From prestigious museums and universities, to blockbuster films, amusement park rides, video games, and toys--dinosaurs have always fascinated us. But, why?
Why Dinosaurs?, a film by Pinto Productions, follows dino-obsessed youth James Pinto and his filmmaker father Tony on a journey around the globe, interviewing world-renowned paleontologists about the latest dinosaur research, digging up 150-million-year-old bones, and encountering dinosaur fanatics of all walks of life. Together they track down the filmmakers behind Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, see the world’s largest dinosaur toy collection, and attempt to discover why everybody loves dinosaurs!
Join the National Museum of Natural History for a film screening and discussion of Why Dinosaurs? Following the film, Sant Director KirkJohnson moderates a conversation and audience Q&A with co-directors Tony and James Pinto, co-host of PBS Eons and University of Montana Collections Manager KallieMoore, and Wyoming paleontologist and author Jessica Lippincott.
Registration is free and highly encouraged. Space is filled at a first come first served basis.
Jessica Lippincott is a Wyoming-based paleontologist, author, and science communicator with over 30 years of field experience. She is one of the founding paleontologists of the Wyoming Dinosaurium Project, and was previously Executive Director of the Big Horn Basin Foundation, and Education Director of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. She is also an Executive Producer for WHY DINOSAURS.
Kallie Moore
Kallie Moore manages the paleontology collection at the University of Montana and co-hosts the YouTube channel PBS Eons. Her love of paleontology started from a young age, and she even searched for tiny fossils in the gravel on her grade school's playground during recess. Kallie has consulted for Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park on renovations to the DINOSAUR ride, as well as hosted a livestream for the newly opened Deep Time Hall at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. She is also an Executive Producer for WHY DINOSAURS.
James Pinto
Like most kids, James Pinto was obsessed with dinosaurs from an early age. He spent countless hours playing with dinosaur toys, watching movies and documentaries, and collecting fossils. By the time he was 15, he had found fossils in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota; won first place in the California State Science Fair; and became one of the youngest docents and fossil preparators at the La Brea Tar Pits, where he volunteered almost 400 hours. James graduated with Honors from UC Berkeley with a double major in Biology and Geology, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Paleontology at the University of Southern California in collaboration with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. He was awarded graduate research fellowships by both USC and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Tony Pinto
Tony Pinto is an award-winning filmmaker who has produced thousands of short (and a few long) documentaries for numerous companies worldwide. He is currently living a nomadic lifestyle as a full-time RVer, working while travelling around the United States and Canada along with his wife, Tara, and their four dogs. Tony is the Owner and Executive Producer of Pinto Productions.
