Archosaur April Absurdity - Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum

Missing March Madness? All through April, we’ll be holding a series of match-ups between different prehistoric creatures! Our competitive bracket will be archosaurs, a group of upright, active reptiles that includes crocodiles, birds, non-avian dinosaurs, and a variety of other extinct families. Throughout the month there will be different face-offs between divisions of animals as shown in the bracket.

If you want to play along, choose which animal you think would be the winner in each match-up. Just like in basketball, contestants are seeded. Animals with the smallest numbers beside their names are the highest-seeded, and stand a better chance of winning. We will be posting a play-by-play of each match written by museum staff and palaeontologists from other museums. Follow along with April Archosaur Absurdity and see how well your favourite fossil creatures do!

Please enjoy playing our Archosaur April Absurdity. The Philip J Currie Dinosaur Museum depends on donations from the public for funding. This game is free to play, but a suggested donation of $20 is appreciated. In Canada, donations can be sent via electronic transfer to AP@dinomuseum.ca

RULES

Download and print out a bracket with you and your friends.

Share your bracket selections amongst your friends and on social media using the hashtag #ArchosaurAprilAbsurdity.

A summary sheet of the animals can be found here. If you are looking to incorporate Archosaur April Absurdity into your virtual or at-home classroom, a lesson plan is available here.

Make your selections for the winner in head-to-head competition for each pair of animals each round, all the way to selecting your champion. Be sure you have your selections locked in by the time the match winners start being announced on Apr. 9. Matches will not always be characterized as a “fight;” some matches may be decided by threatening displays, running away, or hiding from sight. These animals will behave in ways that are “realistic” if these encounters actually happened, using scientific research to inform our descriptions where possible.

Tune in on Twitter through the month of April to find out the play-by-play of each match and the winner. Summaries will be posted on Facebook and announced on Instagram.

Score points for each match winner that you correctly guess, 1 point for round one, 2 points for round two, 3 points for round three, 5 points for round four, 8 points for round five, and 13 points for correctly guessing the champion. Keep track of your score, and find out who is the best at predicting the bracket!

The environment and time period in which the matches take place will be determined in Rounds 1, 2, 3 by the home environment and time of the higher ranked animal. Rounds 4, 5, and 6 will be set in a random location from one of the following: the arid dunes of the Late Cretaceous Djadochta Formation of Mongolia, the shores of the Solnhofen marine basin of Germany in the Late Jurassic, the humid and forested floodplain of the Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina, and the La Brea Tar Pits of California, USA, roughly 20,000 years ago.

SCHEDULE

Matches will be posted on the following days starting at 2pm MDT:

APR. 9 – Round 1: half of Triassic Division
APR. 13 – Round 1: half of Jurassic Division
APR. 14 – Round 1: half of Cretaceous Division
APR. 15 – Round 1: half of Cenozoic Division
APR. 16 – Round 1: second half of Triassic Division
APR. 17 – Round 1: second half of Jurassic Division
APR. 20 – Round 1: second half of Cretaceous Division
APR. 21 – Round 1: second half of Cenozoic Division
APR. 22 – Round 2: Triassic Division
APR. 23 – Round 2: Jurassic Division
APR. 24 – Round 2: Cretaceous Division
APR. 27 – Round 2: Cenozoic Division
APR. 28 – Round 3: Triassic and Jurassic Divisions
APR. 29 – Round 3: Cretaceous and Cenozoic Divisions
APR. 30 – Round 4: Elite Eight, All Divisions
MAY 1 – Round 5: Final Four
MAY 4 – Round 6: Championship

THANKS

This online event was inspired by Mammal March Madness, created by Dr. Katie Hinde. We thank Dr. Hinde for her assistance in bringing this event to you. For more information on Mammal March Madness, please see here.

This event has been made possible by the generous donation of time by experts Dr. Victoria Arbour, Dr. Kirstin Brink, Dr. Thomas Cullen, Robin Sissons, Dr. Corwin Sullivan, and Dr. Matthew Vavrek in cooperation with the staff of the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum.

RULES

SCHEDULE

THANKS

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