Off to the Field!

What’s “The Field”? It’s where paleontologists go to look for fossils. We call it Field Work—hence “going to the field”—and it can take place anywhere we travel to search for fossils. This year I was invited to join the crew from the Burpee Museum (in Illinois) at their field site in Hanksville, Utah.

I’ve been fossil hunting before—to the Petrified Forest of Arizona (Late Triassic sediments) and to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia (Cretaceous sediments). I’m excited to visit a new place (Utah), explore a new time period (Jurassic sediments), and hopefully interact with animals that died millions of years ago. I’m joining the crew for their last week in the field, so the goals of the trip are to hopefully find some new fossils, but mostly to help them finish jacketing large fossils, load them into the vehicles, and pack up the gear they brought out there.

In this post, I want to share some of the equipment I’m taking with me. If you want to follow my journey live, follow me on Twitter: @DrNeurosaurus.

As an early career paleontologist, I have some field equipment, but not everything I need. I’ll note what’s mine and what I’m borrowing. First, housing: I’ll be sleeping in a tent (mine), with a sleeping pad (mine) and a sleeping bag (borrowed).

I’m bringing a first aid kit (mine), sunscreen, and bug spray, because preparation matters. Spending long days in the sun can mean dehydration, so I have an insulated 3-liter CamelBak and a 1-liter Sigg bottle. I usually drink about 4 liters while I’m in the field, and more back at camp.

In terms of tools, I’m bringing my rock hammer, hand lens, three empty film containers (for small fossils), a small brush, a headlamp, a multitool, and a knife (all mine). The only camera I’m bringing is my cell phone.

In addition, I have an assortment of clothes, two hats, a dinosaur bandana I’ve had since elementary school, boots, and a football (all mine). The sun stays up a long time in the summer, so it’s good to have something to do back at camp.

Next week, I’ll talk about the trip, the fossils we saw, daily life around camp, and other highlights—so check back in.