National Fossil Day

Name: National Fossil Day
Start: 2024-11-02T12:00:00-05:00
End: 2024-11-02T15:30:00-05:00
Location: Alabama Museum of Natural History

Schedule

Sat Nov 02 2024 at 12:00 pm to 03:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Alabama Museum of Natural History | Tuscaloosa, AL

Alabama’s National Fossil Day is back this year with an afternoon full of activities on Saturday November 2nd on the University of Alabama campus! The theme of this year are Dinosaurs. Watch a free dinosaur documentary, ask your questions during a Q&A session, come to the exciting tabling event with lots of fossils including true dinosaur fossils, and see the presentation of the 2024 Alabama Avocational Paleontologist Award. This event is presented by The University of Alabama Museums and the Alabama Museum of Natural History.
Join us for a FREE screening of the award-winning documentary WHY DINOSAURS? Make sure to reserve your free ticket through Eventbrite to be able to attend: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/why-dinosaurs-free-movie-screening-at-university-of-alabama-tickets-1024998918357?aff=oddtdtcreator
Walk the red carpet and meet some of the cast and crew, including Director Tony Pinto, paleontologist Skye Walker of Elevation Science Institute, avocational paleontologist Jim Braswell, and other special guests. This event promises to be a fun and educational experience for dinosaur enthusiasts aged 5 to 105. Don’t miss out!
Another special event not to be missed is the presentation of the Alabama Avocational Paleontologist Award for this year. Learn about how the award recipients have and how you can contribute to paleontology in Alabama.
There’s also a great free tabling event in the Grand Gallery of the Alabama Museum of Natural History in Smith Hall with, in addition to the regular exhibits, tables full of fossils presented by the Alabama Paleontological Society, Birmingham Paleontological Society, the Alabama Museum of Natural History Paleontology Collection, the Auburn University Museum of Natural History, and other individuals/groups. There will be many different fossils to enjoy and learn about including real dinosaur fossils. Come and check out duck-billed dinosaur bones and even a real dinosaur egg with an embryo inside found in Alabama. There are also various fun fossil activities for all ages and at least one table will give away free fossils (shark teeth) and there are some dinosaur bone door prizes.
Schedule Saturday November 2nd
11:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Doors open - Walk the Red Carpet!
Walk the red carpet and find the perfect seat in the Math and Science Building Auditorium (Room 1001) on The University of Alabama campus.
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Watch the Award-Winning Film, "WHY DINOSAURS?" + Alabama Avocational Paleontologist Presentation
Introduction and presentation of the 2024 Alabama Avocational Paleontologist Award by Dr. Adiel Klompmaker, UA Museums’ Curator of Paleontology, and the 72-minute screening of "WHY DINOSAURS?" documentary.
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Q&A Panel / Movie Poster Signing
Get your paleo questions ready for Director Tony Pinto, Elevation Science Institute paleontologist Skye Walker, avocational paleontologist Jim Braswell, and other special guests. Get a free mini-movie poster and WHY DINOSAURS stickers as we wrap up the event.
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Tabling Event and Educational Programming For All Ages
We’re back with the annual tabling event at Alabama Museum of Natural History in Smith Hall (Grand Gallery). Various dinosaur remains and many other fossils will be exhibited on tables, some of which have never been shown to the general public. Come and check out true duck-billed dinosaur bones, two dinosaur bones from Trussells Creek found this year during the ALMNH summer fossil trips, and even a real dinosaur egg with an embryo inside from Alabama. Get your free shark tooth fossil and participate to win some dinosaur bone door prizes (small dinosaur bone bits) toward the end of the event. There are also various fun fossil activities for all ages. Note that the Grand Gallery at Smith Hall will not be open until 2:00 pm.
Admission
The entire National Fossil Day event is free! However, reserve your free ticket through Eventbrite to be able to see the Award-Winning Film, "WHY DINOSAURS?" documentary.
Location
The movie screening, Q&A, and award presentation will be held at the Math and Science Education Building (Room 1001) on The University of Alabama campus. The street address is 411 Hackberry Lane, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401. The subsequent Tabling Event will be held at the Grand Gallery of Smith Hall. The street address is 427 Sixth Avenue, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487.
Parking
On Saturday, there is free parking on campus in any available parking space near the auditorium and the east side of the Alabama Museum of Natural History (Smith Hall).