Each month, Dinosaur Ridge recognizes our wonderful volunteers by showcasing the contributions of one volunteer. Thank you to each of you for your outstanding commitment to the mission of Dinosaur Ridge!
February 2021 – Larry Lens
Larry is a retired oil and gas geologist with 32 years at Amoco and BP. He has also been working with PetroSkills and continues to do contract teaching. Larry started volunteering with Dinosaur Ridge in July of 2020 in the midst of the pandemic and has already given close to 250 hours of service over the last 6 months! He loves the outdoors and enjoys inspiring young people to be scientists by leading our public walking tours and greeting our visitors every Wednesday in the exhibit hall as a docent. Larry loves to read technical articles about anything to do with science (earth and cosmic geology, dinosaurs, the environment, energy). If not at the Ridge and the weather is fine you’ll find him out fly fishing. Otherwise, he’ll be in his basement working on 2 different scales of model electric trains which is both for his pleasure and for his grandkids!
January 2021 – Dave Jenne
Dave Jenne started volunteering at Dinosaur Ridge in 2009 as a guide at the Western Interior Seaway exhibit during Dinosaur Discovery Days. His wife Sue and friend Betty Rall (a critical early leader of Dinosaur Ridge) got him interested and involved. Soon after, he constructed the scale model of the future track cover, now located at the Discovery Center. After retiring from his full-time database administration job in 2016, Dave began working as a docent at the Trek Through Time exhibit. More recently, he has been conducting walking tours, helping with the virtual school tours and, in his “Dino Dentist” role, repairing broken teeth for the museum brachiosaur. “I enjoy discussing paleontology and geology with visitors and learning from them as well. And the field trips offered through Dinosaur Ridge are especially enjoyable and informative.” When not volunteering, Dave enjoys hiking, biking, photography and spending time with family, including his five grandchildren, all of whom enjoy visiting Dinosaur Ridge.