John Dobbins,, age 13, of Cassville, New York, for his question:

How did dinosaurs hatch their eggs?

The dinosaurs were reptiles and reptiles as a rule do not make good mothers. The soft‑shelled eggs are usually left to hatch in the sand or warm earth, The crocodile buries her eggs and guards them like a dragon.

Since the dinosaurs departed long before the human family arrived on earth no naturalist studied their hatching habits. However, fossil dinosaur eggs have been found, and also newly hatched baby dinosaurs. It may well be that these eggs and babies were swamped by falling sand.

A good guess is that Mama Dinosaur left her eggs to hatch in the warm sand or earth. Chances are, she was a neglectful mother, as most reptiles are to this day.