Forget the not talking to strangers rule. No pictures from this encounter (mostly because it was a one-on-one with a pre-teen and that wouldn't have been appropriate), but today I was sitting around McDonald's again working on some stuff online (my rainy day plan) when a 12-year-old sat down next to me with her book. After reading for a while, her curiosity got the best of her.
"What are you reading?"
Mine was a set of stories in a volume called Stories to Remember. I brought it along to pass the time while waiting forever for pictures to upload. There is wi-fi here, but it moves like a snail...
Yes, my book is fiction, but they're classics! I mean, come on. Once in a while, I need something of a break from all this learning, even as much as I love it. "Oh, that looks really cool. I love reading, especially about science and history!"
Magic words. I couldn't resist.
"That's really cool. You know, I'm in training to be a paleontologist."
"Let's see.... fossils, right? Not just dinosaurs?"
Good job, kid. Great job!
She was really smart, and curious about everything. Home schooled out of one of the states surrounding Utah (for the same reason as there aren't pictures or a name, I'm not going to say more than that), apparently her parents had done a really good job in instilling curiosity in her. For the record, they were sitting at the next table over (so they knew she hadn't wondered off with someone dangerous), and were mostly just concerned that she wasn't bugging me.
I loved every minute of it. Education for me is one the highest callings of a paleontologist. I mean, our animals aren't still alive, we aren't going to save lives like doctors or help feed the world. But we can teach people to love science, any field of science, with the use of dinosaurs and such.
Hearing that her family does road trips a lot, and that she's always wanted to try going on a dig, I pointed out a few places I've been to before (and Ashfall, after hearing about her interest in being a vet and her love for horses), and mentioned the field work I did with the Tate Museum in Wyoming in 2012. They take anyone into the field with them pretty gladly, and its a great first dig experience. No hard core camping, just day after day of finding bones because they have a very prolific site. I also passed her some pictures from my travels (which made her even more excited about the places I told her she should visit some day), my blog, and an email should she ever have questions about fossils.
Its always refreshing talking to kids who love science. Kids like her, with her curiosity, I can tell even at ages younger than hers that they're going to make it in whatever field of science they go into. Best of luck to you, kid (though I don't think you're going to need luck :) ). Never stop asking questions.
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