Our grandson is obsessed with digging for fossils so we just had to come! The museum is super cool with all kinds of displays of fossils found in the area. We went early in the day to beat the crowds. We paid in the store to dig and the staffer gave us a brief orientation on what rocks that were likely to have imprints or fossils, what the difference was and how to chip the rocks. He also lent us chisels and tools. The dig area is up the road and has several shaded tables and benches to chip the rocks open. The hill is a bit tricky to get up and down because of the gravelly terrain so be aware. There is a trail off to the side for those who don't want to tackle the hill. And bring lots of water and hats because it gets HOT! After you're done, you bring back your find to the museum and the staff will identify it for you. He told us we could take 3 home per person so we got some pretty cool souvenirs! read more

Stonerose Interpretive Center - Museums Near Me - Republic, Washington

This is definitely worth a try. They were so friendly and helpful. Went over the best way to find a fossil and what to expect. We rented hammers and chisels from them. Found several fossils after only a couple of hours (or less) of chiseling and hunting. They were nothing too exciting, just wood and reeds. But it was a great experience. When we showed our finds back at the center, they were identified immediately. Very impressed with the knowledge of the staff. read more

Stonerose Interpretive Center - Reed - Museums Near Me - Republic, Washington

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nice day trip for fossil hunting! the staff was super informative and helpful. lots more work than i thought it would be. i'd highly recommend sharpening tools before coming and to use screwdrivers instead. Also to bring foam pads to kneel and sit on. Overall nice day in a cute town. read more

For $10 per person, $5 for kids, it was a helluva lot of hot & sweaty work to walk away with some partial leaf impressions. The young man who checked us out at the end was very friendly & knowledgable, but it sucked to have to wait for the very large party ahead of us when we were hot, tired, & hungry. It provided a decent memory, but I doubt you could get any of us to go again. read more

Stonerose Interpretive Center - Hot work - Museums Near Me - Republic, Washington

Enjoyable day looking for fossils. Staff was very helpful. I would recommend this place.

We had so much fun digging and learning about the awesome fossils that we found! The town of Republic is a great place to visit. Such beautiful scenery! I definitely recommend adding this to your list of family adventures!!! read more

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My daughter wants to be a paleontologist and did her job shadow here. It was a great experience. The staff was friendly and helpful as well as knowledgeable. We found some great fossils and had a great time. read more

Stonerose Interpretive Center - Digging for fossils - Museums Near Me - Republic, Washington

The "best preserved specimens" of the Florissantia quilchenensis (stonerose) can be found at the Stonerose Interpretive Center. In the store you can see all kinds of amazing fossils that have been found at the location, books, postcards, souvenirs, etc. But that's not why you go to Stonerose, you go there to dig! The dig site is only a short walk up the hill from the interpretive center, so after checking in with the workers at the office, they let you free to explore & dig on your own! For a fee (see below) you can spend the whole day chiseling the shale (volcanic ash turned to sediment). You are almost guaranteed to find some kind of fossil while you are digging whether it is lake bottom material, a ginko leaf, or the prized stonerose. Sometimes you don't have to look far to find a fossil, you might just turn over a discarded piece of shale and find a stonerose like we did! We also found a ginko leaf, lake bottom material, and lots more. It is impressive if only for the fact that it's 45 million years old. When you first split a piece of shale it will be wet, so if you touch the fossil you will smear it. For that reason you have to let it air dry after splitting for a while before you can touch it. This is a great place to engage the aspiring scientist both young and young at heart. When you have completed digging and splitting and chosen the fossils you wish to take home (there is a limit of 5 I think), you take them back to the center and someone will assist you in identifying what you have found and help do some more delicate chiseling to reveal even more of your fossil than you thought was there! The Details: The charge is $8 per adult or $5 for kids 6-8. Kids under 6 are free. College students and senior citizens $5. You can rent a hammer and chisel for $5, or bring your own (1/2 inch cold chisel is recommended). You can use screwdrivers or putty knives too if you really want to. We actually purchased a yearly membership to the Burke Museum in Seattle (which gives you free admission to the Burke Museum, Port Townsend Marine Science Center, and the Stonerose Interpretive Center! The cost of the membership paid for itself with our visits to all these places. They are clear that they reserve the right to keep any specimens that one might find that could be useful to the center or other scientists. If you are so lucky to find something like this, they may keep it, and should later contact you about it so they can let you know what's been done with it, or arrange to send it to you when they are through with it. I wasn't so lucky to find anything THAT cool, but one can only hope I guess. I wouldn't let that possibility stop you from doing this as a day adventure because it sure is fun. read more

Stonerose is one of those really cool places that you only get to experience once or twice. (unless you come back all the time). It's an awesome PUBLIC FOSSIL DIG! with nice staff. If your looking for something to do with your kids or just a weekend vacation to the country this is totally worth a couple hours! read more

I found something cool but I didn't get to keep it. Very unorganized. They said they would call but didn't about my find and that they would even send it to me. They didn't. Unfortunate and disappointed. Didn't help out at the dig site and was an overall letdown. If you must, do it but I'd say pass on it! read more