A Paleontologist Critiques a Series of Dinosaur Toys to Point Out Inaccuracies

Dr. Paul Olsen, a paleontologist and professor at Columbia University, critiques a series of different dinosaur toys and points out inaccuracies in a recent episode of the Mashable series The Watercooler. Despite the many flaws Dr. Olsen finds with the toys, he doesn’t seem to think children should be discouraged from playing with them.

So I think dinosaur toys are just great. If kids notice the inaccuracies and they compare them with books or with other pictures, and they see what the differences are between what we really think we know about them and the way they are portrayed as toys, that’s great. It’s a learning moment. If they don’t, and they just have fun, well that’s cool too. Either way it’s a win.