Part I: How I Earned the Nickname Dino Diane

D. J. Kristoff • September 25, 2022

Imagine yourself standing on an eroding grassy hill, looking across a harsh landscape of rocky gullies. Shielding your eyes from the hot Montana sun, you swipe away the sweat slowly dripping down the side of your face as you reach down into the dust and the dirt, and suddenly, your fingers touch a hard object. Just another rock? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s something else?

This was my extraordinary experience in Montana’s badlands, the summer of 1989, when I discovered my first dinosaur bone.

Digging dinosaurs at the excavation site of Jurassic Park’s real paleontologist not only inspired my innovative way of teaching; it sparked a passion for adventure that has taken me all over the world.

From backpacking and whitewater rafting through the Grand Canyon, riding camels around the pyramids of Egypt, exploring the tombs of the pharaohs, to hot-air ballooning over the Massai Mara in Tanzania, looking down over a herd of elephants, I’ve used these experiences to inspire my students to become courageous adventurers, growing in confidence, self-reliance, and resilience.

So, let’s travel back in time to how I earned my nickname, Dino Diane. I was teaching science in Arizona when the movie Jurassic Park came out, and I fell in love with those dinosaurs. I learned that the main character, Dr. Alan Grant, was actually inspired by a real paleontologist named Jack Horner. Now, my father, who has always been very supportive of me, found an ad in the back of a National Geographic, inviting people to dig dinosaurs at Horner’s excavation site. He called it Camposaur. So, I packed my backpack, and I went digging for dinosaurs.

A journalist visiting the site one hot afternoon heard all this commotion coming from the far end of the dig. Well, I had just uncovered a Maiasaura femur; that’s the thigh bone of a dinosaur. Can you imagine? A shudder coursed through my entire body as I realized that this Maiasaura didn’t know it at the time, but we would be meeting like this, eighty million years later.

When the journalist asked me what my name was, a co-digger blurted out, “Why, that’s Dino Diane!” and the name stuck and became the nickname of the main character and the title of my book series, Dino Diane’s Adventures.

Part II: Dinosaur Secrets Revealed

By D. J. Kristoff • September 24, 2022
So, what did I learn in those badlands in Montana? Well, growing up, dinosaurs were always portrayed as dim-witted, slow-moving loners. That was the prevailing view of them at the time. But, under a starry night sky, by the glow of a smoky campfire, we discussed Horner’s latest findings and theories. I learned that the […] The post Part II: Dinosaur Secrets Revealed appeared first on Dino Diane's Adventures.

Part III: Maiasaura – Good Mother Lizard

By D. J. Kristoff • September 23, 2022
The Maiasaura is the only female-named dinosaur to date. The name means “good mother lizard,” as she exhibited maternal instincts, like making nests and caring for her young. How does Horner know this? From the tiny eggshell fragments found in the FIRST dinosaur nests ever discovered containing fossilized baby dinosaurs, up to a month or […] The post Part III: Maiasaura – Good Mother Lizard appeared first on Dino Diane's Adventures.

Part IV: Where’s the Chickenosaurus?

By D. J. Kristoff • September 22, 2022
Since then, I check in on Jack Horner from time to time to see what he’s up to in the dinosaur world. Jack is now in his mid-seventies and still quite active. I learned that he’s been investigating the real possibility of bringing dinosaurs back to Earth, as suggested in the movie. But, after many […] The post Part IV: Where’s the Chickenosaurus? appeared first on Dino Diane's Adventures.

How I Held a Thermometer in a Wild Bear’s Rectum

By D. J. Kristoff • September 21, 2022
So, I was just out of college teaching science in Arizona when a fellow teacher asked me if I would you like to go on a black bear research expedition with him that weekend. My eyes flew open and I took a big gulp of air. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I […] The post How I Held a Thermometer in a Wild Bear’s Rectum appeared first on Dino Diane's Adventures.