Today we’d like to introduce you to Jimmy Waldron.
Hi Jimmy, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
That’s a solid question, and a great place to start. But before we do that, I have a question for you: What’s your favorite dinosaur? It’s a simple, harmless sort of thing, but everybody has an answer. You can ask a room full of people of any age about their favorite dinosaur, and you’ll get a room full of different answers. (Or at least, a bunch of people saying T. rex, and then eleven other choices.)
Each of us goes through a dinosaur phase. No matter how short or long it may be, we all stomp around the park roaring or dig through a sandbox on an imaginary expedition. But that’s a beautiful thing–that kids of every age, every culture, every language and every part of the world–has at some point been awestruck by a colossal fossil. We may differ on some of the details–like which one was the toughest or what colors they were, how they existed with one another — but there’s an uncanny sense of wonder that we all share in this one thing.
Everyone has a dinosaur phase. I’m one of those kids who never grew out of it.
I’m originally from New York, and when I was three or four years old, my mom took me to the American Museum of Natural History for the first time, along with my baby sister and my grandparents. I remember walking into the Hall of Late Dinosaurs and looking up at that towering Tyrannosaurus rex — it was still standing upright back then — and becoming instantly enamored with these amazing animals! How could something so gigantic, so fearsome, exist one day and then just be gone forever?
Dinosaurs drove me into science. I saw the original Jurassic Park over a dozen times in the theater. They filled my notebooks, my toy boxes, and my imagination. I moved to Orlando after college to work at the Science Center, mostly because of the amazing dinosaur exhibit! Did you know that the DinoDigs exhibit played a key part of the most important Tyrannosaurus discovery of all time? Different story for a different time, but WOW it’s a good one.
My passion for prehistory led me building wonderful connections and relationships. In time, I took over the dinosaur exhibit as the staff paleontologist. That enabled us to work with the Florida Fossil Hunters–a group of paleoenthusiasts who contributed a whole collection of local fossils—no dinosaurs, sadly; Florida was underwater at the time! To this day, guests can see the amazing animals that used to call Orlando home, from bizarre rhinos and terror birds to colossal ground sloths and mastodons! Strong community bonds are vital to a shared passion — I even served as the President of the club for two years.
One day at the museum, I toured a guest who later became a volunteer. Her name was Elaine, and she Howard, who was Elaine introduced me to how accessible paleontology can be. She encouraged me to travel out west to The Wyoming Dinosaur Center and get my credentials in Paleontology. I’m now official with the Big Horn basin foundation! Elaine also introduced me to Dean Lomax, a self-taught paleontologist from the United Kingdom. This was back in 2009, and both Dean and Elaine have gone on to become celebrated authors, TV stars, and very dear friends. A few years ago, Dean and I wanted to do a YouTube channel where we’d talk about scientific discoveries in paleontology and try to keep the public up-to-date on what they been missing. There are so many kid-focused dino shows out there. But what if we had something specifically built for adults who *used to love dinosaurs* but are so busy living adult lives that they’ve missed out on the incredible paleo progress of the last few decades?!
So, I started reaching out to scientists and researchers and asking if they wanted to talk about their discoveries. I was surprised at how many said ‘Yes!’ And so, the idea became a channel; became a podcast; and became a show. I’ve traveled around the world; studied breathtaking dinosaur specimens; met some of my childhood heroes, and even helped Conan O’Brien figure out his favorite dinosaur!
All built around the idea that it doesn’t matter what you do, where you’re from, or how old you are, Dinosaurs Will Always Be Awesome!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the major obstacles I continually deal with is that the editing process is such an exhaustive and intense one. I’m a perfectionist with these videos and episodes, and it can take weeks for me to turn an episode around. It’s often hard to find the time while also balancing a separate 9-to-5. I mentioned that to a friend and he said “you just described the hustle.” It’s been a good problem to have because I’ve learned new skills and I’ve been able to refine my workflow with everything. And the new episodes are definitely much much better than the earliest once so there’s a lot of growth there.
Secondly, for all its patience and ancient fossils, paleontology has been moving very fast lately. I have a few episodes where I’d interview scientists about ‘What was Dilophosaurus really like’ within a week a new discovery comes out that replaces that research. I think I have two or three episodes that I never see the light of day because they became outdated so quickly. But that’s what I love about this science – everything is right…until it’s wrong!
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
The biggest risk I’ve taken so far is when I took it from being just a fun hobby into something official. I’ve launched DWABA as an LLC a few years back and we filed for our nonprofit status this year. It’s not just a show anymore–I want to be able to bring dinosaurs into schools and communities that don’t have access to their own museums. I’m hoping to create those same formative moments that I had–that was fortunate enough to have as a kid. Many communities and a lot of students that I’ve worked with don’t have those same moments.
I worked as a high school science teacher in a charter school for years after leaving the museum, I had fossils on my desk every day. For many of my kids–who were teenagers–this was their first time experiencing something like that. The first time feeling the serrations of a Megalodon tooth in their hand or looking at the endocast brain of a Tyrannosaurus rex. It’s mind-blowing stuff but if you have to wait till you’re 16 to have that experience–then that’s so much time they could’ve spent developing appreciation for the natural world.
So now DWABA is on its way to becoming a nonprofit organization, I’ve assembled a board of directors and we have plans to make something really special that will hopefully bring some joy and wonder to people. And I’ve sunk a few thousand dollars into this already so I hope to God it works.
Contact Info:
- Email: Jimmy@dwaba.org
- Website: dwaba.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/DinosaurPodcast
- Twitter: twitter.com/DinosaurPodcast
- Youtube: YouTube.com/DWABA
- Other: anchor.fm/DWABA
Image Credits
Jimmy Waldron
Elaine Howard
Kathryn Abbott
