Griebling Students Get Dino-Sized Treat

Standing in front of an auditorium of elementary school students can be a daunting task for anyone. But when Neil Brown of "Dinosaurs Rock" asked the children at who wanted to touch a real dinosaur egg, it is safe to say he had their undivided attention.

On Friday morning Brown made his third trip to the school bringing with him a wide variety of prehistoric items to keep the students in awe as they marveled at the creatures that roamed the earth long ago. He said he can remember being in their shoes when he was their age. "This has been an interest since I was a little kid," he said. 

Brown's show is the equivalent of bringing a museum exhibit right to the local schools. In addition to the egg, Brown also brings impressions of footprints from dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, fossilized dinosaur feces and digging pits where students can go on expeditions for their own prehistoric items.

Brown, who goes on fossil digs with paleontologists around the world, said he is glad his business can help students learn in a fun and still educational way. "The greatest joy that I have is the reaction of the kids," he said. "When I can give that enthusiasm to kids and let them go home with something real and exciting and see that they had fun it's a good day."

For the school, Vice Principal Danielle Vietoris said it is a chance for the students to get up close and personal with some of their lessons. "The idea was to educate the students on fossils and indexing fossils, casts and molds and allow them to view prehistoric fossils in a real life atmosphere," she said.

The fact that the students were able to touch some of the fossils and stand next to a nine foot piece of a leg of a mastodon makes for a memorable day for everyone. "It makes it come alive," she said. "It really brings them back in time. They can see and experience and interact with the dinosaur fossils and eggs and things like that.

For more information on Dinosaurs Rock, check out their website.