Dino Fest Resources Guide

STAFF RECOMMENDED BOOKS, MOVIES AND PODCASTS

LIBROS, PELÍCULAS Y PODCASTS RECOMENDADOS POR EL PERSONAL

Recommended for adults | Recomendado para adultos

Read | Leer

Birds of Stone by Luis Chiappe
Dr. Luis Chiappe, Senior Vice President, Research and Collections: “This book explores the amazing menagerie of birds that lived in China during the Age of Dinosaurs, and what they tell us about the early evolution of birds.”

Cruisin’ the Fossil Coastline by Kirk Johnson and Ray Troll
The West Coast is rich in fossil history, and this is the perfect guide to uncovering it. This road trip, with Paleontologist Kirk Johnson and artist Ray Troll, takes the reader to different museums and dig sites from Baja, California to Alaska to meet their prehistoric denizens.

The Dinosaur Films of Ray Harryhausen: Features, Early 16mm Experiments and Unrealized Projects by Roy P. Webber
Renowned animator Ray Harryhausen was known for his incredible stop-motion animation and bringing to life fantastical creatures, from ancient legends to extraterrestrial threats. This book explores his dinosaur films, examining his craft and how he brought these amazing animals to life.

Glorified Dinosaurs by Luis Chiappe
Dr. Luis Chiappe, Senior Vice President, Research and Collections: “This book discusses the history of the many hypotheses and studies related to the origin of birds, and it presents the evidence in support of the notion that birds are living dinosaurs.”

On the Prowl: In Search of Big Cat Origins by Mark Hallet and John Harris
Dr, Xiaoming Wang, Curator, Vertebrate Paleontology: “Renowned paleo-artist Mark Hallett (of La Brea mural fame) teams up with NHM Curator Emeritus, John Harris, to produce a superb book on the origin and adaptations of extinct and extant big cats, including our iconic Smilodon and other sabertooths, as well as extinct lions and tigers of Eurasia in Ice Age. Superbly researched, richly illustrated, and written in plain language, this book adopts an intimate narrative and explains in greater details than seen in a popular science book."

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte
Paul Byrne, Graduate Student, Dinosaur Institute: “This book is wonderfully written for people wanting to learn more about the evolution of dinosaurs on a broad scale. It is easy to read, and the way that Dr. Brusatte writes is appealing to not just other paleontologists, but for anyone even remotely interested in learning more about dinosaurs. It is really fantastic, and a good read for those Dino Fest fans who want to snuggle at home on the couch to read a little before bed.”

Watch | observar

The Association for Materials and Methods in Paleontology (YouTube)
Alan Zdinak, fossil preparator, Vertebrate Paleontology: “The Association for Materials and Methods in Paleontology (AMMP) YouTube channel includes a series of videos on different aspects of paleontological field and lab work, fossil collecting ethics, etc. The presenters are top fossil preparators from the AMNH, NMNH, Yale, NHMLA.”

Dinotasia (Amazon Prime)
This engaging docudrama, narrated by Werner Herzog, features vignettes of different dinosaurs, as they struggle to survive full of remarkable dangers.

Jurassic Park (Netflix)
Keegan Melstrom, Postdoctoral researcher, Dinosaur Institute: “The original and best. After all these years it still holds up as the best dino movie, in my opinion. Sure the dinosaurs are a little out of date now, but the way it makes them animals and not monsters was novel at the time and is still rare in dino media today.”

Making North America: Life (PBS)
Hosted by Paleontologist Kirk Johnson, this series explores the geological forces that have shaped North America, and us. This episode highlights some fascinating paleontological finds of North America, including the Kansas fossil sites where many of our own Mesozoic marine fossils hail from.

Skype a Scientist: Dinosaur Diseases with Yara Haridy (YouTube)
Ashley Moody, Gallery Interpreter: “This Skype a Scientist webinar with Yara Haridy is a great overview of dinosaur diseases and paleopathology for all ages.”

"Dinosaurs Alive! 3D" (Amazon Prime). 
Nathan Smith, Associate Curator, Dinosaur Institute: “In addition to following along on an expedition collecting dinosaurs from Mongolia, this film documented some of our first field season in the Triassic Hayden Quarry at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, including the discovery of a new dinosaur we would later name Tawa hallae. You can learn more about this discovery here”: https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/tawa/

Listen | escuchar

Bad Science
This podcast examines the science (good or bad) of some of our favorite films and TV shows by pairing a scientist with a comedian. Several episodes have featured our very own researchers and fossil excavators, including:

• JURASSIC PARK w/ Scott Rogowsky & Alyssa Bell: This episode discusses the landmark film and how it compares to the real paleontological experience, featuring NHM paleontologist Dr. Alyssa Bell.
• JURASSIC WORLD w/ Sophia Hocini and Dr. Alyssa Bell: This episode brings back Dr. Alyssa Bell to examine the successor to the original trilogy.
• ‎ICE AGE w/ Eric Jackowitz & Laura Tewksbury: Featuring La Brea Tar Pits excavator Laura Tewksbury, this episode looks back on the classic animated film and how it holds up to the real La Brea experience.

Common Descent
Hosted by paleontologists David Moscato and Will Harris, this podcast discusses the diversity and evolution of life on the planet past and present.

Paleocast
Paul Byrne, Graduate Student, Dinosaur Institute: “Paleocast is a paleontology podcast developed and run by several University of Bristol Ph.D. students. It has a very wide range of topics, and it is very interesting for an older audience! I especially love it because the format of the podcast is interviewing paleontologists about specific topics of their specialty, one-on-one. I think it is a really great way to learn more about the research, and behind the scenes, of what paleontology is all about.”

"PastTime" (http://www.pasttime.org/). 
Nathan Smith, Associate Curator, Dinosaur Institute: “This is a fun and educational podcast run by two paleontologists, Dr. Matt Borths, who was recently a post-doc at USC (he is now a curator at the Duke Lemur Center), and Dr. Adam Pritchard (VMNH), who is a collaborator and former graduate student from our Ghost Ranch Triassic Project.”