Weekend Activity Schedule (5/29-31)
Schedule
Fri, 29 May, 2026 at 10:00 am to Sun, 31 May, 2026 at 03:00 pm
UTC-04:00Location
3380 Beaver Road, Union, KY, United States, Kentucky 41091 | Union, KY
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Welcome to Big Bone Lick State Historic Site! The park’s program services staff provides safe and enjoyable outdoor experiences for all park visitors. Our goal is to enhance the visitor experience by sharing the park’s unique prehistory, interpreting its natural resources, and providing a variety of purely recreational offerings.All activities are FREE unless otherwise noted ($).
Children 12 & under must be accompanied by an adult at all activities.
A minimum of three participants are required per program.
Staff Listing:
Maggie Stephenson, Carissa Beck, Gracyn White, and Lexie Wilson
Bison Coordinator:
Claire Kolkmeyer
*ALL TIMES ARE Eastern Standard (EST)*
All programs start promptly at listed time.
Programs subject to cancellation due to inclement weather.
Every Day
Arrowhead Necklaces ($): Humans have been coming to Big Bone Lick for 10,000 years to hunt and make salt. Until Europeans came to the area, Native Americans used stone tools to hunt and process meat. Each participant will make an arrowhead necklace to take home.
Location: Museum
Approximate Time: 45 Minutes
Ages: All Ages
Fee: $3.00 per necklace
Lewis and Clark Junior Ranger Badge: Stop by the museum to earn a Junior Ranger badge by completing an activity booklet. Activities will guide you to check out the place you're visiting and to find out why this site is important to the Lewis and Clark Expedition story. As you fill-in-the-blanks, you'll learn about Native lands. As you decode messages, you'll get to know expedition members’ diverse backgrounds and skills.
Location: Museum
Approximate Time: 45 minutes
Ages: All Ages
Big Bone Scavenger Hunt: Do you think you can complete Harlan G. Sloth’s scavenger hunt? Pick up your list at the campground store to find out! Work in teams or lead a solo adventure. Prizes awarded to teams who finish the hunt!
Location: Campground Store
Approximate Time: 45 minutes
Ages: All Ages
Mini Golf ($): Play a round of mini golf! Pick up clubs and balls from the campground store.
Location: Campground Store
Approximate Time: 45 minutes
Ages: All Ages
Fee: $2.50 – children $3.50 – adults
Friday, May 29
10:00 A.M. Fossil Hunter: This area is known for being the birthplace of American Vertebrate Paleontology but it is also a premier Ordovician fossil location. We will talk about how this area became a premier fossil site, how the ancient invertebrates that lived here became fossils, and most importantly hone our fossil hunting skills. Participants will have the opportunity to handle and identify fossils found on the park.
Location: Museum
Approximate Time: 45 Minutes
Ages: All Ages
1:00 P.M. Leather Stamping ($): Have you ever heard of a tanner, a cobbler, or a saddle maker? These are all people who work with leather! Join Interpretive staff to learn about how leather is made and try your hand at working and stamping your very own piece of leather.
Location: Recreation Shelter
Approximate Time: 45 Minutes
Ages: All Ages
Fee: $5.00 per piece of leather
3:00 P.M. Tobacco Hiking Sticks ($): Come decorate your own piece of Kentucky heritage, the tobacco stick. These sticks were used to hang and dry tobacco on farms all over Kentucky. Today they make awesome walking sticks! You can paint, wood burn and feather your own special tobacco stick to take on the trail.
Location: Recreation Shelter Approximate Time: 1 Hour Ages: All Ages Fee: $5.00 per walking stick
5:00 P.M. Customizable Cedar Tree Cookies ($): Customize your very own tree cookie to make an one-of-a-kind ornament, coaster, or magnet commemorating your visit at Big Bone Lick. A tree cookie is a cross-section of a cedar tree that you can paint, wood burn, color, glitter, and more!
Location: Recreation Shelter
Approximate Time: 45 minutes
Ages: All Ages
Fee: $3.00 per cookie
Saturday, May 30
10:00 A.M. Fire Starting, the Pioneer way: Would you be able to start a fire without matches or a lighter? Come discover how to start fire using flint and steel like the pioneers did. Everyone will have a chance to try their hand at starting a fire.
Location: Recreation Shelter
Approximate Time: 45 Minutes
Ages: 10+ yrs old
1:00 P.M. Tie-Dye T-Shirt ($)*: Let your imagination run wild and create a personalized souvenir to take home. Supplies limited. Purchase your shirts 20 minutes ahead of the program time.
Location: Recreation Shelter
Approximate Time: 1 Hour
Ages: All Ages
Fee: $15.00 per shirt – Youth sizes (XS-L) and adult sizes (S-XXL) / $5.00 per sale shirt (Youth sizes only)
*certain sizes may be temporarily out of stock
3:00 P.M. Atlatl, Prehistoric Weapon of Choice*: Prehistoric people came up with a rather ingenious device in order to hunt for large animals and for protection, the atlatl. This device allowed a person to throw a long dart up to several hundred yards. See how far you can throw an atlatl dart.
Location: Museum
Approximate Time: 45 Minutes
Ages: *8+ to throw
5:00 P.M. Big Bone Bingo*: Come play a few rounds of bingo with the interpretive staff at the Recreation Shelter. Prizes awarded to the winners!
Location: Recreation Shelter
Approximate Time: 45 Minutes
Ages: All Ages
*For campground guests only
Sunday, May 31
10:00 A.M. Salt Lick Spa Scrub ($): During the 19th century, Big Bone Lick was home to magnificent hotels and spas. People from far and wide came to bathe in the salty springs for its rich health benefits. Make your own Big Bone Lick salt scrub to take home using essential oils, natural coconut oil, organic herbs, and salt from the park’s very own salt springs.
Location: Recreation Shelter
Approximate Time: 30 Minutes
Ages: All Ages
Fee: $6.00 per jar
1:00 P.M. Snake Painting ($): Slither or shake your way to paint some wiggly, wooden snakes! Make it your own or try to pattern it after the native snakes of the area.
Location: Recreation Shelter
Approximate Time: 45 Minutes
Ages: All Ages
Fee: $3.00 per snake
3:00 P.M. Art in the Park - Ice Age Murals Edition: Ice Age megafauna once roamed the valley here at Big Bone Lick. Using stencils, sidewalk chalk, and your imagination, lets re-create their story. There will be lots of ‘canvas’ to illustrate what the mammoths, mastodons, and ground sloths might have been doing, such a long time ago.
Location: Museum
Approximate Time: 1 Hour
Ages: All Ages
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3380 Beaver Road, Union, KY, United States, Kentucky 41091Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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