{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/7659c6tx5b/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Colleen Blair"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/713/original/aviary_default_logo.png?1751992923","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Preferred Citation"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eBlair, Colleen. Interview by Christina Hardman. \u003cem\u003ePaluxysaurus jonesi\u003c/em\u003e. August 7, 2025. Paleontological Oral History Program/Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Fort Worth, Texas.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Duration"]},"value":{"en":["00:31:56"]}},{"label":{"en":["Publisher"]},"value":{"en":["Fort Worth Museum of Science and History"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Colleen Blair (Interviewee)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2025-06-19 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English (primary)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eA retired educator and former FWMSH Director of School Services and Executive Vice President of Programs. Blair recounts her experience working at the museum, where she created an educational program called the Lone Star Dinosaur Institute. The program brought together Texas educators for a hands-on experience at the Jones Ranch dinosaur excavation site, providing them with resources and training to bring paleontology into their classrooms. \u003c/p\u003e (abstract)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["MP4"]}},{"label":{"en":["Identifier"]},"value":{"en":["FWMSHPOHCB001 (other)"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eA retired educator and former FWMSH Director of School Services and Executive Vice President of Programs. Blair recounts her experience working at the museum, where she created an educational program called the Lone Star Dinosaur Institute. The program brought together Texas educators for a hands-on experience at the Jones Ranch dinosaur excavation site, providing them with resources and training to bring paleontology into their classrooms.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"]},"provider":[{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Fort Worth Museum of Science and History"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Fort Worth Museum of Science and History"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/713/original/aviary_default_logo.png?1751992923","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/304/659/small/data?1773424403","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - FWMSH Paleontological Oral History Program: Colleen Blair"]},"duration":1916.0,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/304/659/small/data?1773424403","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ebXdLOch8Q","type":"Video","format":"video/youtube","duration":1916.0,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Colleen Blair [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"AVIARY TRANSCRIPT\r\n\r\nTRANSCRIPTION BEGINS","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=0.0,0.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Introduction: The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Fort Worth, Texas. An interview with Colleen Blair, June 19, 2025. Paleontological Oral History program.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=0.0,8.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: My name is Colleen Blair. I grew up in Ohio with stops in Cleveland and stops in New Orleans, Louisiana. And then for my high school years, I ended up in Chatham, New Jersey. From there, I moved to Washington, D.C. And lived in, went to college and lived in D. C. Until 1977. And then we moved to Fort Worth in ‘77.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=8.0,38.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: How are you connected to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=38.0,46.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: Right now my connection is passionate advocate. But when I was actually working, I worked at the museum from 1977 to 2016 and I had lots of different positions. I started out as a preschool teacher and ended up as Executive Vice President of Programs. My relationship... yeah, that's my relationship with the museum. So I'm retired now and have been. Yes, my background was early childhood education.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=46.0,80.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: Now that you are retired, how are you filling your time?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=80.0,89.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: Oh, I am an avid community volunteer. I work...I volunteer a lot with the Botanic research of, well, the gardens, the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. I'm a trustee on one of the BRIT boards, and I'm at docent at the Japanese Garden. I take courses at TCU, and it's just time passes. It's easy to fill time. There's so much to do in town.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=89.0,115.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: When did you first become interested in working on the excavation project?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=115.0,124.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: So with this...the Jones excavation. There were a number of them that museum staff participated in. But the Jones Excavation, my title at that point was Director of School Services. And my job was to create relationships with K-16 education throughout Texas. And my job also entailed outreach and helping the public understand the engagement of science.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=124.0,153.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: Can you talk about the idea that you had to involve teachers in the Paluxysaurus excavation?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=153.0,162.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: I created something called The Loan Star Dinosaur Institute. And the thinking behind that was to bring together a wide berth of Texas leadership educators and give them a firsthand experience with the paleontologists at the dig site. Take them down there and be there. We were there four days. And just let them see all the facets involved in excavation. We did this for six years and I think the end point was when we received our NSF grant for the exhibition of the Lone Star Dinosaurs.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=162.0,206.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: Do you recall how you came up with such a unique idea for educational outreach?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=206.0,215.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: So my role at the museum way back then, we really weren't, we didn't have a big advocacy for educators or teachers. We had the IMAX theater, but we didn’t have anyone in the role of connecting with them, inviting them in. So I was really fortunate and been invited to the Association of Science Technology Centers, had a leadership institute in the early to mid 90s. And I was invited to participate in that. And I modeled our experiences here, the timing, the sequence, some of the content on the experiences I had had at that national level. And we had a number of partnerships at that time. We had really important partnerships with the University of Texas and the Dana Center. We had partnerships with the, it's called SEDL, S-E-D-L, Southwest Educational Laboratory and SMU. So my job was to kind of bring all that together and say, can you support the museum's efforts to do this institute? And we were so fortunate. University of Texas Dana Center had all the point contacts. I mean, they knew all the leaders, science leaders in Texas. So they were our advisory team and they were the ones that we had... I think our first year we had 50 applicants from across the state and we could only...our number was determined by how many people can fit in the van. So they actually chose the educators, every year they did that for us. And then SEDL, the educational lab, was our funder. And that was extraordinarily good fortune because our goal was, you know, to give them—the educators came on a Monday and we had—we put them up in Fort Worth two nights and then they were sleeping at the dig site three nights. And they funded all of the resources we gave teachers. They funded the stipends for Louis and Dale. They were just terrific partners. And then there's SMU as an incredible science partner.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=215.0,362.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: How did the program work? What was the typical week like for the teachers?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=362.0,371.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: Oh multiple facets to it. And I owe that...Jim Diffily was a really close collaborator with the design of the Institute because he was the one that knew the processes and he knew what was involved. So Jim and I just worked really closely to figure out how do you work teachers in five days through all of those. So they would arrive Monday afternoon. We would have a dinner in a, at that point we had, oh my golly, it was really a teacher center. It was a research teacher center in the old building. So we would introduce Jim, we would introduced myself, we would tell them what was gonna happen to them over the next, you know, five days. And then we gave them probably the thing that most educators were the most surprised at was the wealth of resources that we were able to give them. Just we gave them a bag probably with 15 different books about bringing paleontology alive in classrooms, about the science, and just the importance of fossils in just understanding our world. So we did that on a Monday. Then on a Tuesday, we left the museum. We piled into a van, and we made three fossil stops. That helped the teachers understand what are the different geologic zones that are here. We went through different formations. And in each formation, they would stop and Jim would interpret, and they would collect their fossils. And we got to the actual dig site. Maybe about four o'clock in the afternoon. And my job was to...I really was...I don't know how to describe it, but we had, you know, just to bring all the food, make sure everybody had everything they needed because we were feeding at one point 22 to 25 people. So anyway, we had campfires every night. That, I think, just the informal nature of Jim and Louis and Dale at these campsites at night, just help these teachers relax and realize that these paleontologists loved what they did and cared, cared deeply about teachers and educators. So that really set a tone that first day. Then the next three days, they were at the dig and they were busy excavating right alongside with the scientists. After and then every night there was a campfire and lots of discussion, a lot of laughter. The paleontologists are fabulous to work with. I'll just... I'll stop there. Then on the last day, the last day at the dig, we packed up and came back and had a dinner here at the museum and we invited all of the leadership science staff or museum staff, the administration staff. So my kind of underlying goal was to really help teachers understand that museums really care and everyone at the museum, not just somebody with a title like me, everyone supported K-12 and K-16 education. So we had a big dinner for them. Then the last morning we loaded up in the van again and drove over to SMU where they they met Dale and Jim and they walked them through the Shuler lab. And we probably ended, we took them to the airport because a lot of them flew in, stopped at the airport, and then brought them home and those that drove and had their car here left. So it was five, six,...five and ten?...six intensive days.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=371.0,613.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: What were your goals for the teachers in terms of what they would take away from this experience and then implement in their classrooms?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=613.0,621.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: So we...the institute was open to K-12. So our goal was to give them a broad range of resources. And then they were the experts on how to do it in the classroom. You know, I, we knew the business of science and museums and building relationships, but they knew how to take what they had learned here and experienced here and bring it alive in the classroom, because what a K-1-2-3 teacher needs, this is very different from what that high school teacher will do.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=621.0,659.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: What was the biggest challenge to making the Lone Star Dinosaur Institute a success?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=659.0,668.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: I would say the weather. One year it rained and that really impacts the spirits because it's muddy and we're sleeping outside and there's storms around, and you know, that could be, that was eye-opening. But it challenges...not really. People were so happy to be a part of this and so delighted to have been chosen. And the science team were so open that we never, I mean, there never was really challenges in there were not operational challenges because we, you know, it was all thought through and Jim had done a wonderful job setting up the camp. And by that point, I knew how to run a dinosaur dig. That's really it. It was just the weather was so... the first week in June in Texas can be undependable.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=668.0,730.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: What do you feel was the biggest success for the project overall?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=730.0,739.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: We would bring the teachers back...so they would have the experience in early June. We would bring them back in January or February because any time you do something that intense with people, it just kind of needs to percolate. So they would come back. And I think the thing that touched me the most that I would say I would just give the museum great kudos for is how the teachers describe how the experience, the whole experience had touched their teaching career and it helped them, said, you know, no museum ever treated us. They never invited us in like this. And we have a whole different understanding of the nature of museums. We have a different understanding of  how museums work to create public engagement in the 90s and early 2000s. That was a really big national idea with funders was...you know, because at that point, we understood 70/80% of what adults get the science through was television and movies. So we wanted to just give them real firsthand experiences with that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=739.0,816.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: Did you hear from or keep in touch with any of the teachers who participated in the program?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=816.0,825.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: I did. I would go to the Texas Science Teachers Convention every year when I had that position. And then I would go to The National Science Conference. And I would, you know, as I said, we really, we wanted leadership teachers because they would go back to their districts and they had a lot of influence with them. So we would run into these people. And years later, they would say, “Colleen, that was one of the highlights of my professional teaching career, was working at that dinosaur dig.” You know, how's that made it? That was... It was, to me, we had such a wonderful team. There was such trust. And it was just a wonderful experience to have. And we also...I just can't say enough for the partnership with the University of Texas, with SMU, and with, it was the Department of Education at that point, had these 10 national education centers and they, as our funders. I can't say enough about what that support meant to me and the museum.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=825.0,898.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: Going forward, are there still opportunities for this type of experience in education? Do you see a place for it and a need?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=898.0,906.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: What I think happened is the National Science Foundation finally found a way to abbreviate science, engineering, mathematics, and technology. They had the letters, the abbreviation, all mixed up for years, and then they finally came up with the term STEM. So once that became...it really was a buzzword, but we realized that STEM was so critical just in in the nature of day-to-day life in America, you needed to understand science. You needed to understanding a little bit about engineering and technology. So I think that still is there, much more so probably than, you know, when was I involved with the Institute, ‘96 to 2002. I think there's a whole lot of emphasis on making sure the nation has scientists, engineers and is just moving ahead with technology. Yeah, so I think it's probably more important now than  it was then.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=906.0,979.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: Given the heavy use of technology in education today, how does this type of hands-on science stay relevant?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=979.0,987.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: The thing that I learned that was such a surprise, and I learned this from Diffily, was there's a geologic map of Texas, and depending on where you live in Texas, you can find dinosaurs in your backyard. And that's what happened with our first dinosaur dig, is it's a young kid out walking with his dad after a rainstorm. Lo and behold, he finds a dinosaur bone. So I think... you can use the technology to help the public understand Texas has geologic zones, okay? But then you help them, and I think the concept is learn how to look. And in geology, you learn how to look at rocks and what are the... I thought it was funny but it's really serious. If you think you have a bone, a dinosaur bone, what the science just did, is they would pick that bone up or whatever and they would lick it and if it stuck to their tongue it could very well be a bone because there's a lot of I guess calcification that goes on. But I mean those are little things that are delightful and all of us can participate in. So I think it's a combination of both, of using technology wisely telling the stories through YouTube or whatever, because Louis is a great storyteller, telling those stories and then giving them the tools to say, hey, that this can happen to you because it does happen.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=987.0,1087.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: What do you feel is the overall legacy of this project?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1087.0,1095.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: I think it goes back to the concept of first-hand learning. And that's one part of my answer. I think having that magnificent specimen here at the museum is, that's the end game. I went down to Austin when we, when the legislator, legislation named Paluxysaurus jonesi, the state dinosaur. That was an incredible honor. And to be with the museum, you know, it really raised the awareness of the importance of museums in American society. And I was just so proud that a find here could be elevated to become the state dinosaur. So I think all of those pieces from the research that happened at Shuler to the articulation, I mean, that's his own amazing story. And then what, you know, the relationships with the universities and then how the museum had the resources to touch the lives of the public. That's the public, it's hard and the public's not gonna get into the fossil lab at Shuler, but they surely can come here. And the beauty of dinosaurs is every year there's a whole new crop of three, four and five-year-olds. And there's very little in the imagination or in kids' lives that sparks imagination like dinosaurs. It's incredible! Children are always wondrous about it. And that was what was so...one of the things that was so wonderful about working here. Is we were...not only became dedicated to educators in Texas, but we were founded on the belief of children. So for me, it just melded all of this so beautifully. And I think we have a legacy as an institution, as a museum, to think about what's our role? What is our role, and that is something we do so well. So well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1095.0,1250.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: Can you talk more about your interest in museums? How did that happen?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1250.0,1258.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: Oh, it's a love story. I was...my husband and I were living in D.C., he was in law school, and every weekend I would drive my car in and just wander the halls of the Smithsonian. And it was the first time in my life, very first time, that I had the experience of being in charge of my own learning. I could turn right in the hall or I could turned left. I could go to the Portrait Gallery or the National History Gallery. It was a big aha moment for me. And I thought, you know, because at that point I was teaching element... first grade, I decided I don't want to do that anymore. I want to work in a museum. So when we were transferred here from DC and someone in DC had told me about the museum and I was in a, you know I had a preschool background. And they said, you might check that place out. So the first week I lived here, I came and I knocked on...there was the education director at that point was named Polly Renfro. And I said, “I just want to be here, you know, it's...I just wanna be here.” And I did get a position. And, you know, I got over time, I was able to speak nationally at different conferences. And I always said, you, know, the air in museums is different. It's just, it's an oxygen that just fuels your imagination and your creativity because there's nowhere you can't go in a museum. There's, you know, they take you all sorts of places and I think that's really important in lifespans from preschoolers through people my age. I learned so much about the nature of science just by working here. And as I've aged, it's helped me connect dots. What does this relationship have to do with this? And I think working in a museum and, to this day, you know, I still belong, I still have my membership card to the American Association of Museums. I'm a museum nerd, you know, everywhere I go, that's what I do. I just hope that museums can stay at the forefront, that museums continue to engage their public, and that their funding streams are multiple. There's people that love them as donors, and universities that care about them. So I’m really hopeful.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1258.0,1422.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: Do you have a favorite memory of working on the overall project?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1422.0,1431.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: I have a personal one. I had never slept outside before. I was a city kid. So Diffily says to me, “Colleen, we sleep outside.” And I went, oh, okay. So I find a sleeping bag from a friend and he gives me this mosquito net to put over me. And we're under in the, I mean, we're on ranch in the middle of, what is it? Tolar, Texas? I forget the name of the little town. But I didn't, and so there were cows on this ranch and big pecan trees, and I didn't know what cows do at night. I thought, am I going to be okay? And eventually what I did, I slept outside for a few years, and then I bought a station wagon and I slept in the back. That was something I was never wildly comfortable with was sleeping outside. That's just a personal thing. I think my favorite holistic memory was around those campfires, watching those educators laugh and have such a repartee with the paleontologists involved. That was amazing because there's so much said about educating children. But when you have an educator that loves what they do and feels that they're a master of the conceptual knowledge, it just creates a magic environment in a classroom. Or a lot of those teachers were involved in the actual professional development for their school district. So that was also incredibly special, is knowing how one person could impact, you know, a town like Leander, Texas, or a town like Van...we had one woman from Van Horn, Texas. It's just terrific. So, those are my holistic memories and then... the sleeping outside, I still don't do that. [laughing] Many years later.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1431.0,1572.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: Is there anything that you feel is important to know about your experience?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1572.0,1580.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: Uh, never in a world did I imagine that I would be going to a dinosaur dig site, that I would be...my job would be to invite people in and experience it on their own. It was...I think it's...that it's like when I'm 22 years old and I see the Smithsonian. It's like, well that's magic. And to be able to have that in my memory, and I tell my grandkids, it's just...it’s really special. Again, the role of museums in America, in Texas, nationally and I'm sure globally, is what a special job they have and what a wonderful opportunity.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1580.0,1636.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: What advice would you give to someone who wants to work in a museum?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1636.0,1644.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: The ratio of museum edu...Museum Studies graduates to available jobs, it's rough. I would say, from the time you're a kid, teen, you know, they hire summer staff. So get at it early, because it's, you know, I've seen a lot of research papers about, so how old are people when they get engaged with museums? A lot of it happens when kids are little, you know, impressionable, elementary, middle school, high school. Get at it early. Volunteer. What I've seen here is a number of people who came to volunteer were actually hired. Network. Call people. Look at the staff directory. I mean, I can't tell you just how many random calls I would get from people who would say, I want to work at a museum. Another thing I would, if you have the resources to make it happen, I would go to the conferences, you know, Texas Association Museums. Go early and listen. Just be a listener. And then when you get good at listening, be a networker, and don't stop. Don't stop trying. Let them know how much it means. So that would be my advice, pie in the sky probably. But now it takes diligence. I was lucky because I came in just through the preschool door and over time my job changed and changed. But...and take any job you get, that would be another thing. It may not be the one you want, but it'll get you in it. I mean, there's so many, they're really not here anymore, but I know over my 40 years here, I met so many young people, and that was their story. That was their story, and they made it come true. And some people are fortunate enough to get to go to graduate school and do the museum studies route. But a lot of people aren't. And there's still room, you know, for history degrees, science degrees, education, early education degrees. One thing I would say is my science background. In college, I had required biology and required astronomy. I did not have a science...I just didn't have a science background. And I would say don't let that deter you. Because another thing that's so critical is I was fortunate when I was working here, there were such close and supportive relationships among the staff that the people that were charged with the science included all of us, from all sorts of...heck, I was a preschool teacher and they created all sorts of opportunities for us to experience it firsthand. So, I would say there's a lot of entry points to museums. Lots and lots.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1644.0,1838.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Interviewer: Are there any final thoughts that you would like to add?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1838.0,1847.0"},{"id":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659/transcript/92295/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Colleen Blair: I was, oh... So, I've been out of the business now at nine years. And it was just, for me, majority, I mean, until the very, very last year, I couldn't have had a better job in the world and got to do so many things and meet so many people. And the 60 or 70 Texas educators that we influenced, that's a point of pride for me that, oh, they got to see this firsthand. And that's very special because they teach, they taught, or they impacted...you say each teacher in the lifetime, the career, maybe can touch anywhere from 1,200 kids to what, if they're in high school or college, 3,000. That's a lot of impact. So I hold on to that. That was a mighty powerful group of people. Yeah, and I owe all of that to the Dana Center. And they knew who the leadership educators were. And by golly, they were here.\r\n\r\nTRANSCRIPTION ENDS","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://fortworthmuseumofscienceandhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3545/collection_resources/167484/file/304659#t=1847.0,1916.0"}]}]}]}