Jack Horner - Inspiring Kids Through Dinosaurs and Discovery

In his newest book geared toward children, Horner seeks to answer some of those questions through the magical story of an empowered third-grade girl named Lily: a self-proclaimed paleontologist who discovers “science for real” and grows her own confidence when she brings new dinosaur discoveries to light.

Readers follow Lily and her family on a Montana adventure to find dinosaur bones. In her wildest dreams, Lily never imagined she would meet a real dinosaur…. but she does: a one-year-old Maiasaura named Maia.

John R. “Jack” Horner is a world-renowned paleontologist, acclaimed for his fieldwork and research on dinosaur growth and behaviors, his discoveries of the first dinosaur eggs and embryos in the Western Hemisphere, and his unearthing of the first evidence of dinosaur colonial nesting and parental care among dinosaurs. He was born and raised in Shelby, Montana, and attended the University of Montana, majoring in geology and zoology. Although Jack never completed a formal degree, he received an honorary doctorate of science from the University of Montana in 1986. Jack embarked on a thirty-three-year career at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman, Montana, where he was Regent’s Professor of Paleontology Emeritus in the Department of Earth Sciences and Curator of Paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies.

A technical advisor for the Jurassic Park movies, he is also the inspiration for the series’ lead character, Dr. Alan Grant. Jack is always in demand: his TED talks attract millions of viewers, his lectures draw big crowds, and his books and scientific publications are widely read.

Jack teaches and continues his research into dinosaur biology (including the genetic-engineering “Dino Chicken Project”), his writing, and giving his lectures on dinosaurs, the origins and evolution of life, and on dyslexia. A dyslexic scientist himself, Jack helps students with similar learning challenges feel empowered.