Dino Dude

Back in 1990, a teacher read a brand-new novel about bringing extinct dinosaurs back to life to a fourth-grade class. It sparked a lifelong passion in one student. The novel was Jurassic Park. The student was John Hankla.

After that, when he wasn’t in school, Hankla was digging for fossils. He made his first discovery, an Edmontosaurus, at age 9, and he hasn’t stopped digging.

Today, Hankla works with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s field team to find and dig up fossils. He also builds dinosaur skeletons for museum displays. His work landed him a behind-the-scenes gig on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which hits theaters June 22.

“They wanted an old museum feel for the library scene, and I got to handpick the dinosaurs,” says Hankla. Among the 10 skeletons that Hankla chose for the movie is an Edmontosaurus—his first discovery.

Back in 1990, a teacher read a brand-new novel to a fourth-grade glass. The novel was about bringing extinct dinosaurs back to life. It sparked a lifelong passion in one student. The novel was Jurassic Park. The student was John Hankla.

After reading Jurassic Park, Hankla spent his free time digging for fossils. His first discovery was an Edmontosaurus. He found it when he was 9. Hankla hasn't stopped digging since.

Today, Hankla works with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science's field team to find and dig up fossils. He also builds dinosaur skeletons for museum displays. His work landed him a behind-the-scenes gig on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The movie hits theaters June 22.

"They wanted an old museum feel for the library scene,” says Hankla. “And I got to handpick the dinosaurs." Among the 10 skeletons that Hankla chose for the movie is his first discovery: an Edmontosaurus.

He also included a velociraptor, which was smaller in real life than on-screen. “These guys are the real stars of the Jurassic movies, new and old,” Hankla says. “But they are the wrong size!” Real velociraptors were turkey-sized—not the 6-foot-tall monsters seen in the movies.

Not only did Hankla decide which dinos would be in the library scene, he also made the skeletons! For years, Hankla has been digging up the desert searching for dinosaur fossils. He has one of the largest private fossil collections in the world.  

Since fossils are very fragile, Hankla and his team make rubber molds of the fossils after they find them. Then they fill these molds with lightweight plastic to make copies of the fossils that are safe to use on set.

Once the plastic casts of the bones are complete, it’s time to build the skeleton. Hankla uses welding tools to build frames that hold the casts in realistic poses. “These dinosaur fossils are all squished and curled up in the position they died in when we find them” he says. “I want them to look lively.”

Hankla spent over a year building the skeletons for Fallen Kingdom. “The coolest part is being on set and hearing them yell ‘cut’ and ‘action,’” he says. “But it still isn’t as big of a thrill as finding a fossil.”

He also included a velociraptor. These dinosaurs were smaller in real life than on-screen. "These guys are the real stars of the Jurassic movies, new and old," Hankla says. "But they are the wrong size!" Real velociraptors were turkey-sized. But they’re 6-foot-tall monsters in the movies!

Hankla didn’t just decide which dinos would be in the library scene. He also made the skeletons! For years, Hankla has been digging up the desert searching for dinosaur fossils. He has one of the largest private fossil collections in the world. 

Fossils are very fragile. To protect them, Hankla and his team make rubber molds of the fossils after they find them. Then they use the molds to make copies of the fossils. They fill the molds with lightweight plastic, and remove the plastic copies when they harden. These sturdy plastic copies are safe to use on set.

Then they build the skeleton with the plastic copies. Hankla uses welding tools to make frames. These metal frames hold the copies in realistic poses. "These dinosaur fossils are all squished and curled up in the position they died in," he says. "I want them to look lively."

Hankla spent more than a year building the skeletons for Fallen Kingdom. "The coolest part is being on set and hearing them yell 'cut' and 'action,'" he says. "But it still isn't as big of a thrill as finding a fossil."