This specific program runs from October-November each year.
YOU can enjoy the fun of identifying and exploring fossils from home!
Burpee is excited to share the history of the earth with you! We have collected fossils for you to identify and explore dating back to over 400 million years ago, your mystery pack may contain petrified wood from the Jurassic Utah site, crinoids from the shallow seas that once covered our region, prehistoric oysters, and more.
Fossil kits are free with paid admission, and always free for members.
Not interested in viewing the museum today? Feel free to pick up your kit as "science carryout" to discover at home, and visit us another day.
2020 Start Date: October 3rd
2020 COVID-19 Update: Due to restrictions, Burpee is asking that you schedule your fossil pick-up date online or by phone to ensure availability. This will help our staff ensure proper social distancing during the exchange, and an appropriate amount of materials for your safety. Please note that masks are required by all guests and staff for this exchange.
Crinoid Fossils
358 Million Years Old+
These animals looked more like sea lilies or flowers with long stalks that have fallen apart to make tiny circle shaped fossils in these sedimentary rocks.
Petoskey Coral Fossil
358 Million Years Old+
Long ago, Michigan was located near the equator and covered by a warm, shallow, saltwater sea. The coral Hexagonaria Percarinata thrived in the reefs. Look for six-sided corallites, which are the skeletons of the once-living polyps.
Petrified Wood Fossil
145 million years old+
Ancient trees turned to stone! These trees may have washed down a river and buried under layers of mud. These jurassic conifers are from Hanksville, Utah.
Oyster Fossil
65 Million Years Old+
These are extinct oysters, fossil marine bivalve mollusks, that lived during the Cretaceous time period with dinosaurs such as the mighty T. rex and triceratops!
River Stones
Jurassic Dig Site
Among the dinosaur fossils we find at the Hanksville Burpee Dinosaur Quarry are rocks from the bed of ancient rivers that moved with the dead dinosaurs in fast moving water.
Various Coral Fossils
358 Million Years Old+
Many of the stones washing up on the beaches of Lake Michigan have coral fossils, evidence of a warm sea from long ago. Honeycomb corals are another type of extinct coral called favositid corals. Look for organ pipe corals, or syringoporoid corals!