Skeleton of T.rex

Thanksgiving is the very best time to remember that birds are dinosaurs.  That turkey you are eating was a living dinosaur.  I suggest that you keep all those bones after dinner, so that you will have the skeleton of a little dinosaur (only do this with a parent’s permission—an adult can help you boil them clean).  Then compare the turkey skeleton with the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus or a Velociraptor. 

Skeleton of Velociraptor

Examine things like the proportions of each leg bone.  The length of the femur (thigh) compared to the tibia (drumstick).  Look at the neck vertebrae of the turkey--they are identical to those of a Velociraptor.  The big differences between the turkey and the Velociraptor are that the turkey has a very short tail, and what looks like a single finger bone that forms the end of its wing rather than having three fingers like Velociraptor.  Birds do have a three-fingered hand, but the fingers are fused (locked) together.

If you boil all the remaining meat off the skeleton you will be able to put your “turkeyosaurus” back together, and learn a lot about the skeleton of dinosaurs.  You could even bury the bones in your yard (if your yard isn't covered with snow), and dig them up, and then put them together.  In any case, Thanksgiving is a great time to tell everyone at the table about how the turkey is a dinosaur.

Skeleton images by Gregory Paul.