Digging Up the Past and My Future

Written by Sarah Kate Brinson, 2024 participant

Sarah Kate holding a theropod tooth she excavated, 2024

Since I was little, I have always enjoyed digging, sifting, and beachcombing for fossils and shells, often dragging my friends and family to tag along. Living in Eastern North Carolina, I have found tons of marine specimens, but did not have the chance to search for anything else, let alone dinosaur bones. I was considering studying paleontology in college, so when I was offered the incredible opportunity to travel on a dinosaur dig with Elevation Science, I immediately agreed to see if this was what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life. The fact that I was able to not only touch dinosaur bones, but also excavate them, still feels so surreal to me.

The first day we visited the field, I began with clearing an area to flip a large jacket, but first had to excavate a tooth. I have been picking up thousands of sharks teeth since I could walk, so being able to contrast the color and texture of shark and dinosaur teeth was truly amazing. Luckily, the chunk of rock holding the tooth popped out of the rock, so I was able to avoid the monotonous hammering that I soon experienced when I discovered a cervical rib. That night, after a long day of digging, my mom asked me if this was really what I wanted to do for the next four days, and I responded, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

The next two days consisted of continuing to excavate my cervical rib, and flipping the large jacket. It was amazing being able to see first hand exactly how paleontologists work and being able to participate in it myself, from jacketing fossils to uncovering missing pieces of Earth’s timeline. Not only did I enjoy working in the field, but I also loved the seminars that we had every night to dive deeper into the environment around us and details of the dinosaurs we were uncovering.

Sarah Kate and her mother, Brandy, posing with a femur at the Skywalker Site

We then moved our excavations to the Mother’s Day site where I was able to uncover another discovery. This site was so cool due to the history, and it was so intriguing to learn the scientists’ thoughts on why there were so many juvenile specimens in one place. I hope to make a discovery as interesting as this someday!

Although I loved breaking apart rocks and uncovering bones, I found myself even more excited by prospecting. Prospecting reminds me of my years of experience combing the beach for all kinds of specimens, but is different in that most shells pop out due to their different colors in the sand whereas many of the fossils I found blended into the dirt. At first, I felt I had a pretty good eye for identifying fossils, but later determined I definitely needed some work judging between dinosaur bone and petrified wood. I have some wood that was given to me, and have always been fascinated by it, so I was very excited to find so many pieces to add to my collection. I brought my collection back to the site to find out it was just a bunch of dinosaur bones. I guess I have a pretty good eye for dinosaur bone but not for petrified wood.

I loved seeing people from all different backgrounds intrigued by paleontology, whether it was other people participating in the dig or a woman and her daughter riding their horses from a nearby farm. I had never seen someone riding a horse outside of a typical barn setting, especially riding their horse to the nearby dinosaur site. At home, I often spread my love for paleontology with all kinds of people, whether it is just starting a simple conversation with a family friend or bringing in matrix filled with sharks teeth and other microfossils to the underprivileged kids that I tutor. Being able to watch interest in paleontology ignite in others is such an amazing feeling, which is why I have considered becoming a teacher in paleontology.

Sarah Kate after jacketing at the Mother’s Day Quarry

I am currently in the middle of college applications, and all of my friends are constantly complaining about how exhausting dealing with the Common App is, and sometimes I completely agree with them, but overall, I really have enjoyed the process. Applying to colleges has only made me so much more excited about what my future holds. I cannot wait to dive into anything and everything in the field of paleontology. Even though I am not sure yet where I want to attend, I know that no matter where I end up, I will be able to thrive because I will be learning about the most interesting topic on the planet.

Through my applications, I find myself constantly reliving that incredible week, whether it is through writing supplemental essays about my experience, or through learning how I will be able to further my studies at whatever university I decide to attend. I am so incredibly thankful for Elevation Science’s work to give me this opportunity and hope to be able to visit again soon!