At the end of the 2023 digging season, the team uncovered something extraordinary: a late Cretaceous 77.5 to 76.5 million year old Ankylosaur. But here's the mystery — they don't yet know which species it is.

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That's where you come in.

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This season, you'll work side-by-side with professional paleontologists to unearth more of this specimen, piecing together clues that could unlock its identity. Every bone you help uncover brings the team closer to an answer that no one in the world knows yet.

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So what exactly were Ankylosaur.? Think of them as the armored tanks of the Cretaceous — their bodies were covered in bony plates, they even had bony eyelids, and some species wielded massive clubs at the ends of their tails.

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Come ready to Dig into the Adventure! 

Arrive in Great Falls, Montana and connect with the Frost Science’s Digging Expedition Coordinator for the 2-hour transfer to Havre.

Upon arrival at your hotel, you’ll join a digging expedition orientation at 5:00 p.m. followed by a group dinner in town.
 

Tomorrow starts the real adventure!

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Accommodations for the week: Best Western Plus Havre Inn & Suites

• Meals: Breakfast and dinner at the hotel

• Packed lunches in the field​​​

This dig expedition includes 5-days of hands-on digging in the Oldman and Dinosaur Park formations in Havre, Montana. You'll join 5 days of fieldwork working alongside Dr. Cary Woodruff, Frost Science’s Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology.

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Dr. Woodruff will lead the dig and train all participants in the techniques of excavation. 

• Discovery and unearthing fossilized bone

• You'll learn to use hand tools such as oyster knives, awls, and paint brushes

• Light work with shovels and pick axes.

• Trenching and pedestaling

• Taking all of the requisite scientific data

• Fossil jacketing process to ensure safe transport to the museum

Dig Days Include:

• 7am: Breakfast at the hotel

• 8am: Depart for the dig site (30-minute drive)

• 9am–12 p.m.: Excavation

• 12pm: Break for lunch in the field

• 12:30pm-5pm: Continue excavation

• 5pm: Drive back to town and relax at the hotel

• 7pm.: Dinner at the hotel

Weather  in Montana can be unpredictable and late summer temperatures can reach above 100° F (38° C). The dig site is also at 2,500-feet above sea level, so remaining hydrated is a must. In the event of rain, there will be alternate activities. 

Please bring:

• T-shirt

• Long hiking pants

• Jacket for cool weather 

• Close-toed shoes such as sneakers, tennis shoes, hiking boots,

• Baseball cap or wide brimmed hat

• Gardening gloves

• Water bottle. Drinking water will be supplied in the field.

• Sunscreen

• Backpack

• Note: If you wear contact lenses, we advise switching to glasses to work in the field.

 
There are no bathrooms at the dig site but there is an outhouse in camp, which is about a 10-15 minute walk each way from the site.​

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Click here for more details on what to expect on a paleontology dig. 

Today, we bid you farewell after a rewarding week excavating in Montana. 

After breakfast, our team will provide transportation to to the Great Falls airport. 

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Meals: Breakfast ​

1. What makes this site significant?
   It’s not one particular site, but the local area that is significatnt. The rocks and dinosaurs we find here are a very narrow sliver of the Dinosaur Park and Oldman Formations. These are super famous dinosaur-bearing formations from Canada. But they are entirely unknown in the US until now. Many of the dinosaurs that paleontologists have found in the area have been fist occurrence of their kind for the United States.

2. What has been most surprising about the discoveries here?​
   It’s been really neat to find American ‘firsts’ – for example, the Chasmosaurus we found is the very first one ever found in the US.

3. What are your current research objectives here? 
   The dinosaurs we’re finding here aren’t my area of expertise – but that’s OK! We get to collaborate with tons of other experts that we wouldn’t have gotten to otherwise!

4. What was most important or rewarding find at this site?​
   It’s not any one discovery. We’re doing science, not trophy hunting, so we collect *EVERYTHING*. We want to do our best to capture a snapshot of this ancient ecosystem; and to do that, we need not just the dinosaurs, but all of the little reptiles, amphibians, and mammals scurrying underfoot, the fish swimming in the waterways, and the plants that covered the landscape. We want as complete of a picture as possible so that we can more accurately reconstruct the world these organisms lived in and their respective roles in their ancient ecosystem.

• Pricing is per person based on double occupancy. ​

• Full Payment is due upon booking

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Includes:

• Personal dig-kit, includes your own set of tools

• Transportation to and from the dig site every day​

• Breakfast, lunch and dinner for 6 days

• Hotel stay for 6 nights

• Transportation to and from the Great Falls airport to hotel in Havre, MT

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Excludes:​

• Flights to Great Falls, Montana, are not included.

• Personal, travel and medical insurance 

• Alcoholic beverages​​​​​