For as long as I can remember, I’ve adored dinosaurs. My parents tell me that I loved trucks and elephants first, but I don’t remember those phases. As far as my spotty memory goes, “Brontosaurus” and company have always been there – real monsters that I hoped to study myself someday. My cherished collection of plastic toys, books, and videos fueled my fascination, as well as the January 1993 issue of National Geographic.

I still have the magazine. It’s missing a few pages that I cut out for a middle school science fair project poster, but otherwise intact. The magazine contains a perfect time capsule of dinosaurs as I encountered them as a child. Written by Rick Gore with photos by