JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 19, 2022) – This summer, paleontologists at the Gray Fossil Site and Museum are going to be busy with the tasks of excavating and preserving fossils, and they’re looking for volunteers to help out.
On Saturday, April 30, the museum will host a volunteer drive where attendees will
learn about the ongoing operations at the site and how they can participate this year.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. – noon.
The Gray Fossil Site, overseen by the Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology
at East Tennessee State University, is all that remains of a five-million-year-old
ecosystem that was once home to a variety of ancient plants and animals. Since the
discovery of the site in 2000, volunteers have been invaluable contributors to the
museum’s work of collecting, cleaning and sorting the site’s many thousands of fossils,
from tiny plant seeds and fish bones to massive rhino and mastodon skeletons.
The museum needs volunteers now more than ever to support the crucial process of getting
fossils out of the sediment and into museum storage, museum officials said. This year’s
volunteers will have the opportunity to participate in the field as well as inside
the lab. Volunteer positions will begin in May.
After the drive, volunteers can apply by filling out an application form on-site or
online. No prior experience with fossils is necessary to apply. Applicants may be
as young as 16, and minors will require a guardian’s signature to apply. Volunteers
can work three or more hours per week on a mixture of indoor and outdoor activities,
but positions are limited.
Get more information about volunteering. For further questions, contact Shawn Haugrud at haugrud@etsu.edu.
The Gray Fossil Site and Museum is located at 1212 Suncrest Drive in Gray.