SEVENTH ANNUAL FOCUS ON FOSSILS WEEK SCHEDULED AT BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

From July 7 through July 13, Badlands National Park will be sponsoring its annual "Focus on Fossils Week." Visitors during this week will be able to view special exhibits inside the Ben Reifel Visitor Center in addition to the permanent fossil displays. Visitors are also invited to the "Big Pig Dig", the active paleontological site where over 6000 bones have been excavated since 1993. Paleontologists, including students from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, are working at the site from 9 AM to 5 PM, seven days a week. In addition, visitors will be able to view the regularly scheduled interpretive programs relating to fossils: Fossil Talks at 10:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 3:30 PM, and a Geology Walk at 9:30 AM.

Fossils are not just some relic of the past; they are a window that enables us to visualize a time long ago. By studying fossils it is possible to discover what kinds of creatures once roved the earth, the environments they lived in, and how the earth has and continues to change. Every day new fossils are found throughout the park, which continue to tell the story of how the Earth has changed over time. At Badlands National Park, there is a great tradition of fossil research. For the past 150 years, scholars from around the world have come to study the enormous cache of fossil resources found within the park. Researchers continue this tradition today while studying fossils in the park. Visitors to the park can discover the past personally while viewing fossils that have been excavated, watching an active paleontological dig site in the park, and looking for new fossil discoveries on their own.