Learn to dig dinosaurs with us!
If you're tired of sitting in an armchair, reading about the adventures of others and ready to get your hands dirty the Field Paleontology Program is for you. Morrison Natural History Museum has partnered with the Glenrock Paleon Museum in Glenrock, Wyoming to offer the fossil expedition experience of a lifetime. Our programs are operated like an informal field school, where participants are introduced to project-based paleontological field work that supports current research projects.
Spend two to five days working with museum crews as they explore fossil sites of the Upper Cretaceous Lance Formation of Wyoming. Learn basic geological concepts to put fossils into context of time. Develop the eye for recognizing rock from bone as we teach you how to prospect for fossils. Collect at fossil microsites, containing dinosaur teeth, turtles and crocodylians, which will help to better understand the life of Late Cretaceous Wyoming. Help excavate the skeleton of a large ceratopsian. Learn mapping and field jacketing techniques for the safe recovery of fossils bones. Assist in prospecting for new fossil sites, and maybe just make a huge discovery of your own.
The fossils you recover will be curated in the permanent collection of the Glenrock Paleon Museum. We will get you to the dig sites, provide you with excavation equipment and a hearty field-lunch, snacks, beverages, and provide instruction and guidance every step of the way. The rest of the experience is up to you.
If you have not dug for fossils before, or if you haven't participated in this program, join a "novice" level program. Families are encouraged to join. We strongly recommend that participants be at least twelve years old. The nature of fossil collection and excavation requires participants to be physically independent, with the ability to carry a backpack with a water bottle, and sit, kneel, crouch, and lay on the ground for extended periods of time in hot outdoor conditions. The activity will also include standing and walking for extended periods of time in primitive outdoor conditions.
