Myria Perez is a Fossil Preparator (aka paleontologist) at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas. She reconstructs the Earth’s history by carefully unearthing each new fossil and then puts these prehistoric dinosaur puzzle pieces back together. Myria fell in love with dinosaurs as a little girl and started volunteering at 12 years old. She has worked with and been mentored by some of the most well-renowned pioneers of paleontology, including Robert T. Bakker and Dr. Kay Behrensmeyer. Notably, she cleaned fossils and created content for an exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. There is a lot of variation with her job. She uses all sorts of tools as a fossil preparator, including: a hand saw, toothbrush, and an air scribe. She has even used a porcupine quill! She works in a lab environment, which takes some intense focus. She teaches and collaborates with volunteers at the museum. Plus, she gets to go out on digs to look for fossils in the field. ResourcesIfThenExhibit.org - Myria's bioSociety of Vertebrate PaleontologyThe Association for Materials and Methods in PaleontologyDallas Paleontological SocietyContact Info:Myria Perez@paleontologicaMyria's YouTube channelJulie Berman - Hostwww.womenwithcooljobs.com@womencooljobs (Instagram)Send Julie a text!!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020. If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related