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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 11, 2023

Join us for some fossil fun on Wednesday, October 11, from 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 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 holding a red piece of paper on top of a rock or fossil while rubbing a dark crayon on the paper
Making a fossil rubbing. Photo by Brittany M. Hance, Smithsonian.
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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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. Credit: Smithsonian Institution.