Join a Dinosaur Dig in Southern Utah

Southern Utah has a new reason to get families excited about heading outside. St. George, a rapidly growing city not far from Utah’s popular Zion National Park, is home to the Dinosaur Discovery Site, where anyone can be a paleontologist for a day. A dinosaur fossil dig site was established in St. George in 2005 and, while volunteers and professional excavated, a museum was built. Today, the museum stands on the site of the original discovery, and the dig site remains active, but it has recently opened up to the public to take part in the fun.

While kids as young as 8 can attend (all kids from 8 to 17 must be accompanied by an adult at all times), the center best suitable for kids who are at least 10 or older, and teens and adults seem to have the most fun with the experience. No experience is needed; simply go prepared to learn about how archaeology actually works — just keep in mind that as an active dig site and learning center, it is not a playground, so kids should be ready to get to work looking for fossils. The program runs from October through mid-December and starts up again in early March and runs through early May.

The center provides all the necessary tools you’ll need, but you’ll want to come prepared for the dessert weather. Bring water bottles, hats, close-toed shoes with good grip, weather-appropriate clothing and sunscreen. You might even want to bring gardening gloves to protect your hands while you dig.

Reservations are required for this experience, so you’ll want to plan your experience ahead of time. There are two tours a day to choose from (9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1:30 – 4 p.m.). Each three-hour session includes a behind-the-scenes tour of the fossil prep lab to learn about the dig site and what types of fossils might be waiting to be uncovered, a lesson on safety and tool use, and two hours of dig time. If you are lucky enough to uncover some small fossils, you get to take them home with you.

Tickets include admission to the museum, so make sure you plan on some extra time to look around and learn all about the site and the fossils uncovered so far.