idk i didn't go to class or watch lectures at all. lab attendance mandatory. she posts lectures and slides. labs are easy if someone at your table knows what is going on. but our TA pretty much would just tell us the answers to everything we asked about. you do not have to do the readings at all. weekly 5-question reading quizzes are google-able and have unlimited attempts on bruinlearn. bi-weekly 5-questions lab quizzes also on bruinlearn don't have unlimited attempts, but i didnt know any of the content and googled based on the context of the question and always got 100%. i tried squeezing all the content in the day before the midterm & final, but this is the first class that this method has not worked for with me. there was just way too many concepts and dinos to memorize it was impossible so i gave up. i also thought i failed both exams because i literally guessed on all of the questions. that being said, i got a 52/58 on midterm mcq and 7/7 on one written response question and for the final i got 41/43 on mcq and 14/14 on a couple written response questions. midterm was 28-30 mcq and final was 43 mcq. she deliberately makes the written questions extremely easy, basically the most basic concept you could know. she curved both tests i believe. grade distribution: midterm 15%, labs 40%, weekly reading quizzes 10%, bi-weekly lab quizzes 10%, final 25%. definitely recommend. automatic A

I'm an engineering major, I took this just to fulfill GE requirements but I loved this class. I found it incredibly interesting and super easy. Most of your grade is basically given to you for free. Tips: 1. Ask your TA's if you're not sure on lab answers. They will probably just give you the answer. 2. Don't overthink the lab quizzes. They're not designed to trick you. 3. Go over the study guide and lecture slides a couple times for the tests and you'll ace them. She curves them too, but you shouldn't need it, everything in this class is super easy. Take the class! You'll have fun and have almost no work to do for it ever.

this class is interesting, the tests are easy, the professor is nice, the grade distribution is generous, and the only homework you have is weekly five-question quizzes that you can take as many times as you want until you get a 5/5. I can't recommend this class enough.

This class was randomly so difficult this quarter. I know this is supposed to be an easy science GE but I just did NOT feel that way. There was a LOT of memorization to be done for the exams (I think this was the first quarter that this class was going to be back in person for lectures, exams, etc.) and it was so much information that I just genuinely was not interested in at all for a GE.

I was a total dinosaur kid in elementary school so this was the perfect science ge to take, especially since I'm really really really bad at science. Labs were really fun since we just looked at fossils and pictures of dinosaurs. The midterm and final were pretty easy as well, especially since they were online (although this might have been because of covid idk). We also had weekly online quizzes with unlimited retakes. Honestly I didn't need the textbook, just go to lecture! Professor Brown is really cool too, and we got to learn about her work with the La Brea Tar Pits!

Okay so this class did not dissapoint. I loved it from begining to end. Professor Brown is an awsome lecturer, though sometimes she does gove a lot of information and goes through it pretty quickly. Regardless, learning about dinosaurs and what actually qualifies as one in more detail is pretty freaking awsome. Before every lecture started she'd play a scene from the Land Before Time or from the Jurassic Park/World movies. I also really enjoyed the labs and how at the very first lab she took us on a walk around campus to mirror a timline of ancient life on earth. There was a lot of information to sort through, but I'd take this class again. She was also very helpful to answer questions during office hours and broke down any concepts I had issues with. After class if something is bothering you from lectures or your confused don't be afraid to go up to her and ask. She'll definitely answer your question.

BEST CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN AT UCLA. Take this at all costs! This class was absolutely fascinating. Labs were like group projects where you got to analyze real dinosaur bones! The workload of the class was easy and our midterm and final was open note. I wish i could untake the class so i can take it again. I went to see Jurassic World after the class and I could name every dinosaur and say facts about each! Also, Professor Brown is freaking HILARIOUS. She had us all laughing our heads off.

This is a great course for a science GE. You certainly learn a lot about dinosaurs and their relatives- species, anatomy, ecology, etc. Brown is a pretty good professor. Her lectures are easy to follow and she presents information clearly. Grading is fair and is based on weekly reading quizzes, labs, lab quizzes, a midterm, and a final. Quizzes can be done without the readings, but the two books she assigns are very insightful for the course so I recommend reading them. Labs are interesting but can be tough. The midterm and final require studying- in my opinion, the midterm was a lot harder than the final. All in all, a good GE, especially for non-STEM majors.

I thought that this class was great overall. Professor Brown was super accommodating and friendly during Covid times since our midterm and final were all online. The only thing is that she talks pretty fast during lectures, so it can be a little difficult to keep up with her while writing notes. However, she posts her lectures on Canvas and the slides, so I wouldn't worry about that aspect. The midterm and the final were pretty fair, but I felt like I got lucky with the tests being online because some of the questions were slightly difficult if you did not study. With that being said, the final/midterm will most likely be in-person after the spring 2022 quarter, so keep that in mind.

The labs were very easy and the grading was extremely generous. Shoutout to my TA Leslie!!! She was super sweet, kept the labs super engaging, and helped us every step of the way. She definitely made this more of a fun class rather than a GE you have to mindlessly take. The lab quizzes were straightforward since Dr.Brown let us use the lab answer keys to answer questions and they were 5 questions/multiple choice. There are also readings, but to be honest, I never read anything and still got an A at the end of the quarter. Overall, I would recommend taking this class because of the interesting content, friendly professor, and chill TAs. However, if the exams are in person, make sure to really study!

Prof. Brown was so cool! This class is a great GE. It's definitely worth taking if you're trying to fulfill a lab requirement, and the material was super interesting.