Scott D. Sampson

Scott Sampson is a dinosaur paleontologist, science communicator, and passionate advocate for connecting people with nature. He serves as executive director at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. He is perhaps best known as “Dr. Scott,” host and science advisor of the Emmy-nominated PBS KIDS television series Dinosaur Train, produced by the Jim Henson Company. His scientific research has focused on the ecology and evolution of dinosaurs, and he has conducted fieldwork in many countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Madagascar, Mexico, the United States, and Canada. He has published numerous scientific and popular articles, and he regularly speaks to audiences of all ages on topics ranging from dinosaurs and education to sustainability and nature connection. Sampson is author of Dinosaur Odyssey: Fossil Threads in the Web of Life (University of California Press, 2009) and How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015).