Participants can join full-day or half-day digs at Pioneer Trails Regional Museum
Each dig experience includes fossil excavation and fossil preparation all rolled into one on a full-day or half-day program. The half-day experience is perfect for younger kids who are interested in paleontology.
Each day starts 8:30 at the Pioneer Trails Regional Museum where you will meet your guide. You will follow your guide to the field site in your own car. Don’t worry! It’s on a well-maintained gravel road and will only take about 30 minutes.
There is some hiking involved, so be prepared to hike up to two miles over rough terrain or adverse weather conditions. You may encounter dangerous wildlife such as rattlesnakes or some not-so-dangerous wildlife such as cows.
This hands-on experience takes you into the heart of North Dakota's beautiful, rugged terrain. Here, you will be provided with tools and training in how to collect the fossils found at these active fossil sites. You will learn about the fossils you find, other fossils in the area and about the local geology.
Full Day
On the full-day tour, you'll be out excavating for about 3.5 hours. At noon we'll break and drive back to Bowman for lunch (on your own). After lunch, you’ll meet back at the museum fossil lab to identify the fossils we found in the morning. Here, you will also learn techniques to prepare the specimens for research and display. After a fun afternoon in the lab, your immersive dive into paleontology is complete. Feel free to enjoy the museum until closing at 5 pm.
Half-Day
On the half-day tour, you'll be out excavating for 1.5 hours before driving back to Bowman to work in the museum lab until about 1pm.
As a scientific venture, all the fossils you recover will be curated in the permanent collection of the Pioneer Trails Regional Museum.