The play area of The Early Learning Center, 1575 W. Southern Ave. in Apache Junction, was recently converted to resemble the Jurassic period as Apache Junction Unified School District’s preschoolers learned about dinosaurs.

The month-long theme culminated in a walking tour of cardboard dinosaurs and displays about the extinct prehistoric beasts that ranged from Ankylosaurs and Brachiosaurus to Triceratops and Velociraptors. The display recreated dinosaur eggs and a fossil exhibit that showed the fossilized remains of Mauisaurus and Iguanadon.

The project incorporated STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — learning to create a student-centered learning environment. The children, who range in age from 3 to 5 , learned about the size of the dinosaurs, their eating habits, unique features and how impressions of the extinct beasts can be found in fossils.

“We create discussions on ‘what if’ questions and talk about how the dinosaurs of the past resemble animals today,” said Alexis Scott, preschool coordinator and former AJUSD Teacher of the Year. “Also-preschoolers just love dinosaurs. We enhance that love of learning through art, music, vocabulary, books and learning centers.”

Scott and preschool educators Glenda Lathrum, Kristine Bailey, Alison McCoach and Terri Berger provide specialized instruction for the preschoolers in conjunction with paraeducators Daisy Kennedy and Maria Johnson.

For more information about The Early Learning Center or any of AJUSD’s programs or schools, go to ajusd.org.

Editor’s note: Sally Marks is the public relations specialist for Apache Junction Unified School District.