Celebrating National Fossil Day at Gray

The Gray Fossil Site Museum celebrated National Fossil Day on Saturday, a major holiday for ETSU’s main paleontology research center. 

The museum offered an engaging experience for paleontology enthusiasts of all ages. According to the site’s science communication specialist David Moscato, the event was planned in alignment with the holiday’s purpose. 

“National Fossil Day is a celebration of the study of fossils and paleontology and Earth’s history and about the importance of researching and preserving and collecting fossils for future generations,” Moscato said. “Basically we’re going to fill the place with fossils and the scientists who study them.”

The event combined possibility with reality to show the current state of research at the site as well as how new technology has pushed the boundaries of what can be uncovered. Several scientists blended their new research with interactive events for visitors to engage with the leading paleontological understandings of the region.

 “A lot of the scientists who are going to be present and presenting at National Fossil Day are students,” said Moscato. “We have a lot of graduate students and we have a lot of undergraduate students who are already involved in the site, a lot of whom are doing their own research. … We have one student who does a lot of work with CT scanning fossils to study the interior of their skulls, and he’ll be showing off the technology he uses to CT scan as well as prints of the brain case shape.”

Access to the museum and site was free, but the connected Hands-On Discovery Center next door operated as usual. According to Moscato, yearly attendance has steadily risen since Hands-On moved on-site. Attendance for both National Fossil Day and February’s Darwin Day is expected to continue to increase. For those that couldn’t get enough in one day, volunteer opportunities are also available.

“In terms of the fossil site, we have a volunteer program that is thriving,” Moscato said. “Every year in the spring we have volunteer orientation where we accept new volunteers [and] returning volunteers for tasks that generally include digging on the site, working in the lab, working on cleaning and screening and sorting through fossils. So, if you keep an eye out on our social media, we always announce when our orientation is coming up.”