DINOSAURS ENTER THE COMPUTER AGE
 By Dan Gutman

 Sixty-five million years ago, dinosaurs vanished from the face of the earth. 
Now they're back, this time in the form of computer software.

 "Dinosaur Days," "Dinosaurs Are Forever," "Designasaurus," "Digitosaurus." 
The old "terrible lizards" may not rule the planet any more, but they sure
rule the educational software aisles in computer stores.

 The Children's Television Workshop recently conducted a study asking kids
what scientific topics most interested them. Dinosaurs came out on top (right
in front of whales). It should come as no surprise that software publishers
have begun using the lovable creatures as a theme to get children interested
in their programs.

 "Since time began, every child on the face of the earth has had a fascination
with dinosaurs," says Toby Shaw, Vice President of Learning Lab Software.  "I
do not know of a kindergarten class that has not done dinosaurs.  It's
something that naturally appeals to children."

 Learning Lab publishes "Dinosaur Days, " which includes both a simple word
processor and a drawing program. Kids can use it to create their own
illustrated books, puppets and comics about dinosaurs.

 They'll also learn about dinosaurs. When you click on the image of a
tricerotops, for example, a window pops up on the screen telling you
interesting facts about the creature (I didn't know those long horns over the
eyes made "effective stabbing tools"!). These can be read off the screen or
printed out.

 For the fun of it, kids can create fanciful images of dinosaurs wearing
roller skates, tennis shoes, funny hats and scuba gear. The program can share
graphics and files with the other programs of the Pelican Writing
Series--"Monsters and Make Believe" and Creation."

 (Learning Lab, 800-247-4641, Apple, IBM, $40)

 Then there's Polarware's "Dinosaurs Are Forever," the simplest of the
dinosaur programs.  It's a sort of computer coloring book with on-disk
graphics of 26 different dinosaurs. Kids can take the pictures and print up
custom-made banners, calendars and posters.

 Three-year-olds can have fun with it, and older children can use the program
to learn how the 26 dinosaurs evolved, their weight, size and eating habits.  
Colorful stickers are included in the package.


                                     
 (Polarware, 800-323-0884, for Apple, Commodore and IBM, $30).

 "Designasaurus" from Britannica Software is sort of a "dinosaur construction
set."  First you create a dinosaur by selecting a head, neck, body and tail
from dozens of choices. Next you give your beast a name and print out its
picture, along with palaeontological information and the creature's chances of
survival.

 Finally, you take your dinosaur on a stroll through Jurassic forests and
Precambrian swamps.  If you make sure it eats the right foods, stays away from
predators and doesn't mess up the ecological balance of the planet too badly,
you'll win a certificate to the Dinosaur Hall of Fame.

 The program also comes with 12 canned dinosaurs that can be printed in three
sizes (even on a T-shirt!).

 (Britannica Software, 800-572-2272, Apple, IBM, Commodore, $30-$50)

 Last but not least is "Digitosaurus," the most conventionally educational
product of the lot.  This program doesn't teach kids about dinosaurs, it
teaches them mathematics.

 A dinosaur-like creature challenges students to solve whole number problems
in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. With every correct
answer, your digitosaurus grows older and wiser.

 (Sunburst, 800-431-1934, IBM, $65)

 "If dinosaurs will get kids to write creatively, then we've succeeded. That's
the ultimate goal," says Tobi Shaw.  "We've got to get these kids motivated. 
Then we can work on punctuation and other writing skills."