BONES TO PICK; FOSSILS FASCINATE LEARNERS 5 TO 82.

Byline: Angela Randazzo Staff Writer

Rita Childs and her two grandsons were in the age-spanning audience Thursday at the Goebel Senior Adult Center to dig into some facts about dinosaurs.

``I thought they would be interested. They like dinosaurs,'' Childs said about her grandsons Jordan and Tobin Childs of Agoura Hills.

Like other children in the audience, Jordan, 7, and Tobin, 5, have their favorites among extinct creatures.

``My favorite dinosaur is the T. rex,'' said Tobin, who also enjoyed hearing about saber-toothed cats.

He paid close attention to the day's lecture by amateur paleontologist Ray Meisenheimer, who said saber-toothed cats had no stripes and were not tigers, although they are popularly called that.

Meisenheimer showed the audience a replica of a fossilized jaw with two 6-inch fangs from such a cat.

Meisenheimer also brought along a replica of the skull of an allosaurus, a carnivorous dinosaur that he jokingly calls Mr. Al, and a tooth from the huge carnivorous dinosaur called Tyrannosaurus rex.

Always interested in paleontology, Meisenheimer, 82, has made an unpaid career of it since he retired as a foreman in oil fields.

``I've been on digs all over the United States,'' Meisenheimer said. ``Every dig is special. Every time we go out, we find something interesting.

``I enjoy putting programs on. I go to schools and clubs and senior centers. I've been retired for 25 years, so that's why I have a lot of time.''

A Ventura resident, he has been active for 35 years in gem and mineral societies in Ventura, Oxnard and the Conejo Valley. For 30 years, he has been a mainstay of gem and mineral exhibits at the Ventura County Fair, where he oversees the collections and answers questions.

Patricia Lyon, 12, accompanied her great-grandmother to Meisenheimer's lecture in Thousand Oaks.

``I learned how fossils are made and how you can get DNA from old things preserved in amber,'' Patricia said.

Eleanor Kuntz, 73, said the subject is as fascinating to senior citizens as to children.

``When I was little, dinosaurs weren't popular to talk about. You heard about them, but you didn't study them,'' Kuntz said. ``Now it's a big thing, and I enjoy learning about them.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Richard Walker's grandson Ryan Davis, 6, gets comfortable as the two hear a lecture in Thousand Oaks on prehistoric creatures.

(2 -- color) Replica skulls of a saber-toothed tiger, foreground, and an allosaurus are on display Thursday.

(3 -- color) Amateur paleontologist Ray Meisenheimer shows a replica of a saber-toothed tiger's fang to a Thousand Oaks audience Thursday.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News