TOM GIBSON

At a Minnesota Vikings game in Minneapolis in 2025, Tom Gibson was approached by a fellow football fan who had an important question: “Are you Sam Ting?”

Having laughed with and learned from Sam Ting in the Fargo school where she teaches, she recognized the face of a beloved character, even without his trademark gunny sack vest and floppy-eared hat.

For over 40 years, Tom performed educational programs for audiences of all ages, focused on wildlife, history, conservation, water pollution and more. Sam Ting is perhaps the most well-known of his characters, a Norwegian with a passion for the weasel family, habitat, adaptations and mitigating water pollution.

Tom retired in late 2024, but his impact still resonates in the schools he visited regularly, as evidenced by an email he received from the mother of a first grader:

“He could hardly wait to tell me all about how water recycles itself. He was able to give me a lot of detail, and boy was he excited. Then he proceeded to tell me about LAST year’s presentation.

I was just so impressed that what you shared with him made such an impression he remembered it for an entire year. … As a mom I want to thank you for making learning fun for the kids.”

Tom created all his characters and wrote his own material, starting in 1983 with Pierre Bottineau, a French voyageur and interpreter from the 1800s. Joining Sam and Pierre on Tom’s character roster are:

• George Gibson: A member of the Lewis & Clark expedition
• Pete Bogg and the Amazing Water Machine: Teaching about the water cycle and water pollution
• Water You Doing with Gunnar: A German immigrant from the 1870s in the Dakota Territory
• Darin You: A boisterous game show host who quizzes his audience about water conservation