Author & Speaker
Meet D. J. Kristoff - AKA Dino Diane
Adventurer, author, speaker, and award-winning educator, D. J. Kristoff invites you to come along on a dinosaur digging adventure at the excavation site of paleontologist Jack Horner, the dinosaur expert depicted in the movie Jurassic Park. Discover what she learned in Montana’s badlands and how she earned the nickname, Dino Diane.
Kristoff is on a mission to inspire today’s young people to come out of their electronic caves, strap on their hiking boots, and discover a natural world much bigger than their screens, building confidence, self-reliance, and resilience.
“With this mission in mind, I founded the Dino Diane's Adventure Club and wrote the Dino Diane’s Adventures book series as a magical science adventure cloaked in historical fantasy for middle-grade and young adult readers. Based on my real-life experiences, it’s sprinkled with fascinating science and history, dusted with magic, and chock-full of courageous heart, and dinosaurs, of course!”
HARRY POTTER meets INDIANA JONES meets JURASSIC PARK!
Considered by her friends a female version of Indiana Jones, Kristoff has backpacked and rafted the Grand Canyon, scuba-dived the Great Barrier Reef, ridden a camel around the Pyramids at Giza, and explored the tombs of the pharaohs. She’s trekked the outback of Australia and the tropical rainforests of Hawaii, amidst flowing volcanic lava. Kristoff has gone on photo safari in Tanzania, helicoptered over Victoria Falls, walked with lion cubs in the African bush, hot-air ballooned over the Maasai Mara, and witnessed the male elephant gathering on the Zambezi River, and much more.
From digging dinosaurs and holding a wild’s bear head in her lap to tickling a fish and making fire, primitive-style, Kristoff’s inspiring real-life experiences are woven throughout her book series and adventure club, exploring geology, biology, anthropology, paleontology, ethnobotany, and the history of the old Wild West.
She infuses a love for “learning through adventure” into her spine-tingling books, adventure club, and her fun, interactive presentations which enliven, inspire, and entertain students, parents, and teachers alike!
Kristoff attended Stephens College, George Washington University, and studied with the Smithsonian Institute. She earned her degree in geology, emphasis in invertebrate paleontology, at Arizona State University where she also received her teaching certification and gifted endorsement.
She began her career teaching eighth-grade science in Tempe, Arizona. There she founded an environmental awareness club and guided as many as 50 adventurous eighth graders hiking and backpacking into the deserts and canyons of Arizona and Utah. She has inspired hundreds of teens to learn how to survive in the wilds, become courageous adventurers, appreciate and respect nature, and each other.
As a result of her teaching as a master educator, Kristoff was awarded the prestigious Silver Apple Award by Channel 3 and the Dial Corporation and was the recipient of the Science Teacher of the Year award by the Salt River Project for the state of Arizona.
D. J. Kristoff is available for speaking engagements!
She calls them "Campfire Chats!"
D. J. Kristoff is av
Digging Dinosaurs at the Site of Jurassic Park’s Paleontologist – Jack Horner!
A Teacher’s Educational Adventure
(Museums, Libraries, Educational Events,
Parent/Teacher Groups, Clubs, Women’s Organizations)
Digging Dinosaurs with Dino Diane
Come along on a Real Dinosaur Dig in Montana’s Badlands
(Middle & High School, Homeschools, Youth Organizations)
Don’t Let Your Kids Turn Into Troglobites!
Let’s Get Them Out of Their Electronic Caves and into Nature
(Parent/Teacher Groups, Non-profits, Women’s Organizations)
Harry Potter, Dinosaurs, and Adventures in Literature!
Real-life Stories Behind Dino Diane’s Adventures
(Libraries, Literature Classes)
Dino Diane and Geology of the Southwest
Take a Hike into State & National Parks
(Geoscience, Biology Classes)
Call directly 480-390-7787 or email DJK@DinoDianesAdventures.com
Book D. J. Kristoff Today!
“I’m looking forward to digging with you!”
Dino Diane Cares About...
Our Young People’s Mental Health & Well-Being
“My heartfelt desire is to uplift and empower today’s young people, especially those that feel a bit different in some way and don’t know quite how to fit in. I was one of them once. I know how it feels. It is my deepest hope that my book series and adventure club will give our young people the personal tools they need to feel self-reliant, resilient, and confident to succeed in their world.”
I believe as a species, we humans yearn to connect. We are, after all, very social beings. And all the cell phones, texting, and social media posts can’t take the place of that real physical connection we crave. As a middle-school science teacher, I’ve witnessed firsthand how our young people are becoming dangerously disconnected from nature, from each other, as well as from themselves.
20%
of youth struggle with anxiety
25%
of youth suffer with depression
50%
increase in suicidal youth reported in some emergency rooms
300%
increase in youth eating disorders
And these numbers keep growing!
I believe this sense of disconnection is the cause behind our young people’s mental health crisis, feeding another dangerous trend that deeply concerns me.
And that’s our kids’ addiction to their screens, primarily video games. Did you know that nine out of ten kids in the U. S. play video games? That’s sixty-four million kids. A study recently released its data for 2021, showing that 8.4 percent of kids are addicted to video gaming.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours per day on screens. And yet, when I asked my sixth graders how many hours a day they played Fortnite or Minecraft, their favorites, they told me three, four, up to eight hours a day, and that’s on a school night. Even more on the weekends. Just imagine how many hours a week our young people spend in their rooms, glued to their screens!
A Mother's Fear
One day after school, a mother literally cried on my shoulder, sharing her concern about her daughter, who had completely withdrawn into her video game. She didn’t speak to any of her friends; she stayed in her room, isolated from her family. Her grades were slipping. She was losing weight. Clearly, she was depressed, and her mother was afraid that her daughter might be suicidal.
When I asked her casually in class the next day why the intense interest in her video game, she replied that it helped her escape her reality. I asked her if she ever went outside, took a walk into nature? She looked at me like a deer in headlights. Her answer, sadly, was “NO.”
On my suggestion, her mother took her daughter to therapy, and she was put on medications. It helped a bit, but she said one day in class that she didn’t like feeling so happy. Apparently, her depression had only been medicated. I’m hopeful that with therapy, she’ll find the root cause of her depression.
Dino Diane's Nature Solution
My solution and the best therapy I know is to connect with nature.
I’m on a mission to inspire today’s young people to come out of their electronic caves, strap on their hiking boots, sneakers, or flip-flops, and discover a world much bigger than their screens and instill a love for learning through adventure in nature.
So, Instead of feeling trapped or drowning under a dark rain cloud, I want our young people to come into the sunlight to feel its warmth. Nature has immeasurable healing powers.
The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees and recommends that our young people could improve their mental health by spending time outdoors. And Dino Diane shares her secrets for how to connect with nature.
By living the magical adventures of Dino Diane and her clan of adventurers, both my club members and my readers can experience what it is like to enjoy being together, learning, and adventuring together in nature, especially caring for each other, our environment, our wildlife, for Mother Earth.
This is Dino Diane’s message to today’s young people and their families. ~ D. J. Kristoff
