Elevation Science Institute for Natural History Exploration

Edit: It's also important to note that while sometimes fossil mounts are composed of real bones, others are made completely of casts so that the real fossils can remain safe in collections and available for research!

This #Halloween, we're talking about FOSSIL FRANKENSTEINS! ⚡

Most dinosaurs you see in museums are "Frankensteins", built from the bones of several individuals or replicas that fill in the gaps. Next time you visit a museum, remember: you're looking at many hours of research and reconstruction!

We're having field flashbacks!

As it gets colder in our little corners of the world, we're throwing it back to field season: covered in dust, sun-soaked and sunscreened, and taking it one discovery at a time.

Who's ready to get back to the quarry next summer!?

GEOL 491: Field Paleontology (For College Credit) — Elevation Science Institute Are you a college student looking for an opportunity to gain experience in field paleontology while earning credits? GEO491 may be the course for you!

Learn more and sign up here: elevationscience.org/college-stud...

Ready to dig into real paleontology?

Our 2026 Field Paleontology Course is open for enrollment! Spend part of your summer in Montana learning fossil excavation, mapping, and field techniques alongside professional paleontologists.

🤝 Hands-on science.
🦕 Jurassic fossils.
⛰️ Unforgettable experience.

Please join us in wishing a very happy birthday to our Paleo Lab Manager, Katie Hunt! 🎉

Meet Our Staff — Elevation Science Institute Meet the team that brings you exceptional hands-on experiences in paleontology and natural history!

Read more about Brandan here: elevationscience.org/staff

Meet our 2025-2026 Fossil Prep Intern, Brandan Miller!

A senior at Indiana University, Brandan's been volunteering in the Paleo Prep Lab at the Cincinnati Museum Center since 2022 and now joins us as our first fossil prep intern!

We're thrilled to have him on the team!

Day 3/3 for outreach events this week! Finished off with the sweetest group of little ones!

Day 2/3 for outreach this week! ✅

Day 1 of 3 for outreach events this week! Great way to spend #NationalFossilDay! 🦴

Happy #NationalFossilDay!
Celebrate with us by visiting one of our partner prep labs to see fossils being uncovered in real time!

📍 Cincinnati Museum Center — open daily, 10 AM–5 PM
📍 Montana Natural History Center — Tue–Sat, 10 AM–4 PM

No better way to celebrate than watching science in action!

Wanna nerd out about dinosaurs with us in person? Join our field crew next summer and spend your days digging up dinosaurs in the Montana sunshine!

Learn more at elevationscience.org!

Big find at the Mother’s Day Quarry! 🦕

Participant Beth Wolf discovered a sauropod tooth during Week One of our 2025 field season. These Jurassic giants had spoon- or peg-shaped teeth perfect for stripping leaves...and they likely replaced them every 30–60 days!

#FossilFriday

From Participant to Intern: A Journey in the Field — Elevation Science Institute Written by Adam Johnson

What's it like to go from participant to intern? Find out on our newest blog post! 👇

elevationscience.org/field-journa...

Dig dinosaurs in Montana with Elevation Science! Join our 2026 expedition and help uncover fossils, learn excavation techniques, and explore the Bighorn Basin. No experience needed, just curiousity and a sense of adventure!

elevationscience.org/fossil-dig-e...

Join us in wishing Scicomm Manager and Field Tech @thedinomancer.bsky.social a very happy birthday!

Digging for dinosaurs isn’t just about finding fossils; it’s about protecting them too. This summer, our Field Paleontology students dug drainage ditches to keep rain from damaging exposed bones. Paleontology is about discovery, but it’s also stewardship!

It’s National Public Lands Day!

From hiking Montana’s gorges to uncovering dinosaur bones, our work is only possible thanks to public lands. These places are living classrooms where fossils are studied and science connects people across generations.

Go out and enjoy your local public lands today!

Thank you, public lands! We hope you're out and about celebrating today somewhere on the trail, in the trees, at the shore, watching wildlife, on a scenic fall drive…there are so many ways to enjoy and explore our beautiful public lands!

#nationalpubliclandsday

A new megaraptoran genus named Joaquinraptor, with a crocodyliform humerus found between its teeth/jaws.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The Megaraptor Had Giant Claws and an Appetite for Crocodilians

For the @nytimes.com, I wrote about Joaquinraptor, a new species from a very cool family of dinosaurs: long-armed, hook clawed (possible) tyrannosaur relatives from South America

Had a CROC-kin' good time at the Alabama Fossil Fest! 🐊

It was so fun connecting with hundreds of people from all over the southeast to talk about fossils, dinosaurs, and the incredible work being done by @elevationscience.bsky.social. Big thanks to everyone who chatted with me!

Today is the fall equinox: when day and night are nearly equal as the Sun crosses the celestial equator. From here, nights grow longer, days shorter, and autumn officially begins. Happy Fall Equinox! ✨🍂

Have you ever seen an Allosaurus foot up close? 🦖 Check out this one that we dug up in the 2025 field season!

Stay tuned next week as we dive a little deeper into the discovery of this incredible animal!

#ZAVACEPHALE IS FINALLY OUT! 🥳 Our first definitive Early Cretaceous pachycephalosaur! (~15 my older than the previous oldest pachycephalosaurs) And the first hand material for the clade! I can't tell y'all how much of a pleasure it was to review this paper! ☺️

Why the 2025 Field Season Rocked — Elevation Science Institute Every field season is unique. Some bring breakthroughs, big or small. Some bring more questions than answers. Some make you sweat more than you'd like (Actually, all of them do that, but I digress). B...

Another field season is in the books, and this one was full of surprises, science, and some serious teamwork. Come see why the 2025 season rocked (and why we’re already dreaming of next year)!

Read the latest on The Field Journal:

elevationscience.org/field-journa...

What a cool moment!

Field intern Adam Johnson got to visit the Allosaurus femur he worked on for four weeks, after it came from the field and into the lab!

Visit the Cincinnati Museum Center to see what other projects are going on at the Paleo Prep Lab!

A new paper by Bertozzo et al. describes 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙞, a basal hadrosauroid from the Lower Cretaceous of Portugal 🦖 The most complete iguanodontian skull specimen found in Portugal, offers insights into cranial development and anatomy during hadrosauroid evolution: buff.ly/FMnyy1m #PaleoSky

For #FossilFriday, we're covering the process of winter jacketing in the field!

Ever wonder what happens to the fossils we leave behind? They get winter jackets! Not to keep them warm, but to protect them from the elements and local wildlife during the harsh Montana weather.