Don Lessem: Dinosaur Man

From Delaare County News Netwrok: Don Lessem: Dinosaur Man

Ask Don Lessem what’s new and he’ll most likely tell you what’s old -- millions of years old.

Better known as “Dino Don,” Lessem is today’s leading presenter of dinosaur science. A free lance paleontologist and a resident of Middletown for the past nine years, he’s been the host and author of NOVA and Discovery Channel films. He’s written 50 books for children, most of them about dinosaurs, and has authored an encyclopedia for National Geographic. In addition, he’s the well-known dinosaur columnist for Highlights Magazine, the world’s most popular children’s magazine.

“Dinosaurs are a way of getting kids interested in science,” said Lessem, whose interests actually extend beyond dinosaurs to all things related to science, living or not. But it’s his vast knowledge of the incredible creatures that roamed the earth millions of years ago that has made him a dinosaur expert.

Lessem, 59, recalled that his earliest encounter with the prehistoric world was when he stood next to, and was dwarfed by, a model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. He was four years old.

A native New Yorker, Lessem attended Brandeis University near Boston, and later the University of Massachusetts. He began his dinosaur studies as a Knight Journalism Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was while working as a newspaper reporter for the Boston Globe on a science fellowship that he was assigned to write about a dinosaur dig out west. That experience led to rekindling the interest in dinosaurs he had as a child.

He embarked on dinosaur research as a participant in the 1988 China-Canada Expedition to Inner Mongolia. Since then, he’s traveled the world -- from Mongolia and China to Argentina and the Arctic -- in search of dinosaurs. He’s one of only about 40 other people in the world who dig for dinosaurs. Among his experiences was supervising the excavation and reconstruction of the world’s largest meat-eating dinosaur, Giganotosaurus, as well as the largest of any dinosaur, Argentinosaurus.

When he’s not unearthing dinosaur bones or working on a dinosaur-related project, Lessem is surrounded at home by a multitude of majestic prehistoric creatures. Dinosaurs are scattered over his three-acre property, on the porch and throughout the large, historic 1784 farmhouse where he lives. For example, dinosaurs decorate his powder room, which features fossils embedded in a floor of Jurassic-era limestone. He calls the room “The World’s Smallest Dinosaur Museum.”

Lessem shares his dinosaur know-how not only through the written word but also through educational displays created by his company, Dinodon, Inc. His dinosaurs can be seen in museums around the world. Among his projects was a traveling natural history exhibit called The Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park. It toured 30 North American cities in three editions, was viewed by more than three million people, and raised almost $2 million for dinosaur research. Lessem is the creator and chief funder of the Dinosaur Society and Jurassic Foundation, the world’s two largest charities for dinosaur research.

Lessem also served as consultant to “Jurassic Park” and Disney dinosaur films. When the filming for “Jurassic Park” ended, he was given all the dinosaur models and props from the movie set. Those models and much more can be viewed locally by the public when a unique attraction called the Dinosaurium opens at Granite Run Mall in early November.

The first-of-its-kind museum at the mall is being created in 65,000 square feet of leased space near Granite Run’s first floor center court. Dubbed by Lessem as “the Greatest Show Unearthed,” the Dinosaurium will showcase a dozen different dinosaurs, as well as dinosaur teeth, eggs and skeletons up to 30-feet long.

Through informative signs and hands-on activities geared to a wide range of ages, museum-goers will learn a lot about the amazing creatures who lived during the world’s earliest beginning. Included will be lesser known dinosaurs, such as those discovered in China. Movies on dinosaurs will be shown, and there will be a dig pit for kids to search for a piece of the ancient past. Enhancing the museum will be dramatic lighting and sound effects. And, of course, there will be a dinosaur museum store. The Dinosaurium will be open from 11 to 7, Monday through Saturday, and 10 to 6, Sunday. Timed tickets will be sold.

Lessem pointed out that a local school will be spotlighted each week and $1 of every ticket sold that week will be donated to the school. He said he hopes to offer workshops for teachers as an educational tool.

“I’ve always wanted to do this. I had the idea 15 years ago, but I couldn’t find a mall to do it when I lived in Massachusetts. Granite Run Mall has been incredibly supportive. It’s been a big effort on their part,” said Lessem.

“We’re very excited to have this one-of-a-kind exhibit in the mall. Don’s a good partner with the mall and we look forward to a long relationship together,”

Granite Run Mall Marketing Director Aubrey Proud