National Fossil Day: Heading To A Museum Near You

In 2010, that National Park Service and over 270 supporting museums, institutions, and organizations celebrated the first National Fossil Day. National Fossil Day was established to promote the educational and scientific value of fossils, while celebrating this country's fossil resources. It falls on the third Wednesday in October during Earth Science Week - this year it is on Wednesday October 16, 2013. The Sternberg Museum of Natural History is putting on a day of activities and special programming for visitors of all ages in celebration.

On National Fossil Day - Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - the Sternberg Museum will be free of charge to all visitors.  We also have extended hours and will be open from 9 AM until 8 PM with a day packed full of special activities:

• 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM
• During the morning, we will be opening our doors to K-12 school groups from Hays and the surrounding area to come to the museum for special presentations.  Students will be able to explore the world of paleontology through a series of special exhibits set up around the museum paring fossil and live organisms.
• The museum will be open to the public at this time, but presentations will be geared towards the visiting school groups. 

• 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
• Join us for a special presentation by Adjunct Curator Mike Everhart on the new Cretaceous sea turtle fossil recently donated to the Museum. After Mike's presentation, we will have a small reception as we thank the Bird family who donated the fossil. 

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
• Doors are open to visitors of all ages to explore the Sternberg Museum.  We will have special exhibits and presentations set up around the museum.  These special exhibits will feature live and fossil animals to explain how paleontologists study how extinct animals evolved, moved, interacted with other animals, and interacted with their environment.

• 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
• We will be featuring a series of talks and panel discussions by Museum paleontologists and educators exploring different aspects of paleontology.
• 6:30 PM - Mike Everhart (Adjunct Curator of Paleontology), "The Sternberg Family Legacy"
• 7:00 PM - Dr. Laura Wilson (Curator of Paleontology), "A Bird's Eye View of the Western Interior Seaway"
• 7:30 PM - David Levering (Education Director), "Walking, Running, and Pouncing..."
• During this time, the Discovery Room will be open to kids of all ages with special fossil-related activities.

So join the Sternberg Museum on October 16th for National Fossil Day - and bring your friends and family!  Hope to see you there!