Please note that on Sunday, October 20, NHM will close to the public at 2 pm, for the 16th Annual Haunted Museum event. We apologize for any inconvenience.

working on fossil dinosaur institute paleontology

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Stories about Fossils

museum installation of full-sized cryolophosaurus replica

Dinosaurs Excavations Fossils

Your Big Antarctic Dinosaurs Takeaways

image of stromatolite, oldest fossil

Oldest Fossils by Far

Stromatolites and trilobites

Project 23 boxes and bins

Excavations Fossils Microfossils

Treasure Boxes of the Ice Age

A decade of rich digs at Project 23

nate smith in antarctica

Meet Our Polar Explorer

Dr. Nathan Smith, Associate Curator of NHM’s Dinosaur Institute, is an experienced Antarctic fossil hunter.

Daejah Newton, with her sorting sheet looking at fossils

Fossil Hunters in the Classroom

This year, almost 700 students at six schools in L.A. have participated in microfossil sorting.

A few of the six-million-year-old coprolites (fossilized feces) of extinct bone-crushing dogs; the one on the right has visible bits of bone sticking out. (Ouch.)

Research and Collections

The Proof Is in the Pooping

Fossilized feces help confirm the diet of extinct “bone-crushing” dogs