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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
A fossil skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex posed biting down on a fossil Triceratops skeleton that is lying on its side.

National Fossil Day at the Museum

Special In-Person Event, October 16, 2024

Join us for some fossil fun on Wednesday, October 16, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET!

Celebrate National Fossil Day with real dinosaurs and free, kid-friendly activities in the museum’s David H. Koch Hall of Fossils – Deep Time. Scientists and educators from the Smithsonian will be on hand to welcome families and anyone interested in exploring Earth’s deep past. No registration required.

Visitors Can:

  • Touch and hold real fossils
  • Observe experts at work in the FossiLab 
  • Get up-close to the Nation’s T. rex and discover new paleo icons 
  • And more! 

Image Gallery

Fossil skeleton of a Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus stenops Marsh, 1887. Catalog number USNM V 8612. Photo by Lucia RM Martino and James Di Loreto, Smithsonian Institution.
A child leaning onto a display of a bone bed to look at it more closely. The child is wearing a long-sleeved yellow shirt, dark pants, and a blue surgical mask.
A young visitor examines a bone bed display in the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils – Deep Time. Photo by Jennifer Renteria, Smithsonian Institution
Black fossil of a trilobite sticking up out of a piece of white rock. The trilobite has a segmented body with more than a dozen appendages sticking up.
Koneprusia sp., Trilobite, catalog number 543150. Photo by James Di Loreto, Smithsonian Institution.
image of three paleontologists preparing fossils in a lab
FossiLab in the Hall of Fossils – Deep Time exhibit.
Fan-shaped, light-colored fossil leaves embedded in a block of brown rock.
Fossilized ginkgo plant, catalog number USNM PAL 606443. Photo by Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian Institution.
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Related After Hours Event

An Evening With Paleoartist Jay Matternes and Author Richard Milner

Color illustration on a book cover of four lions attacking a water buffalo. Text on the cover reads Jay Matternes, Paleoartist and Wildlife Painter, by Richard Milner

 

October 17, 2024
6:30 p.m.
Free

A new book by Richard Milner celebrates Jay Matternes, the renowned paleoartist whose work vividly brought prehistoric life to museums worldwide. Join us October 17 for talks by both men, followed by a discussion with Sant Director Kirk Johnson.

Resources for Kids, Families, and Teachers

Check out these fossil-related activities, videos, and more at your own pace!

Activities

Videos

More Fossil Resources

Credits

The photo at top shows a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil skeleton biting down on a Triceratops horridus. Tyrannosaurus rex (vertebra cast), USNM 555000. Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District and The Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University. Triceratops horridus (composite cast), Smithsonian Institution. Photo courtesy Smithsonian