News Feed
Summer 2021 Fossil Dig
Thank you all for such a great 2021 season. We appreciate everyone coming out to our little slice of the Cretaceous. This summer has been full of wonderful people and crazy adventures hunting for dinosaurs. We have made some great finds and we look forward to digging with you next season.
- Hell Creek Fossils Staff
In 2018 the Make-A-Wish Foundation sent Chas, a fellow dinosaur enthusiast, and his family to dig with us. We enjoyed having Chas and his family join our excavations and hope to see them again! You can learn more about Chas’ story by following the news link below. Photo from: Feb. 24, 2018. Olivia Vanni/Naples Daily News, https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/communities/collier-citizen/2018/02/28/dream-come-true-make-wish-sends-teen-dinosaur-lover-fossil-hunt-montana/383810002/
Photograph by Richard Barnes for The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/08/the-day-the-dinosaurs-died
Interesting discussion over possible discoveries in our field area. Check out this National Geographic article for more information: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/03/fossils-found-from-day-dinosaurs-died-chicxulub-tanis-cretaceous-extinction/
The Last Dinosaur: Hunting T. rex in the Badlands of North Dakota.
What big teeth you found: Winona State showcases new dinosaur fossils
Chuck Miller, Winona Daily News
"The discoveries were made in North Dakota this summer during an excavation by Winona State students and Hell Creek Fossils, a paleontology company owned and operated by school alums."... (Farris, Kyle. "Winona Daily News." N.p., 16 Oct. 2016. Web.) Full Article: http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/what-big-teeth-you-found-winona-state-showcases-new-dinosaur/article_2b7b811d-2342-53de-85a9-47dcf739ca5f.html
HCF: Continued Education for Teachers
Hell Creek Fossils LLC is putting together a continued education program for educators. No prior knowledge would be necessary. Anyone in the program would participate in the dinosaur dig charter same as participants. As part of the program, teachers would be able to expand their knowledge of paleontology, dinosaurs, and earth science. If anyone would be interested in participating in this program, please let us know and share this with others.
Articles and publications
Paleo-education and the scientific value of fossils is very important to us. That being said, graduate and undergraduate student researchers make up a significant portion of our scientific research efforts. Without their help and your support we would not be able to conduct these studies.
The Death of a Dinosaur: What it reveals about a prehistoric environment - Breanna Babcock, Amber Schmidt W.L. Beatty
Faunal Analysis of a Fossil Microsite from the Late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation, North Dakota Samantha I. Khatri1, W. Lee Beatty1, Adam Schroeder2
Department of Geoscience, Winona State University, Winona, MN; 2Hell Creek Fossils LLC, Rapid City, SD
brain of Triceratops-"This specimen is arguably the most informative cast available including unknown and inadequately described aspects of the brain of Triceratops." (Hanks, Erickson, & Haire, 2016)
Winona State University student Emily Thorpe presents her research project on fossil pollen from North Dakota. Samples were collected while participating in the Hell Creek Fossils dig as part of a student research group lead by Dr. William Beatty. Great job on your project Emily!
View GigaPan: http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans
Summer 2012 - Excavating a hadrosaur skeleton. The skeleton was found in the 66 million year old Hell Creek Formation, just below the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary that marks the extinction of the dinosaurs.