University of Iowa museum’s ‘Fossil Guy’ unearth kids’ interest in science

IOWA CITY - Children reach out to gently stroke the alligators, horses and birds just inches from their faces. Smiles spread slowly across their faces, and many turn to shout to their parents excitedly. While these animals have not lived for thousands of years, to the kids, touching their ancient fossils is just as good.

'I get to learn about rocks and fossils, and that's cool,” 8-year-old Louise Funk said.

Don Johnson, who calls himself 'Fossil Guy,” has taught paleontology events with the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History since 2002. He aims to reach the entire audience, even when the content is complex.

'I try to have the program so pretty much everyone, from preschool aged to adults, can come away with something they learned,” the amateur paleontologist said. 'It's more difficult with preschoolers because they have a limited vocabulary, so whenever I use a word they may not know, I try to define it for them. A lot of the learning comes from after the talk, and they are interacting with the fossils.”

Johnson, who lives in Iowa City, initially became interested in paleontology when he came across an Iowa City store that sold fossils.

Soon, he was making his own expeditions to find fossils and wanted to share his passion with others. He lectures about a variety of paleontology topics in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids.

Johnson hopes events such as Saturday's lecture can help encourage children to pursue an interest - and possibly a career - in science.

'I want to help children that have the desire to pursue careers in science,” Johnson said. 'That's probably the main driving force behind this. Also, to get to see their faces light up when they pick up the fossils. Oftentimes in museums, you don't get a chance to get that close because of the glass or other barriers, but I think children learn better when they can touch or see what they are learning about.”

One parent said this is one of many events that allow her son to get to experience something new that could pique his interest in science.

'I think it's important for children at a young age to get interested in science,” Solon resident Trudy Gullete said. 'There's a lot of educational programs that are free (in Eastern Iowa), which is great.”

Parents such as Gullette give Johnson hope, because he knows his lectures can do only so much.

'I hope parents do encourage their children to pursue that down the road. I'm just one portion of the puzzle for a child to decide to go into science.”

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