


I think dinosaur paleontology right now would still be a really niche discipline, with only a handful of people around the world studying it, and probably not a very diverse group of people. So I do think there is a really, really good chance I wouldn’t have my job today if the book was never written, if the movie was never made. A lot of my colleagues got jobs specifically because of Jurassic Park, because a museum of university wanted to hire a paleontologist after that. A lot of universities put out courses, and a lot more interest and money in the field. It reignited this interest in dinosaurs, and that led directly to a lot of museums putting out dinosaur exhibits.

It was so different than the dinosaurs I read about in my books in school, and that was great. This introduced dinosaurs to a whole new generation, and this newer image of dinosaurs as an active, energetic, and intelligent animal. That led to an explosion of public interest in dinosaurs. I think the first Jurassic Park was the best thing that’s ever happened to dinosaur paleontology.
