Children Have The Opprtunity To Dig In The Dirt At Mystic Aquarium

By Rebecca Giantonio

Mystic, CT - Everyone knows about the marine animals at Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, but did you know you can now explore and touch sea creatures from millions of years ago? They are waiting to be uncovered by pint-size paleontologists in the new interactive exhibit Dig It! Prehistoric Creatures of the Sea, opening on Friday, October 10.

This first-of-its-kind, hands-on exhibit provides a unique workshop experience where kids can dig for hundreds of authentic sea fossils. Currently, only three of these exhibits are open in the United States.

“Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration is constantly evolving and creating new educational and interactive experiences for its visitors,” said Jonathan Scoones, director of exhibits at Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration. “We are excited to offer this unique exhibit, which engages and entertains the entire family while providing a new perspective on the history and evolution of our oceans.”

“The Aquarium is a natural fit for Prehistoric Creatures of the Sea,” said Dig It! Founder Jacqueline Drecksel. “Similar to the aquarium, kids learn without realizing it as they experience this exhibit. In addition, the theme brings the whole aquarium visit full circle – visitors see the live animals, and now they can learn about the history of sea life.”

Children are equipped with safety goggles, a pocketed apron and digging tools and led to the “Jurassic sand quarry,” where they can search for 14 different types of specimens hidden in sand from Utah’s deserts. The specimens range from shark and walrus teeth to fossilized whale ear bones (the whale’s inner ear), fish, coral and shark vertebrae. While digging, kids can refer to the fossil identification station, which features examples and information on each specimen in the “quarry.”

The fossils range in age from 500 to 600 million years old and come from Brazil, China, Europe, Madagascar, Morocco and the United States. Every three months, the types of fossils to be discovered change, so kids can find new specimens with each visit.

After their “excavations” are complete, little explorers continue to one of two prep stations, where they are provided with etching picks and tools to fully uncover their fossil. Those with shark or walrus teeth can sit at one of several beading tables offering a barrel of beads and hemp cords and string their own shark or walrus tooth necklace. Upon leaving the exhibit, children are given identification cards containing information on their fossil.

The exhibit is open during the Aquarium’s normal hours of operation and will remain at the Aquarium through January 2010. Admission into the exhibit is $4.99 per child and includes one fossil that the child can keep.

For each additional specimen to be brought home, the cost is $2.99.

About Dig It! The Fossil Workshop
Dig It! The Fossil Workshop was founded in 2002 by California native Jacqueline Drecksel. The concept developed from her love of fossil-excavating with her father as a child. After teaching geology and paleontology in Utah schools, Drecksel founded Dig It! as a fun and educational interactive workshop to share her passion with others.

About Sea Research Foundation, Inc.
Mystic Aquarium, Institute for Exploration and Immersion Presents are divisions of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., a private, non-profit, charitable organization incorporated in the State of Connecticut. The mission of Sea Research is to inspire people to care for and protect our ocean planet through education, research and exploration.