Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve

Last chance to register for tomorrow's (FREE!) Specimen Identification Workshop at: penndixie.org/workshops/ Saturday, January 16th at 1 pm, join Dr. Holly and other Penn Dixie Educators as they help to verify any unnamed specimens you may have in your collection!

Specimen Identification is back! Join us this Saturday (1/16) at 1 pm as we share some tips and tricks for identifying samples. Our staff will also answer any questions you may have about your own! Pre-registration is required, specimens will be identified in order of registration. Visit penndixie.org/workshops/ for more information and to register now!

Geologist Dino Zack is telling us all about fluorescent minerals!

Thank you to New York Life Insurance Company for the Community Impact Grant which supports Penn Dixie’s Dig into Virtual STEM program. Together, we can help promote hands-on science education!

Without the generosity and vision of Robert J. Kresse and the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, Penn Dixie would not be the organization that you know and love. Thank you, Bob, for your dedication to the WNY nonprofit community.

While they aren’t closely related to the trilobites you find here at Penn Dixie, the trilobite beetle does get it’s name from our prehistoric pals!

Our turkeys wish you a Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Just in case anyone was wondering!

Unfortunately Erie County is headed towards a red zone which means a shutdown of all non-essential businesses. To prevent the loss of life we encourage everyone to follow important health measures such as wearing a face covering, practicing social distancing, and washing your hands. We're all in this together!

Due to maintenance, our office is closed on Saturday October 24 and Sunday October 25. Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve remains open on both days from 9 am to 4:30 pm. Our phone is not available; please contact us using the form below. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can. https://penndixie.org/2020/10/19/office-closed/

What killed the trilobites? During the Great Dying -- 252 million years ago, trilobites and most of Earth's species disappeared in our planet's largest extinction event ever. New isotopic evidence from our second favorite fossil, the brachiopod, shows how carbon dioxide emitted from volcanic sources triggered a global climate catastrophe.

Get your galoshes and your slicker - we are OPEN today for Self Guided Science from 10-2. We'll keep a close eye on the radar, should something change updates will be made via FB.

Today Earth Science Week 2020 (https://www.earthsciweek.org/) ends with International Archaeology Day (https://www.archaeological.org/progr/public/archaeologyday/). International Archaeology Day is a celebration of archaeology and its contributions to society. Paleontology and archaeology are often confused. While the two sciences are related, paleontology is the study of ancient life through geologic time using fossils, while archaeology is the study of human culture using artifacts.

Thank you to our friends at Explore & More - The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children's Museum for this fun, kid-friendly video on how to make a catapult!

We are thrilled that Penn Dixie and all of your favorite Erie County arts & cultural orgs are funded in the 2021 budget proposed by County Executive Mark Poloncarz! We thank the county executive, legislature, and the community for supporting our mission for 25 seasons. Next year WILL be better!

We're learning about the Devonian Period from PaleoJoe - Author, Lecturer, Paleontologist, and PaleoJoe The Fossil Shop

Today is National Fossil Day (https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossilday/index.htm)! This year’s National Fossil Day Logo (https://www.nps.gov//fossils-of-the-2020-national-fossil-d) is based on the ancient coral reefs in Guadalupe Mountains and the Glass Mountains of Texas and New Mexico. Though these Permian-age reefs are significantly younger than the Devonian-age reefs found at Penn Dixie, they contain many of the same fossils, including corals, crinoids, and brachiopods.

Did you know that each day during Earth Science Week (https://www.earthsciweek.org/) has a focus? Today’s focus is on minerals! A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid, with a definite chemical composition, and an ordered atomic arrangement. As of 2018, the International Mineralogical Association recognized over 5,000 minerals. One very cool mineral that is common at Penn Dixie is pyrite, also known as Fool’s Gold. Pyrite is iron sulfide (FeS2) and is gold in color. However, it is often a brownish-red color due to oxidation. Check out this cool pyritized cephalopod from Penn Dixie.