Celebrate Paleontology Month

Date: June 16, 2006
Contact: Hallie Larsen, [phone] x274

Celebrate Paleontology Month at Petrified Forest July 2006

Petrified Forest, AZ – Petrified Forest National Park celebrates its 100th Anniversary during 2006. On June 8, 1906, the Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities (better known as the Antiquities Act) was signed by President Theodore Roosevelt. This law gives presidents the authority to proclaim and reserve "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" on lands owned or controlled by the United States as national monuments. Petrified Forest was one of the first places set aside as a national monument through the use of this Act.

July celebrates the main reason behind the original creation of the park: paleontology. Petrified logs are not the only fossils found at Petrified Forest. The park is a Triassic treasure trove featuring many ancient types of plants and animals. Petrified Forest National Park is a natural laboratory for researchers who continue to bring the Late Triassic to light. Celebrate Paleontology Month at Petrified Forest National Park!

Activities in the park include:

• A special temporary display at Painted Desert Inn Museum.
• Daily Triassic Park Programs meeting at Rainbow Forest Museum at 10 am.
• A self-guided Triassic Zoo hunt that can be picked up at Painted Desert Visitor Center, Painted Desert Inn Museum, Rainbow Forest Museum. This is a souvenir activity.
• Special Behind the Scenes programs in the park’s Museum Collection and in the Paleontology Preparation Laboratory – please check at the visitor facilities for details.
• Special Off the Beaten Path programs going with a ranger into areas most visitors don’t see – please check at the visitor facilities for details.
• An interactive fossil dig program – please check at the visitor facilities for details.

For more information call [phone] weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time; or write to the Superintendent, Petrified Forest National Park, P.O. Box 2217, Petrified Forest, AZ 86028; or e-mail the park Superintendent at e-mail us.