Adults: $9, Children 3-12: $7, Children 2 and Under & Penn Dixie Members: FREE
Pre-register through our online store by June 2 to save $2 per admission! Please note that tickets will not be mailed — just present your receipt or ID at our entrance to receive your wrist band(s).
The event will be held on Sunday June 5, 1-4 pm, rain or shine. We encourage everyone to wear boots — the fossil quarry can be muddy — and dress appropriately for the weather as Penn Dixie is an outdoor venue.
We’ll show you how to clean and prepare the fossils that you collect!
Colleen McCarthy found this rare specimen — a crinoid holdfast — in the Windom Shale. Crinoids (i.e., sea lilies) were widespread in Devonian oceans. Crinoid columnals — which comprised the organisms’ stalks — are very common at Penn Dixie. Crinoid holdfasts, which allowed crinoids to attach to the substrate, are exceedingly uncommon — both at the site and in the fossil record. We thank Colleen for her wonderful addition to our fossil photo collection!
Veterans who participate in the Erie County ‘Thank a Vet’ discount program can collect fossils, hike nature trails, or attend astronomy programs for free at Penn Dixie.
Beginning in 2016, Veterans who participate in Erie County’s ‘Thank A Vet’ discount program will receive free admission to Penn Dixie. Penn Dixie joins over 1,200 local businesses who participate in the program.
The ‘Thank A Vet’ card is a complimentary photo I.D. certified by the Erie County Clerk that a veteran has produced his or her original discharge paper and has been honorably discharged. The card is available to any veteran who is an Erie County resident and honorably discharged from any branch of service of the United States Armed Forces.
Admission is valid for the cardholder on public days, most special events, astronomy programs, or winter/spring lectures. Limited to one free admission per Veteran per year. Offer cannot be combined with other offers and has no cash value. Excludes summer camps, Dig with the Experts, Miss Buffalo Nature Cruise, and field trips.
Penn Dixie’s 2016 Dig with the Experts will be YUGE!
Hamburg, NY –
Penn Dixie’s signature fossil dig — Dig with the Experts — is set to be the biggest yet, says Penn Dixie Executive Director Phil Stokes, PhD. “We’ve received nearly 100 pre-registrations, and the program is still a month away,” he adds. The annual dig attracts fossil hunters from around the country. “So far, most registrants are not from Buffalo,” Stokes explained. “We are thrilled to host so many out-of-town visitors in Hamburg.”
Members of the Cincinnati Dry Dredgers paleontology group will be among those traveling to Penn Dixie to dig. Dan Cooper, who will lead the excavations, is enthusiastic about this year’s prospects. “We’re going to open the biggest hole yet,” Cooper declared.
The dig, which will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday May 21, allows paleontologists — both amateur and professional — to examine freshly excavated rocks from several feet below Penn Dixie’s surface. The rocks will be placed on piles around the quarry and participants will have the opportunity to dig through the previously buried layers. Though the dig will focus on trilobites, brachiopods, cephalopods, and other Devonian Period fossils, unexpected and rare specimens are occasionally unearthed as well.
Dig participants are welcome to bring rock hammers, chisels, pry bars, gloves, and safety googles. Additionally, Penn Dixie recommends that participants prepare for all weather by packing rain gear, sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water. To preserve their finds, Penn Dixie recommends that diggers wrap their fossils in newspaper or bubble wrap.
For those seeking a double dose of paleontology, Penn Dixie will host a talk by award-winning paleontologist ‘Paleo’ Joe Kchodl on the preceding evening. The talk, titled ‘Fossil Fish of the Lost Lake, Wyoming,’ will tell the tale of the catastrophic extinction preserved in fish fossils from the Green River Formation in southwestern Wyoming. Kchodl’s talk will be held at 7 pm on Friday May 20 in the Gateway Building Auditorium at 3556 Lakeshore Road in Blasdell.
Admission to Dig with the Experts is $30 for the public and $25 for Penn Dixie members. Admission to the paleontology talk is $5 for the public and free for Penn Dixie members.
The weather is beautiful and Penn Dixie’s fossils are waiting for you to uncover them!
It’s the moment that you’ve been waiting for — Penn Dixie reopens this weekend!
We’ll be there from 9-5 pm Saturday April 23 and 10-5 pm Sunday April 24. Get your shovels, rock hammers, boots, and safety googles ready for some serious fossil collecting. If you can’t make it this weekend — no sweat. We’ll be open every weekend — same hours — until June 13, when we open seven days a week. General admission for adults is $9; children $7.
In honor of Earth Day, admission on April 23 is FREE for those who volunteer for a few hours to help clean and beautify Penn Dixie. Here’s what we’re planning:
Cleaning and organizing our massive storage locker
Interested in visiting on off-days? You can book a group tour, or sign up for a membership to visit anytime. For group tours, please book at least two weeks in advance to guarantee a time. Our June schedule is nearly full but we do have a few dates left in May. Don’t delay!
Trilobites, brachiopods, horn corals, crinoids, and many other fossils have been exposed by the winter elements and are ready to be discovered.
