Saturday, October 7, and Sunday, October 8
From the Coal Age to the Ice Age, the museum’s collection of fossil specimens brings the past to life! Come join in the festivities and see fossilized plants and animals that once roamed the Earth.
Fossil Frenzy Family Fun
Cost: Free with museum admission
Activities include: Displayed fossils from the museum’s vaults, special fossil quest, fossil puzzle, make your own trilobite mask and more.
1:00pm-3:00pm: Mad Mike’s Fossil Identification
Cost: Free with Museum admission
Are your fossils perplexing? From ferns to trilobites, bring your favorite unknown fossils to be identified by the museum’s geologist. Also see some fossils from the museum’s vaults.
2:00pm: Cosmic Collisions Planetarium Show
Cost: $3.00 (includes museum admission fee), Children under age 4 are not permitted in the planetarium.
Take a thrilling trip through space and time, well beyond the calm face of the night sky, to explore cosmic collisions, hypersonic impacts that drive the dynamic and continuing evolution of the universe. Show produced by the American Museum of Natural History.
National Fossil Day is a celebration organized to promote public awareness and stewardship of fossils, as well as to foster a greater appreciation of their scientific and educational value.
When is the museum open?
The museum is open every day from 10:00am to 4:00pm, with last admission at 3:30pm. The museum is closed 10:00am to 1:00pm the first Monday of every month, October through March, for our monthly Homeschool Adventures programming. Please note: No food or drink are permitted in the museum and planetarium, this includes the museum’s lobby and entryway.
When is the planetarium open?
Located in the Museum of Natural History, the planetarium is a dome theatre which is only open during showtimes. Public planetarium shows are offered at 2pm every Saturday and Sunday, during RI February and April school vacation weeks and daily in July and August. Please check our calendar of events for other public planetarium show offerings. Early arrival is suggested as tickets are sold first-come, first-served. People are not permitted to enter the planetarium once the show has begun. Please note: There are no planetarium shows when the museum is closed.
What are the admission fees?
Museum admission is $2 per person. Children under age 4 are free. Some special programs have a separate admission.
Planetarium admission (includes museum admission) is $3 per person. Children under age 4 are not permitted in the planetarium.