Jessica Lippincott
Paleontologist, director of The Big Horn Basin Foundation
Posted in scientist
Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Jessica Lippincott. I'm the Executive Director of The Big Horn Basin Foundation, located at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis, Wyoming. I run the non-profit side of the museum. I also run various programs such as Kids Dig, Road Scholar, and Dinosaur Academy.
During the summer months (late May-Sept) I run these programs and work in a quarry on the Warm Springs Ranch called the FS (which stands for Foot Site). During the Fall, Winter and Spring, I do educational outreach across the State of Wyoming where I bring paleontology into the classroom. I also write grants and last year I wrote a book for the Foundation called "Wyoming's Dinosaur Discoveries". I give "Skype in the Classroom" tours to schools across the world, and have given lectures at various museums across the State of Wyoming as well.
Almost every day is different, whether I'm working in the field, lab or classroom.
What hardware do you use?
During the summer, my hardware would be my Estwing rock hammer, small paintbrush, oyster knife, dustpan, dental picks, shovel, pickax, chisel, awl and glues.
My field tools help me work in the Morrison Formation which consists of sandstone, mudstone, limestone and shale. My oyster knife is very handy to work into the natural fractures of the rock to help remove the matrix around the bones. The glues we use are a cyanoacrylate, called Star Bond. We use two types, a thick and thin - the thick glue is used to glue larger pieces of bone together and the thin is used in the smaller cracks.
And what software?
I use all the basic software such as Publisher, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Photoshop, etc.
What would be your dream setup?
I'm living my dream setup! I would love to visit the Gobi Desert to see the fossils there - that is definitely on my bucket list!