10/13/14
National Fossil Day, Wednesday, Oct. 15, will be celebrated at the Fort Hays State University Sternberg Museum of Natural History with extended hours and free admission for the entire day.

Morning events will be focused on K-12 students. The rest of the day's events will be focused on youths, students, adults and families from the Hays community and the western Kansas region.

"In the afternoon and evening," said David Levering, the museum's education director, "we will be highlighting the roles of fossils and our fossil-bearing rocks in western Kansas' cultural history, celebrating our newly named state fossils of Kansas and showcasing student research on fossils housed at the Sternberg Museum."

National Fossil Day is organized by the National Park Service in order to promote public awareness and stewardship of fossils and create awareness of scientific and educational values.

From 4 to 6 p.m. the public can bring rocks and fossils and find out more about where the rocks and fossils came from.

Fossil Day events include a demonstration from 4 to 6 p.m. of how post rocks are quarried. From 7 to 9 p.m., the public can learn about current research at the museum while special activities for children will be in the Discovery Room.

Fossil gallery tours will be from 4 to 5 p.m.