Meet the Team

Curatorial / Education Team	Front-of-House Team
Steve Hutt - Curator of Geology I’m a dinosaur nerd! which means I eat, sleep and dream dinosaurs and other sorts of fossil life. But once, a long time ago, I was quite sane – or almost so – and had a normal job. I’ve worked in the City of London, I’ve been a policeman, and I spent some time looking for gold in South America. At Dinosaur Isle, I extract bones and other fossils from rocks; comparing them with similar discoveries in other museum collections and, if they are unique or particularly interesting, writing a scientific report about them. I dug up (with lots of help) the big sauropod skeleton on display in the gallery, but my favourite has to be the black-boned skeleton of Neovenator, a big flesh-eating dinosaur that I named in 1996. I enjoy working at Dinosaur Isle, building models and talking with visitors. I also enjoy growing trees, walking, visiting churches and other old buildings, and reading. The curator's role at Dinosaur Isle is a very diverse one. Primarily, they care for the collection, but an equally important role is interpreting the collection and the Island’s geological heritage to the public. One of the main objectives is to establish international links for the museum. Email me	Sue Wilkins - Retail Supervisor Hi, I’m Sue Wilkins and I look after the shop, reception area and the staff who work there. I am also unofficial agony aunt and custodian of the agony chair. I have been employed here since Dinosaur Isle opened in August 2001. I moved to the Island in 1995 from Buckinghamshire with my family – 3 daughters, 3 cats, a dog and 2 budgies. This has grown by 2 more dogs & 2 horses perhaps I should have been a zoo keeper! I enjoy walking on the beach, reading and gardening. I enjoy working here. The dinosaurs are all friendly – and even the staff smile sometimes. I am usually involved in the non-technical projects of the museum - Sandown's annual carnival, Santa's grotto etc.  I also update the shop pages of the web site. As part of my job involves ordering shop stock, I can indulge in retail therapy while at work.  Email me
Trevor Price - Community Learning Officer I look after the Education side of things at the Museum and I do a certain amount of the engineering work as well. I give talks to school groups and lead field trips for schools, societies and the general public. I also co-ordinate the Education activities of the Museum. The job could not be done without all of the staff here taking part, especially during the summer. For some of the time I work in the lab preparing fossils and making models, including fabricating and welding the metal frames. I maintain the Dinosaur Isle website, and am currently adding a lot of new pages and content to the site. In addition I am a member of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Museums' Emergency Response Team; on call to assist other museums in case of incidents that may put their collections at risk. I am in the process of extending our marketing/advertizing in order to bring in more educational groups out-of-season. I am one of the rare Islanders working here at the Museum and so bring with me a large amount of local knowledge. I entered this career after many years working in the defence industry, before taking a Geology degree and gaining valuable experience as a volunteer at the old Museum of Isle of Wight Geology. In 2004/5 I walked most of the coastline of the Isle of Wight in order to produce a report on the state of the visible geology called the Local Geodiversity Action Plan (LGAP). In my spare-time I am also taking a post-graduate course through the University of Leicester. Outside of work I am interested in most things mechanical, particularly four-wheel drive vehicles and am a member of the Isle of Wight Military Vehicle Group (motto - 'the museum on the move') and the national Military Vehicle Trust. When the weather is good enough I enjoy mountain biking and fossil collecting. Email me	Claire Dyson - Administrative Officer Hi my name is Claire. I have only been with Dinosaur Isle for a short while but I am really enjoying working here. My job is to keep the office running, booking in schools and groups and answering the phone. I have the most fantastic view out of my window (better than anyone else's!) and it is fascinating to see the amount of wildlife which visits the pond. I have lived on the Island for 12 years, and have two daughters. In between work and children I am studying for a diploma in Child Psychology.
Post vacant - Preparator	June Whitlock - Full-time retail assistant Hi, I'm June; I have been working here since November 2006. I'm probably the first person you will see on your arrival. I enjoy working in the reception/ gift shop and meeting different people. Since working here I have learnt a lot more about dinosaurs, fossils and geology in general. Before moving to the Island I helped at a local primary school as a parent helper, which I enjoyed. I'm married, with two children - one child has flown the nest - the younger is at High School. Originally from Essex we decided to move to the Island in 1999 and haven't looked back since. At home we have our own dinosaur, Tommy the tortoise, who has been in the family for 43 years, and also a beagle/ jack russell dog who who only talks to me when its feeding time. I am the gardener at home and also like reading and walking. In closing I look forward to meeting you all soon.
Lora Apps - Volunteer Hi, my name is Lora, I have had an interest in dinosaurs ever since I can remember, but being originally based in London most of my knowledge about them came from museum exhibitions and books. Moving to the Island 17 years ago changed all that, walking on rocks of Cretaceous age and finding my own fossils. Finding my first small piece of dinosaur bone in a gully at Compton Bay was like striking gold. I became a laboratory volunteer several years ago when the museum was located above Sandown Public Library. On my first day I was shown what I thought was the most perfect little dinosaur skeleton ever; in need of a little TLC and repair, a job I was very proud to do, I was even prouder when the little Hypsilophodon was put on display at Dinosaur Isle. The best thing about Dinosaur Isle for me is the new lab which is much more spacious than the old one, though we haven’t wasted time filling almost every available work space with new projects to work on. Whether it be cleaning and repairing new finds, making a full size replica of a T. rex skull or talking to people about the work we do, we are hopefully, taking away some of the mystery of what goes on in museum laboratories behind the scenes. The picture shows Lora with John Quayle painting a model T.rex skull.	Charlotte Brading - Part-time Retail Assistant Hi, my name is Charlotte. I joined Dinosaur Isle in October 2005 as a part-time retail assistant, and am really enjoying working here. I am an Islander currently studying for my A-level exams in Psychology, Biology and Food Technology at Sandown High School. I like learning new skills at Dinosaur Isle and meeting new people. In my spare time I love walking my Golden retriever, dancing, kick boxing, kung-fu and hanging out with my friends. My knowledge of dinosaurs is increasing and I am enjoying finding out all about them.
Brian Lewis - volunteer Following retirement to the Isle of Wight from commercial life in London, my lifelong interest in fossils was now to take on a practical situation among the storehouse of the Island. Time to read and study my finds bought me into contact with the experts at the Geology Museum and eventually to become a volunteer at Dinosaur Isle. My work in the laboratory involves general 'dogsbody'; involvement in sorting of fossils; and preparatory work. However the highlight of my days working is talking to the visitors; this aspect covers children and adults, novice and knowledgeable. Their enthusiasm and attention to the samples on show and the conversation is reward in itself. I am enjoying retirement with my wife, and have a deep love of palaeontology, however, chess, bowling and art also fills my spare time.   Brian helps us in the lab, and when he isn't working there he feeds our dinosaurs!	Julie Harris - Part-time Retail Assistant Hi! I'm Julie and I have been working in the shop/reception at Dinosaur Isle since January 2007. I mainly work Saturdays and the odd Sunday. I really enjoy working here, all the staff are great and of course the customers are too! I have lived on the Island for rather a long time but was bought up by Gatwick airport so seemed to have swapped the roar of engines for the roar of dinosaurs! My husband is from Liverpool which I guess makes me a scousewife? I have three daughters (all at school in Sandown) and one stepson. We have a Jack Russell too, which (if you ask the girls' opinion) is the most important member of the household. At my youngest's school I am involved in a family learning group called SHARE. We recently covered the topic 'Dinosaurs' so I was able to get plenty of inspiration from working here. We learnt a little about fossils, tried our hand at drawing, then we were set the task of making a dinosaur related model. My daughter and I eventually produced a dinosaur poetry box. Some of the other parent's models were amazing. On Friday mornings I run a toddler group in Sandown which is great fun. We always have something in the pipeline whether its a party (any excuse), outing, charity fundraising, or joining in the local carnival. Perhaps we should have a dinosaur themed morning? I also like reading, dog walking and surfing the net. Recently I have found myself unable to stroll along the beach without scouring it. You never know what you might find!
Martin New - Seasonal Part-time Interpretation Assistant Awaiting text.
Gary Blackwell - Seasonal Part-time Interpretation Assistant I've been interested in palaeontology since I was 4 years old. After many years working in various boatyards as a fitter, mechanic and many other jobs I decided to embark on a career in palaeontology. I am currently studying for a BSc (Hons) degree in Earth Sciences through the Open University. Previously I also worked as a preparator and interpretor at Dinosaur Farm for 3 years. I then worked as a volunteer at Dinosaur Isle before taking on this job. I now work as an interpretation assistant, working mainly in the lab - involved in preparation work, talking to the public interpretting fossils and palaeo-environments. I also help Trevor, Lisa and Steve with guided fossil hunts. I have also been helping Steve with sculpting and modelling some of the displays which is enjoyable and rewarding. I enjoy my job very much, I am lucky to work with a wonderful group of people here at Dinosaur Isle. My interests are palaeontology, geology, biology, drawing, painting, modelling, gardening, conservation, reading, collecting fossils and of course dinosaurs!	Jonathan Fulcher - Part-time Retail Assistant Hello, I'm Jon, a recent addition to the team and one of the first faces to greet you once you come through the doors. As a retail assistant I can multi-task, selling entrance tickets and gifts as well as dispensing useful (I hope) information - all the while standing on one leg, but please don't put me to the test! When I'm not at Dinosaur Isle I work or volunteer for the RSPB, as birds and conservation is my passion.
	Amber Wilkins - Part-time Retail Assistant Awaiting text.