compile data and create a table that included foot size, speed, stride length, and pace angulation for theropods and sauropods. All of the measurements were converted into the same units for easier comparison. Missing numbers were filled in, when possible, using Alexander’s Formula, a common formula used to find speed and used by many previous researchers. For missing stride lengths this formula was rearranged and used. All of the information from the data table, as well as images of the tracksite, were then used to create footprint tracings in Inkscape. Human footprints were also printed using the same method to compare stride lengths of humans to those of sauropods and theropods. The images were then printed. All of these prints were laid out to provide a visual representation of the ideas being conveyed. We developed all of our information into a teaching tool in the form of an activity guide geared towards fifth graders. The goal of the activity guide was to have students examine and measure the trackway models and use Alexander’s Formula so that they can understand more about the locomotion of dinosaurs.