Help Send a 6-Year-Old Paleontologist to Drumheller, Alberta

    /24-7PressRelease/ - Victoria, BC, May 29, 2005 ~ Six-year old Josiah Schultz, who lives in Victoria, BC, has a dreamand#8213;to one day become a paleontologist and study dinosaurs. His mother, a single mom with a limited income, is raising money this June so that she can take Josiah to Drumheller, Alberta, and help make his dream come true.

In the first few years of his life, Josiah lived on a beach in a cabin on the Queen Charlotte Islands with no electricity or running water. Before he turned three years old he knew the name of all the trees, berries and sea creatures, and showed a serious interest in animals and rocks. Since the age of 3 he has watched numerous documentaries, and now at six, Josiah can give detailed information on practically any dinosaur that ever roamed the earth.

Instead of watching Disney movies, this young paleontologist-to-be watches the BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs, Prehistoric Planet, Mega Beasts, National Geographic Dinosaur Hunters and more. Instead of reading Franklin books like most 6-year-olds he reads books, encyclopedias and atlases on dinosaurs. For play, Josiah's favorite thing to do is bury some of his dinosaurs outside, then go to bed. The next morning he digs them up. His room is decorated like a dinosaur haven, complete with a paleontologist jungle tree fort bed.

For a kindergarten project, Josiah gathered his toy dinosaurs together—100 of them. While most of his classmates brought their items in a bag, he created an entire display. Using a piece of plywood as the base, he formed a lake out of PlayDoh and filled it with water, glued plants and bushes to the base, and used other materials to make the scene lifelike. He had the dinosaurs in their correct herds, and displayed their proper behavior. Then, with his mother's help, he created a working volcano, and had pterodactyls circling it!

His mom, Lisa, only knows about dinosaurs from what her son has taught her. She works at a Victoria pharmacy, and is amazed at Josiah's growing and unwavering interest. This June she is raising money so that she can make one of Josiah's dreams come true...a trip to Drumheller, Alberta! Drumheller, the "Dinosaur Capital of the World", nestled in the heart of the Canadian Badlands, is home to The World's Largest Dinosaur. An 86 ft. towering Tyrannosaurus Rex overlooks the town of Drumheller, known for its desert-like canyons and the many discoveries of dinosaur bones and other fossils.

Lisa and Josiah will be selling lemonade, Dino cookies provided by a local bakery during the month of June, and two mystery novels, Whale Song and Divine Intervention by Edmonton author Cheryl Kaye Tardif, to raise funds for this adventure.

Their schedule:
• On May 28th and 29th from noon to 4 p.m. Lisa and Josiah will be outside the Estevan Pharmacy. (2517 Estevan Avenue, Victoria, British Columbia, V8R 2S6 Canada Tel.: 250-598-2517)
• On June 4th and 5th they'll be at the Oak Bay Tea Party (sharing the Curves booth) on Estevan Street
• Every Sunday in June at the Estevan Street Market, from noon to 4.

Anyone who wishes to make a donation to help make his dream come true can check out the Estevan Street Market on Sundays and head for Josiah Schultz's lemonade stand, or you can contact Cheryl Tardif, one of the sponsors, at [email protected].

Media inquiries welcome.

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