An Armadale school was now in possession of an electronic dinosaur head after one student’s mother heard a desperate call-out for a buyer.
Dianne Owen was dropping her daughter off at Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School in March when she heard the story on the radio.
96FM presenters Carmen Braidwood and Brad Fitzgerald said a man had contacted them after purchasing a 70-kilogram electronic velociraptor dinosaur head for $100 from a store which was closing down and he was in hot water with his wife because of it.
Jim Armstrong called the station and said the illuminating fibreglass head, which was allegedly made for $10,000 was so big it took up much of the space of his ute tray.
He had said his plans included mounting it in the living room or turning it into a doorbell accessory.
The radio hosts put a call out for anybody who might be interested in taking the head off his hands and Ms Owen jumped right
Mrs Owen said she thought the opportunity to provide something as unique to her child’s school was not likely to come up again.
She immediately got into contact with the school’s principal and science teacher who both said it was a great idea.
“I put a post onto our school Facebook page asking anyone who could to help with any form of donation or offer,” she said.
The response was immediate and members on the page started listing what they could offer to ensure the school placed the highest bid.
Mrs Owen she said her only motivation was to provide students with a more interactive learning experience.
“Little crocodiles, deer heads, cobras, king crabs, we’ve got this sort of stuff in the science room,” she said.
“I’m always on the lookout for things that can help schools.”
Principal Andrew Colley said he was shocked at how big the head was.
“The kids couldn’t believe it,” he said.
“It came in the last week of school last term so they were pretty pumped to come back and see it.
“Living and non-living things are a big feature of our curriculum and dinosaurs fall into that of course.”
Science teacher Kristy Maher was equally excited.
“We’re pinching ourselves that we won it,” she said.
“It’s very exciting for the kids, it’ll be a great dynamic for them to come into the classroom with.
“We’re very happy.
“I didn’t realise it was going to be that ginormous, it’s very impressive, the kids are going to be very excited coming into the class.”
The school was still investigating how to mount the head for use in science classes.
