Wyoming Dinosaur Center
Real Dinosaur Fossil Dig June 2022
If you have read my other posts you may have seen me talk about traveling abroad. But one of the coolest things I have ever done was take 2 of my kids to a real dinosaur dig right here in the United States.
My son is a dinosaur fanatic and I think he always will be. He is 22 and last year he found this experience online and asked me to take him.
This is a REAL dinosaur fossil dig. Kids are welcome!
Can you imagine the delight of a child that is obsessed with dinosaurs embarking on this trip?
The day begins at the Dinosaur Center.
From there we all loaded up in vans and went to a central location for a safety and instructional talk.
The sites are fossil beds that have already been partially uncovered. We helped them work on numerous pieces that were in various states. What you see in the picture above is completely in line with what we experienced.
A small group works with an experienced and knowledgeable staff member who is basically married to that particular dig site. The group is helping him or her do the painstaking work for a fee. Yes, you pay to help them! Totally worth it!
It really IS painstaking physical work. The digs run from May to September; our dig was in June. It was really hot, and dry, and the sites are situated high on a hill. The staff is adamant that you drink water, and they try to monitor it. Don’t worry though, there is a port-a-potty on site!
The work is tedious, and although children are welcome, this work is monotonous and extremely detailed.
A brush is used to remove dirt gently at times, and tools are used to break rock and dirt as well. It is stressful, however, to use the metal tools. Who wants to damage a dinosaur fossil?
Boots are required, and a hat is highly recommended. At times we were under the cover of a tarp, but we also had direct sun exposure at other times.
This is our actual dig site. We shared this site with another family of 3; mom, dad, and a girl about 5.
Here is a large fossil we worked on uncovering!
At the end of the dig day, we had two more mini-adventures scheduled.
Hike for Take-home Treasures
All of the vans from each site converge at a separate hiking area to search for small fossils. Visitors are not able to take any of the fossils found or uncovered at the dig sites, but these small fossils are ok to take home. We found many in the dirt as we hiked up and down hills. It was hot, so we didn’t stay long, but these souvenirs were worth it. Watch out for snakes! We didn’t see any, but snake encounters are a real possibility!
Dinosaur Center Tour
The last part is a tour of the Dinosaur Center, which is basically a small museum with some nice-size exhibits.
I really wish I had taken more pictures!
Lastly, we got a behind-the-scenes tour. We were allowed to look at all of the fossils and replicas that were not on display. Another interesting part was when we got to tour the lab where the fossils were detailed and prepared for exhibit or storage later.
I highly recommend this experience. Your kids will never forget it!
We had never been to Wyoming, and the scenery is unique and beautiful. The cost is $150 per person.
Here is the website for the Wyoming Dinosaur Center: