Discovery Center

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Explore the science of paleontology in this new gallery designed for young learners!

The Discovery Center—designed especially for families and upper elementary-age learners—is now open on the first floor, adjacent to the museum’s Paleontology Gallery. With interactive stations and hands-on learning, it’s a must-see addition to the museum.

Hands-on exhibit stations provide an opportunity to carefully examine evidence from our fossil record and to practice scientific thinking skills. Explore the difference between trace and body fossils, learn how artists and scientists work together to create depictions of extinct animals, compare the basic skeletal anatomy of human beings and other vertebrate animals, discover the clues paleontologists use to sort fossils from other natural objects, and much more!

Have you found a fossil?

Make an appointment for an in-person identification with a paleontologist in the Discovery Center! Appointments are available Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. (regular admission fees apply). To request an appointment, please send an email to TMMCollections@austin.utexas.edu.

Fossil identifications are for educational purposes only. Texas Science & Natural History Museum staff do not provide authentications (“Certificates of Authenticity”) or appraisals for monetary (market) value or for legal purposes.

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