Does the Field Museum sponsor any fossil collecting trips?

Yes, the Education Department runs field trips every year in Spring and Fall to Mazon Creek, to collect million year old plants and invertebrates. For more information, search our list of field trips in the Museum's Calendar of Events.

Are there any places around Chicago I can go on my own to collect fossils?

Yes, the Mazonia-Braidwood Fish and Wildlife Area. You no longer need to acquire a permit to collect fossils. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources does request that you report any fossils that you find, forms are available at the Mazonia-Braidwood Fish and Wildlife Area.

You can visit the web sites of the Northeastern Illinois University's Mazon Creek Project, Illinois State Museum in Springfield, Illinois and the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois to learn more about the fossils in Mazon Creek.

Are there any clubs where I can meet people who share interests in geology and fossils?

If you are in the Chicagoland area, you may find the website for ESCONI (Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois) which meets at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, of interest. Their goal is to encourage interest in the Earth Sciences, and they have monthly meetings (except in the summer) and regular field trips to local fossil and mineral sites. There are special interest groups in the areas of archaeology, lapidary, minerals, and paleontology, as well as a Juniors' Group. A show during the first weekend of March and Flea Market on the first Saturday in October help members share their collections and expertise with the public.

Are there any other organizations that run field trips in Illinois?

The web site for the Illinois State Geological Survey, which is located in the Urbana-Champaign area, contains information about upcoming field trips. The Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois and the Burpee Museum of Natural History also coordinates field trips.

Are there any organizations that run fossil collecting expeditions outside of Illinois?

Yes, in fact there are several institutions that sponsor both short one-day and longer extended expeditions, many with museum paleontologists. Some run trips outside the U.S., and some even have trips geared for children. Visit:

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Museum of Western Colorado's "Dino Digs"

Earthwatch Institute

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology

Worth a special mention is the Dinosaur National Monument located in Vernal, Utah & Dinosaur, Colorado. Inside the park (in Utah) is Dinosaur Quarry, which is open to the public and has both fossilized bones still in the ground and exhibits and a fossil preparation lab visible to the public nearby.

I think I found a fossil- can you tell me how much it's worth?

As a not-for-profit institution we are not allowed to make valuations or appraisals of any kind.

Where does the Field Museum get its fossils? Do you ever buy them?

The Geology Department has many scientists on staff who go on field expeditions all over the world to collect fossils for our collections, and usually for active research programs. When our staff collect fossils they take detailed notes and sketches of the surrounding geology- without that context, a fossil by itself has much less value. However, we do very infrequently purchase specimens that might aid a particular research program or exhibit, fill a gap in our own collections or are important due to their completeness or rarity. Many interesting or important fossils have been donated to us by dedicated amateur collectors or the general public. We also sometimes exchange fossils with museums in the U.S. or internationally, to help our and their collections.

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