Have you ever held a fossil millions of years old? This Wednesday, October 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History celebrates National Fossil Day with free, family-friendly festivities inside the spectacular David H. Koch Hall of Fossils–Deep Time.
The 31,000-square-foot hall is home to some 700 fossil specimens — from tiny trilobites to a giant ground sloth — and, of course, the star of the show: the Nation’s T. rex. Museum scientists and educators will be on hand so visitors can touch and hold real fossils, watch expert volunteers delicately clean dinosaur bones in the FossiLab, and get up close to these ancient giants.
It’s a hands-on adventure through deep time — a chance for kids (and grown-ups!) to play paleontologist for a day and discover the ancient ecosystems that once covered our planet. And, like all Smithsonian museums, admission is always free.
Save the date, too: on Saturday, October 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Elmo himself visits the museum for an African savannah safari adventure. Families can explore different stations, observe museum specimens, create safari-inspired art, watch “Sesame Street and the Great Elephant Adventure,” and meet the beloved red guest in person — in partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and WETA.
Photo: Michael Barera / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
