GEOL491: Field Paleontology

College Students

Are you a student looking for an opportunity to gain experience in paleontology and earn credits? Or maybe you are trying to decide if paleontology is the best fit for your interests and career goals? Either way, our Field Paleontology course is the right fit for you!

About the Course

This course is designed to provide extensive field-based opportunities for students to interpret the paleoecological conditions present in the Bighorn Basin region during the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic eras of geologic time. Students will spend their days searching for, collecting, excavating, and documenting fossils, fossil localities, and geological evidence for the paleoenvironmental conditions that existed in this region many millions of years ago.  Most field collecting and instruction will focus on the Jurassic Morrison Formation, with potential additional opportunities to work in the latest Cretaceous Lance Formation. Students also will learn about the larger-scale regional geology, stratigraphy, and paleogeography. 

Throughout the course, you will work alongside paleontologists and graduate students with various backgrounds and fields of expertise. Informal evening classroom sessions will provide interactive instruction and hands-on activities. For a detailed daily schedule, see syllabus.

Meet the Instructor

Dr. Rick Schmidt is the professor for this course, and brings decades of geoscience education experience, including leading this course since its inception in 2017. Dr. Schmidt will be assisted by all of the Elevation Science Institute staff, reflecting a diverse assemblage of professional paleontologists, experiences, and backgrounds, working with you to provide the most hands-on, instructive, and broad-based experience possible.

What will you learn and excavate?

It’s always great when we know ahead of time exactly what we’ll be working on. That’s the case for the 2025 Field Expedition, and that’s because all of our previous seasons have been so productive.

The Morrison Formation is world famous for holding the remains of many of the largest animals to ever walk the Earth, as well as many of the most iconic dinosaurs!  Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Diplodocus . . . these, and many others like Suuwassea, Hesperosaurus, and Hesperornithoides, are the dinosaurs we’re uncovering every day in the field.  Last season we continued excavations in multiple quarries and bone beds, but completed operations in only one of them! The rest of those skeletons are waiting for our return and will keep us busy for the next few years! Each of these specimens are preserved in continental rocks from the Jurassic Period (~150 million years ago). These rocks preserve the remains of dinosaurs and many other lifeforms - all important pieces of the larger puzzle that we’re trying to assemble.  Comparatively little is known about the Morrison or its fossil treasures this far north, though, and that’s where we come in!

You don’t have to be an expert to learn and contribute to the Expedition.  Through engaging evening lessons and fully hands-on field work, we will teach you everything you need to know to find, identify, and excavate dinosaur and other fossil remains.  Within the first few minutes on your first day in the field, you’ll develop an eye for fossils, and you’ll begin to see dinosaur bones everywhere! 

GEOL 491 Availability (2025)

UPDATED: October 13, 2024

WEEKS        DATES         NUMBER OF 2025 STUDENT SPOTS AVAILABLE

2 & 3            July 6 - July 19      5 of 12 spots available

Accommodations

We will stay at the Yellowstone-Bighorn Research Association (YBRA) just south of Red Lodge, Montana.

First built in the 1930's, YBRA is a comfortable facility with cabins, showers, home-style cooking, spectacular views, and incredible sunsets almost every night! Camp is located on the edge of the front range of the Beartooth Mountains overlooking Red Lodge. Pets are not allowed.

For more information on travel, lodging, and much more, please see our Public Expeditions and FAQs pages.

What happens to the fossils we collect?

All of the fossils are delivered to the Cincinnati Museum Center, where our fossil prep staff and volunteers remove the fossil from the jackets, clean them, make any necessary repairs, and prepare them for study by our scientists. This process can be time consuming, especially when we commonly collect 2.5 TONS of material each summer or more! CMC is also our official repository, which means that all of the vertebrate and scientifically important plant and invertebrate fossils collected by Elevation Science Institute will be housed there permanently. We're extremely proud to be working with this internationally recognized and world-renowned institution!

Note: Visitors Must Adhere to Federal Law

• There are very strict rules governing the collection of fossils from the public lands where we work. These rules MUST be adhered to – revocation of our collecting permits, or even prosecution, may result if these rules are violated. There will be many opportunities to collect non-vertebrate fossils for your personal collection. Since this is a research project first and foremost though, all materials collected for personal use must be approved by Elevation Science Institute Expedition staff.

What options are there for financial aid?

• Be sure to ask your advisor or professors within your department. There is a lot of funding available these days for outside courses, especially field programs.

• The National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) provides scholarships for field programs.

  
  
  

The Montana Geological Society is generously offering a $250 scholarship to one outstanding student this summer! The awardee will be chosen based on their performance in the class.

The Paleontological Society is offering the Heidemarie Johnson Scholarship Fund in Applied Educational Experiences to support undergraduate and graduate student members of the Paleontological Society who wish to attend in-person or virtual training courses or workshops that will enhance their scientific knowledge or skills beyond the training that is available to them at their institution of higher learning. Eligible costs include workshop fees and associated travel expenditures (transportation, lodging, meals, etc.). Priority for support will be given to students who are pursuing academic or non-academic careers in paleontology and closely-related fields.

Ready to Sign Up?

COVID and Assumption of Risk

Exposure to COVID-19 is an inherent risk in any public location where people are present; we cannot guarantee you will not be exposed during your visit to our facilities or participation in our programs. The CDC advises that older adults, people who are unvaccinated for COVID-19, and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness from Coronavirus. All attendees should evaluate their own risk in determining whether to participate in Elevation Science Institute’s programming or events. People who show no symptoms can spread Coronavirus if they are infected, and any interaction with the general public poses an elevated risk of being exposed to Coronavirus. By attending or participating in an Elevation Science Institute program or event, you acknowledge and agree that you assume these inherent risks for yourself and your child(ren).

We will update our COVID-19 page soon. Please check back often for updates.