Bob “Dinoman” Lisaius (middle) raises a tyrannosaurus rex as students from Crab Orchard Elementary School marvel at it and other huge dinosaurs.
BECKLEY, W.Va. — Students and teachers alike roared with laughter Wednesday at Crab Orchard Elementary, as paleontologist and comedian “Dinoman” filled the gymnasium with fossils, inflatable dinosaurs and humor for all ages.
As the fifth graders filed in, Bob “Dinoman” Lisaius gave the students a number of “safety instructions” in case the show were to go horribly wrong. He urged students to use a friend as a floatation device in case of water emergencies, and promised oxygen masks would drop from the ceiling in case of a crash.
His first topic of discussion was fossils — how old they are, how they’re made and where they can be found.
Many fossils are around 2 million years old, Dinoman told the listeners, just like his mother-in-law.
“I’m just kidding … She’s actually undateable.”
He performed a number of demonstrations, one of which included turning a 23-year-old “pet raccoon” into a fossil. Students, from pre-K to fifth grade, wildly applauded each demo, but they were all ears when Dinoman started his next discussion topic.
“My favorite part was the inflatables,” 10-year-old Lindsey Palmer said. Although her favorite subject is math, she said the show definitely piqued her interest in science.
The inflatables towered over the kindergarten students seated in the gym floor, as they looked overhead in awe.
“I explain how fossils are made, how we know dinosaurs existed,” Lisaius said. “I hope to spark their interest in science, even the kids who have no interest in science at all. I hope it’s exciting for them…
