Dr George Manning is a (fictional) Consulting Palaeontologist who works for Mad About Dinosaurs Ltd. On the website, users can purchase and sign up for a short course, (it costs around the same price as a coffee and cake or lunch from a local café*). Or they can redeem a Gift Voucher to access the course.
Users will log in and join Dr George Manning in his classroom where he will deliver his lesson. Once completed, users will take a short quiz/test and receive a certificate to acknowledge their achievement.
*Note: The cost of a coffee/cake and lunch depend on where you are. I’m in Hertfordshire, UK and a coffee is approximately £4.99, a cake around £3.99 and a simple lunch is between £9.99 - £14.99.
When a person completes the test, they will be able to select a certificate to show off their achievement. At this point the person is to insert the name they want inserted onto the certificate. This will be available to download and save straight away. Please ensure the correct name spelling is inserted before downloading and saving.
Gift vouchers can be purchased for the same price as the course. These make an ideal birthday, Christmas/Holiday present, or simply as a reward for reaching a special target. Select ‘Gift a Course’ then choose which style of voucher you would like. Insert the name of the person it is intended for. You can then print the gift voucher off and pop it into their card or, alternatively, download the voucher and email it to them/their parent/guardian. Each voucher has a one-time unique voucher number. The recipient can go to the website and insert the voucher number to access the course.
All are downloadable and can be printed onto A4 paper*.
Dimensions for A4:
21cm X 29.7cm (210mm x 297mm OR 8.26 x 11.69 inches)
The Gift Vouchers are perfect for printing on paper and then folded into birthday/holiday cards etc. The Course Certificates could be printed onto slightly thicker paper or card, however, they can also be printed onto A4 paper, laminated and ready to show off.
If you are a teacher/teaching assistant/group leader and would like the children you work with to access this course, please do get in touch via email. I have a special package to offer you. Please put ‘School Request/Group Request + your school’s/group name’ in the subject line.
E.g. School Request Bedwell Primary
E.g. Group Request Hitchin Boy Scouts
Send me a brief email* at explaining who you are and about your group. And we will start communications.
*Note: Please send emails from school/group email address and not your personal email
Dr Manning has been working on some rather fascinating technology for the past 12 years. He has discovered a way to scan fossils, (whilst they’re still at the dig sites and being dug up), and record those scans in 3D on the computers. Those scans are then sent via internet to universities and museums around the world for them to make their own replicas of what has been found. They no longer have to wait for castes to be made and shipped out.
If you have just watched the animation on the Home page then you know that something very strange has occurred. Something rather different. Something scary... The storm’s energy has played havoc with the scanning equipment. Generators can’t keep up with the electrical overload and instead of the scanner merely scanning the fossil, it ignited the molecules inside the fossil creating a lifelike image of the fossil. So lifelike in fact that Dr Manning, Ty and Oscar were transported back to the prehistoric world. And they weren’t alone...
Spoiler alert – I know who’s there... As Mad About Dinosaurs Ltd grows, the rest of their adventure will be created and released on the website.
The course is suitable for those who can read. As a guide, this is suitable for those aged around 6 or 7 years and above. We have children, teenagers and adults equally enjoying this course. It’s suitable for anyone with an interest in dinosaurs and enjoys being tested on knowledge.
The language used in the course video, questions and answers are fairly simple although some technical language is used. This is a course about dinosaurs after all. The course video will be available at all times during the test that follows. This enables those completing the test to go back (rewind) and check the information before and during answering the questions.
Some parents/guardians prefer to be sitting nearby to assist as children work their way through the questions and answers. Many will be able to complete the course completely unaided.
All the PDFs on the website have been created using the guidelines from the BDA (British Dyslexia Association). As a result, text is:
*Note: There are two options for the Word Searches. One set is in capital letters and another (dyslexia friendly) set of word searches is available in lower case.
Prehistoric enthusiasts can keep up to date with all that’s happening with Mad About Dinosaurs including events, competitions, new discoveries and even comments from specialists by signing up to our NEWSLETTER. Sign up today and don’t miss out! Currently, newsletters will be sent out quarterly, (Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter Newsletters). This ensures your inbox will not be inundated with too many.
When a person purchases a gift voucher or completes the test and selects an end of Course Certificate, there is the opportunity to insert a name. Please ensure that the correct name is inserted. The inserting of and spelling of a name is the sole responsibility of the user/purchaser. As such, please ensure names are checked when typed.
No bad language or derogative language will be tolerated. I/we at Mad About Dinosaurs have no control over what is typed into the name section on both the Gift Vouchers and the Course Certificates. Mad About Dinosaurs Ltd takes no responsibility for names of a derogative nature, or names that are upsetting to individuals being inserted on the gift vouchers or certificates.
I would like to think that this will not occur, however, I also feel the need to insert a note here regarding correct name spelling being inserted. Please be kind.
Mad About Dinosaurs Ltd is a registered company in England and Wales whose registered office is at 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom, company registration number 13105078.
Our family, like so many others, has dinosaur-loving children and our budding young palaeontologists love being quizzed on their prehistoric knowledge. As students they get tested in schools on subjects, (English, Math and Science for example). With hobbies and clubs, they get tested, (Judo, dance or horse-riding). Why not get tested on other things too? Subjects that capture hearts and spark imagination. Let’s say, a subject like DINOSAURS? Mad About Dinosaurs Ltd is the little company I set up for all the dinosaur lovers out there and I invite you to join the journey.
I’m Emma and founder of Mad About Dinosaurs Ltd. As a special needs teacher who has been working in schools for over 25 years, I am truly passionate about education. I have had a wide-ranging career, starting as a learning support assistant, working in a nursery and primary school back in the 90s. I finished my degree and completed my PGCE and have been lucky enough to work with children with ranging abilities and needs from the ages of 3 to 18.
We have a grandson, Ty, who is absolutely dotty about dinosaurs and has been memorising facts since his first discovery. At the end of 2020, I found myself looking for a new challenge. I wanted to start something different, something new. This is when I thought about Mad About Dinosaurs, a project I am so excited about, and I hope you’ll join me on this great Mesozoic adventure.
