For the experience of a lifetime and a great vacation your kids will never forget, there are dinosaur digs and fossil hunting trips that are open to kids.
If you are looking for a fossil dig or dinosaur dig that accepts children, here are a few ideas to get you started.
Montana Learning Center Camp in Ekalaka, Montana
2023 Cost: $1,195 for a week
Ages: Students entering 8th-12th grades
When you are a paleontologist and it's “Bring your kid to work day.” That is what it’s like for teenagers who attend the Montana Learning Center fossil dig camp. For a camp experience your teenager will never forget, this active paleontology dig in the fossil-rich Hell Creek formation combines learning, independence and accomplishment all into one week-long trip. Students will learn how to identify, dig and prepare 66-million-year-old Mosasaur fossils. The Cretaceous and Paleocene rocks also abound in ancient reptile, fish, mammal and ammonite fossils. Students will also learn how to prepare the fossils for research and display at the Carter County Museum.
Penn Dixie Fossil Park in Hamburg, New York
2023 Cost: $11-$14/day
or Private expeditions from $43-$49
All ages
Everyone finds trilobites at this incredible site filled to the brim with a well-preserved supply of 380-million year old Devonian age fossils from an ancient coral reef. For an exclusive experience, private expeditions are available for small groups of 2 – 8 people who are interested in experiencing fossil hunting in the true style of field paleontology.
Stonerose Interpretive Center in Republic, Washington
2023 Cost: $5-$15/day
All ages
Be a paleontologist or paleobotanist for a day! This walk-up site in the quaint town of Republic is a self-guided fossil-hunters’ paradise. Stonerose is a long weekend trip from Seattle or Spokane. The site charges a daily entry fee for tools and access to search for 50-million year old plant, insect and fish fossils. Everyone is guaranteed to find something and both young and old can take 3 fossils home with them each day.