Three Paleontologists Were Interviewed about their Job
Q: What made you want to become a paleontologist?
A: "Seeing a T. rex up close and personal, the full-sized skeleton at a museum in New York made me want to study dinosaurs. I never did become a paleontologist I actually studied living animal behavior in school. But I keep writing about dinosaurs and paleontologists because both are so interesting." (Don Lessem)
"I actually became interested in fossils when I was in college because I was fascinated by the fact that a place as cold as Antarctica was once much warmer and I wanted to investigate further what types of animals had lived there. I have worked on other fossil animals from Antarctica besides dinosaurs." (Bill Hammer)
"I always enjoyed going out into the deserts of Arizona, and I loved to look for fossils. In college I met a professor who did this for a living, and who obviously enjoyed it. He showed me that it was really possible to do. I had to stay in school for what seemed like an eternity, but it always got better as time went on. I started going on expeditions into the southwestern deserts to look for dinosaurs in college. My first trip was to Baja California to look for late Cretaceous dinosaurs. After that, I collected all over the Southwest, in different kinds of deserts and in rocks of different ages. There is a wonderful diversity of dinosaurs some really weird things running around back in the Mesozoic! It was, of course, very exciting and still is. Now, at the University of Texas, I have a chance to work with some great scientific tools for studying fossils, like CAT scanners and powerful computers. It is really fun to "drive" some of these machines, and they tell us a lot of new information about the fossils. The University of Texas also has a huge collection of fossils that are interesting to work with, and it is a lot of fun to work with the students here. It was too good to pass up." (Tim Rowe)
Q: What tools and techniques do you use to find dinosaurs ?
A: "Paleontologists use tools such as crowbars and drills and even dynamite to remove the rock from the fossils. Then, when they get close to the bones, they use picks, and when closer, tiny awls, even toothbrushes and brooms. They cover the bones, with a lot of dirt still on them, in plaster and burlap bandages and haul it back to the museum for fine cleaning in the winter." (Don Lessem)
Q: Where have you been to find dinosaurs?
A: "I've been digging dinosaurs in Montana, Utah, northern Alaska, Nova Scotia, and Mongolia lately. I've helped dig up a T. rex, velociraptor bones, and eggs, but I'm never much help since I'm pretty clumsy." (Don Lessem)