Kids and adults alike may be intrigued by a news story about the latest discovery or a new piece of paleontologically-accurate art, which means that even the discoveries with no obvious practical use or significant alteration of our understanding can still be very valuable because they get people asking questions. Once the gate is open, even if someone doesn’t go on to become a paleontologist, they may still be carrying the scientific mindset and worldview that dinosaurs helped to establish for them – and I think our civilization is better for it.

On a related note: Mr. Switek, thank you for your prolific and outstanding writing, and best of luck in your future endeavors.

The biggest reason to study paleontology (not just dinosaurs) is because science is a means of understanding our world and our place in it. Without paleontology we’d probably still believe dinosaurs were dragons who drowned in Noah’s Flood. The simple truth is fossils exist, and if the purpose of science is understanding, then we need to understand these strange and wonderful things that come out of the ground. And indeed, fossils are our heritage. Paleontology shows us how far we have come as a species. Not everyone has a natural heritage they can be proud of. But i think paleontology gives us a natural heritage we can all be proud of.

I’d argue that, as well as the above, one of the greatest reasons we study dinosaurs (and in general the history of vertebrate life) is the ‘hook’ if offers for science engagement. At the NHM in London, people queue for hours to see the dinosaurs, but queues for other areas are non-existent. I don’t know why, but I always like to think this is because [non-avian] dinosaurs and other extinct organisms are mysterious remains of a long-lost history, something which we’ll never be able to recreate or see for real, which creates a sort of longing to learn more about them.

So yeah, that’s a long-winded way of saying dinosaurs are awesome, lets yell about them to get people involved with science