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National Fossil Day was established in the United States by the National Park Service during 2010 as a celebration and partnership to promote the scientific and educational values of
File:NFD Logo Oval PNG 96dpi.png, Official NFD Logo—oval badge
File:NFD Logo Rectangle PNG 96dpi.png, Official NFD Logo—rectangular poster
File:NFD Logo Rectangle PNG 96dpi.png, The 2010 artwork, featuring a Brontothere
File:National Fossil Day 2011 artwork.png, The 2011 artwork, featuring a
National Fossil Day WebsiteEarth Science Week Website
Fossils Paleontology Public holidays in the United States Science festivals Environmental awareness days Recurring events established in 2010 October observances Science events in the United States 2010 establishments in the United States Annual events in the United States
National Fossil Day was established in the United States by the National Park Service during 2010 as a celebration and partnership to promote the scientific and educational values of fossils
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...
. The first annual National Fossil Day was hosted on October 13, 2010, as a fossil-focused day during Earth Science Week
Earth Sciences Week is a yearly event run by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) to promote understanding of Earth science and stewardship of the planet. It is typically held in the second full week of October. {{Cite web, url=http://www.ear ...
. The National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, the American Geosciences Institute, and more than 385 partners, including museums, institutions, science and teacher organizations, agencies, fossil sites, amateur fossil groups and other entities, joined together in a partnership to educate the public about fossils, the science of paleontology and America's Paleontological Heritage. There are National Fossil Day partners in all 50 states providing opportunities for educational outreach and hosting hundreds of fossil-themed activities at the local level.
National Park Service senior paleontologist Vincent L. Santucci is considered the "Father of National Fossil Day" and first proposed the concept of National Fossil Day in 2009 as a nationwide celebration for fossils in the United States. Santucci reached out to Geoff Camphire and Ann Benbow at the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) seeking support to establish National Fossil Day as a dedicated day during Earth Science Week. Once the idea of National Fossil Day was approved, dozens of organizations and museums joined this partnership including the Geological Society of America, Paleontological Society, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Smithsonian, and American Museum of Natural History. The National Fossil Day Celebration on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was the kickoff event hosted on October 13, 2010. The event captured widespread media and public attention throughout the U.S.
The second National Fossil Day 2011 was observed on October 12, 2011, with events at museums, parks, universities, and non-profit organizations. National Fossil Day 2012 was celebrated on October 17, 2012, with an opening event held on the National Mall
The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...
in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Similar events have been held annually.
Official NFD Logo
The official National Fossil Day Logo was introduced in 2010 and is used on promotional items and event websites every year. The logo features a fossiltitanothere
Brontotheriidae is a family (biology), family of extinct mammals belonging to the order Perissodactyla, the order that includes horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs. Superficially, they looked rather like Rhinoceros, rhinos, although they were actua ...
, a prehistoric mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
.Annual Artwork
Each year new National Fossil Day Artwork is created and announced in mid-January on the event website, depicting aprehistoric
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
organism:
Mosasaur
Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Greek ' meaning 'lizard') comprise a group of extinct, large marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on th ...
File:National Fossil Day 2012 artwork.png, The 2012 artwork, featuring a Woolly Mammoth
File:National Fossil Day 2013 artwork.png, The 2013 artwork, featuring an Eurypterid
File:National Fossil Day 2014 artwork.png, The 2014 artwork, featuring an Aetosaur
File:National Fossil Day 2015 artwork.png, The 2015 artwork, featuring a Chalicothere
Chalicotheres (from Greek '' chalix'', "gravel" and '' therion'', "beast") are an extinct clade of herbivorous, odd-toed ungulate (perissodactyl) mammals that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa from the Middle Eocene until the Early Plei ...
File:National Fossil Day 2016 artwork.png, The 2016 artwork, featuring a Smilodon
File:National Fossil Day 2017 artwork.png, The 2017 artwork, featuring a Heterostraci
File:National Fossil Day 2018 artwork.png, The 2018 artwork, featuring a Quetzalcoatlus
''Quetzalcoatlus'' is a genus of pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous period of North America (Maastrichtian stage); its members were among the largest known flying animals of all time. ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is a member of the Azhdarchidae, ...
File:National Fossil Day 2019 artwork.png, The 2019 artwork, featuring a Nothrotheriops
''Nothrotheriops'' is a genus of Pleistocene ground sloth found in North America, from what is now central Mexico to the southern United States. This genus of bear-sized xenarthran was related to the much larger, and far more famous ''Megatherium ...
File:National Fossil Day 2020 artwork.png, The 2020 artwork, featuring a Permian reef ecosystem
File:National Fossil Day 2021 artwork.png, The 2021 artwork, featuring a Nanuqsaurus
''Nanuqsaurus'' (meaning "polar bear lizard") is a genus of carnivorous tyrannosaurid theropod known from the Late Cretaceous period (early Late Maastrichtian stage) Prince Creek Formation of the North Slope of Alaska, United States. It contains ...
File:National Fossil Day 2022 artwork.png, The 2022 artwork, featuring a Didymictis
Sponsored Art Contest
An annual National Fossil Day Art Contest is hosted by the National Park Service and the National Fossil Day Partnership. The theme for the year is announced in the Spring and people of all ages are invited to submit fossil-inspired, original artwork. Contest rules and an entry form are available on the official National Fossil Day website. The art contest themes for past years include: * 2019 Theme: Extinct Giants and Survivors of the Last Ice Age * 2018 Theme: The Age of Reptiles–More Than JustDinosaurs
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
* 2017 Theme: The Future of Fossils: People Studying and Caring for Our Fossil Heritage
* 2016 Theme: Your Favorite Fossil from a National Park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
* 2015 Theme: Postcards from the Past
* 2014 Theme: Fossil Neighborhoods
* 2013 Theme: Your Nomination for Our National Fossil
* 2012 Theme: Careers in Paleontology
* 2011 Theme: Fossils in My Backyard
* 2010 Theme: Paleontology: Preserving the Past for our Future
References
External links
{{Commons category, National Fossil DayNational Fossil Day Website
Fossils Paleontology Public holidays in the United States Science festivals Environmental awareness days Recurring events established in 2010 October observances Science events in the United States 2010 establishments in the United States Annual events in the United States