A full-size replica Tyrannosaurus Rex Skull in the Zobel Exhibit Hall.

Fossil Discovery Center

New to Sterling Hill, the Fossil Discovery Center helps our young visitors learn about fossils by digging for them in a large sand box and then taking specimens home. 

An instructor will be on hand to help participants identify their fossils and discuss when the organisms lived, how they went about their lives, and what their living environment was like at the time.  Most of the major fossil groups are represented, including marine mollusks, terrestrial plants, and fish.

Like the Rock Discovery Center, the Fossil Discovery Center is a voluntary add-on to the basic tour and is a fun educational experience.  The cost is $4.50 per participant for groups of ten people or more.  Click for dates when the Fossil Discovery Center will be open to visitors.

NEW FOR 2011:

Fossil Discovery Center – 2011 Summer Pilot Program
(Wednesdays Only)

Recommended for “kids” from 5 to 85!

Starting on June 8th, 2011, and for every Wednesday in June and July, groups visiting the Sterling Hill Mining Museum (SHMM) will have the option of collecting fossils at the Fossil Discovery Center (FDC). This option, for an additional $4.50, will be available only for groups that reserve for the regular mine tour on the same day. The FDC experience lasts about 25 to 30 minutes and is in addition to the regular 2-hour tour.

Up to ten different types of fossils might be discovered (for example, shark teeth, petrified wood, and lamp shells). Each paid participant will be allowed to keep six (6) of the fossils they find (usually dozens are collected).

In order to reserve, your group will need a minimum of 10 people for FDC as well as for the regular tour. Due to space limitations only 25 people will be allowed to participate at a time. Larger groups will need to be divided (for example a group of 26 would be divided into 13 each or 10 and 16).

Reservations need to be made in conjunction with those for the regular tour by contacting the Museum at 973-209-7212. Availability will be on a first-come, first-reserved basis. (In order to ensure that there is sufficient staff, reservations can only be accepted up to the Monday prior to the intended Wednesday visit. For example, Monday, June 6 is the latest reservation date for Wednesday, June 8.)