There are two dig programs available with the Petrified Forest Field Institute. Join a 1-day program on either June 15 or Aug 10, 2024 where you’ll start the day with a behind the scenes tour of the park fossil collections and then be driven ‘off the beaten’ path to work for about five hours at the research quarry and dig site. While there, participants will work closely with park paleontology crew to learn to identify fossils from rock and carefully excavate specimens.
This is a real-life adventure where participants participate in a real paleontological dig. That means you’ll be working on your hands and knees in the dirt using light hand tools and brushes, but there is no heavy digging or lifting. Depending on what the day turns up, you could be casting fossils to carry out using plaster and burlap.
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Join a 6-day camping experience in the park for an exploration of the paleontology and archeology of some of the newly acquired park lands. This is a car camping expedition in a remote area of the park where you will prospect and look for new fossil sites and excavate fossils at known localities. You will have a chance to learn prep work in the paleontological lab and have time to explore the region for petroglyphs, incredible scenery and whatever else we discover.