Fossil Friendly: Play paleontologist in these western states

If you think the western U.S. has interesting sites above ground, just take a look at what's underneath the surface. The region's bedrock holds a vast array of treasures, including fossils that fascinate amateur paleontologists from young to old. An added bonus is that new scientific discoveries happen each year, as more sites are discovered, catalogued, and studied.

Here are five destinations that will please fossil-fanciers of all ages:

Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota

During the last Ice Age 26,000 years ago, this spot was a sinkhole where many animals lost their lives. Today it holds the world's largest concentration of mammoth remains, the majority from the North American Columbian mammoth. Parts from more than 60 of the huge beasts have been found here, along with fossils from animals that include llama, wolf, prairie dog, camel, and giant short-faced bear.

After a 10-minute video and half-hour guided tour through the fossil pit, visitors explore on their own. In the Ice Age Exhibit Hall, they can see replicas of the animals that once roamed here and walk inside a cast of a mammoth bone. Amateur scientists will also be fascinated by the workings of the on-site paleontology lab, visible through a window.

Visitors can also take a 30-minute, behind-the-scenes tour that includes a presentation at the paleontology lab and the chance to ask questions of the scientists working there.

More info: www.mammothsite.com

Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station in Malta, Montana

Come to these sites to get your hands dirty digging for fossils in the surrounding hills. Staff paleontologists lead the digs, teaching participants about local geology and surveying techniques, how to excavate bones and record scientific data, and how to safely transport fossils.

'Our digs give visitors a true immersion experience,' says DollyAnn Willcutt, administrator for the museum. 'They're located about 35 miles away from our museum in a remote area and run for one to five days. We're primarily digging up dinosaurs in the duck-billed family. We also offer a children's dig program at a closer site.'

The museum itself has fossils from fish, plants, invertebrates, and dinosaur species such as Stegosaurus, Sauropod, and Triceratops. An on-site fossil preparation lab allows visitors to see the staff at work. The museum is part of the Montana Dinosaur Trail, which includes some of the world's most significant dinosaur discoveries at 14 sites in 12 communities across the state.

More info: www.greatplainsdinosaurs.org

Dinosaur National Monument on the border of Colorado and Utah

This monument preserves some of the richest dinosaur fossil beds ever discovered, plus 210,000 acres of sculpted desert canyons. Seven miles north of Jensen, Utah, the Quarry Visitor Center provides an orientation to the site and a shuttle during the summer season to the enclosed Quarry Exhibit Hall (in less busy times, visitors drive their own cars to the site). The hall has 1500 Jurassic-age fossils encased in a 'Wall of Bones.' Murals depict what the Stegosaurus, Allosaurus, and Apatosaurus found here may have looked like when they were alive. There are several places where visitors can touch the nearly 150 million year old remains.

Visitors can take ranger-led tours relating to the fossil treasures of the monument, and may want to expand their trip to explore the rest of the region. In addition to hiking and scenic drives, scenic river rafting can be enjoyed on the Green and Yampa Rivers. The route to the rafting launch area has impressive 10,000-year-old petroglyphs done by the Fremont Indians.

More info: www.nps.gov/dino/index.htm

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, California

Not all fossil sites are outdoors. The Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County ranks among the finest exhibits of fossils in the world. The 14,000-square-foot space displays more than 300 fossils and 20 complete mounts of dinosaurs and sea creatures. Its centerpiece is an unusual series of mounts showing the growth of a Tyrannosaurus rex from 11-foot long baby, to 20-foot long juvenile, to 34-foot adult. The latter is one of the most complete T. rex skeletons ever discovered.

The hall uses the latest in museum technology to engage visitors, who can touch specimens, do their own excavation on interactive touchscreens, and watch videos of paleontologists in the field. The exhibit draws on the work of the museum's in-house Dinosaur Institute and uses new display techniques that reveal previously little known details of the fossils. For example, some are red and green in hue, colors picked up from the minerals in the surrounding soil, while others show internal organs, skin textures, and even the contents of a stomach.

Guided tours at the museum include a behind-the-scenes look at the exhibits, Scavenger's Safaris led by scientists and collections managers, and many educational activities geared to children and students. A visit to this museum can be combined with its affiliated institution, the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, site of a famous excavation of Ice Age fossils. 

More info: www.nhm.org/site

Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas

At this park near Fort Worth, people can walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs, tracks that were formed when the area was on the edge of an ancient ocean. Two types of footprints are found here, one from Sauropods, which weighed up to 44,000 pounds and stretched for 60 feet, and the other by Theropod, a much smaller, three-toed dinosaur. Few experiences give a more visceral sense of the size of these animals than seeing the deep impressions they made in the mud some 100 million years ago.

'Some of the footprints made by the Sauropods are three feet long and 18 inches deep,' says Kathy Lenz, park interpreter. 'And as long as people don't damage them, we allow people to step in them. It's an amazing thing to walk in the footprints of a creature that lived 113 million years ago.'

The best time to see the tracks are in the late summer when the water levels are likely to be at their lowest. Visitors can also take guided tours of the tracks with a park interpreter.

More info: www.tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/dinosaur-valley.