Field Trips

Nail Quarry - 3

This 450 million-year-old National Natural Landmark changed paleontology history when it was discovered on a private working ranch by Bennie Thorson just east of Cañon City in the 1960s. Carly Thorson, his daughter, provides a guided tour and will decipher and explain the movement of the creatures whose incredibly-preserved fossil footprints were captured in one […]

Steve Jorgensen has accumulated a world-class collection of ammonites from the Western Interior Seaway and has invited WIPS members to his home to tour his collection. During the tour, Steve will show examples of the wide variety of ammonites that lived during the Campanian and Maastrichtian Stages of the Late Cretaceous. You will see closely […]

Saturday, December 27, 2025 WIPS member Steve Miller (Principal Investigator) has obtained a Paleontological Resources Research Permit through the US Forest Service (USFS) to conduct a survey of the Blue Hill Shale Member of the Carlile Formation in the Comanche National Grassland. The survey enabled by this permit provides WIPS members with an opportunity to […]

The Museum has offered WIPS members a behind the scenes tour. Group(s) of 10 to 15 members will be guided by an Earth Sciences curator. Tours will last about 60 to 90 minutes. After the tour members are encouraged to view the rest of the Museum on their own. Accompanied children, age 10-17 are allowed. […]

Dates: May 29th - 31st - One day of speakers and two days of field trips. Saturday evening includes a dinner and Keynote Speaker Kirk Johnson. Theme: Twilight of the Dinosaurs: Terrestrial Life in the Cretaceous Leader:  Dennis Gertenbach Location: Tate Museum, 125 College Drive, Casper, WY 82601. Lodging: The Ramkota Hotel in Casper is […]