All Aboard the "Dinosaur Train"

SAN BERNARDINO >> Scott Sampson, “Dr. Scott” of PBS’s “Dinosaur Train,” will give a free lecture geared toward children of all ages on “Dinosaurs of the Lost Continent” on Thursday, April 28, at Cal State San Bernardino as part of the university’s 50th Anniversary and the Gerald M. Scherba Lecture Series. “Dinosaurs of the Lost Continent” takes its audience back 96 million years and explores the horned, duck-billed, dome-headed and armored plant-eaters, as well as giant tyrannosaur meat-eaters and smaller raptor-like predators that existed on a “lost continent,” today referred to as “Laramidia.” The popular scientist’s talk will take place at 7 p.m. in the university’s Santos Manuel Student Union Events Center. A meet-and-greet will precede the lecture with a book signing to follow. The event is free; parking at the university is $6. Scott Sampson, host and science advisor of the Emmy-nominated "Dinosaur Train" produced by the Jim Henson Company, is a dinosaur paleontologist, science communicator, museum executive, and passionate advocate for connecting people with nature. Born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., he serves as vice president of research and collections and chief curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Sampson has published numerous scientific and popular articles, and he regularly speaks to audiences of all ages on a range of topics. He is author of “Dinosaur Odyssey: Fossil Threads in the Web of Life” (University of California Press, 2009) and, recently, “How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015). Sampson has been named the new president and CEO of Science World, one of Vancouver’s most popular cultural attractions and a nationally recognized leader in science learning. Sampson will assume his new role on July 4. “As we celebrate Cal State San Bernardino’s 50th anniversary, I can’t think of a better way to not only celebrate our university’s birthday but also honor Dr. Gerald M. Scherba, the university’s first science professor,” said Stuart Sumida, a CSUSB professor of biology and the lecture’s first presenter when it was launched in 2011. “All ages are welcome for Dr. Scott’s lecture. We encourage families with children who are familiar with Dr. Scott to attend and meet him after the lecture.” The Gerald M. Scherba Endowed Program Lecture Series at CSUSB offers the public a clear understanding of the natural sciences and what they contribute to the world. The science speaker series is named after CSUSB founding faculty member Gerald Scherba, the first science professor hired in 1962 by then-San Bernardino-Riverside State College founding president, John M. Pfau. The college opened in 1965. Scherba first served as chair for the Natural Sciences Division. In 1968, he became the first dean of academic affairs at Cal State San Bernardino. In 1984, he was named director for the California State University Field Station for Research and Education in Zyzzx, Calif. He retired in 1994 and passed away in 2001. To RSVP for “Dinosaurs of the Lost Continent,” contact Lory Lewis at (909) 537-5300. For more information on the Gerald M. Scherba Endowed Lecture Series, contact Kevin Shaw at (909) 537-3384 or email Kevin.Shaw@csusb.edu.