National Fossil Day, a National Park Service celebration, occurs yearly on the second Wednesday of October during Earth Science Week. First held in 2010, the event takes place this year on October 14, 2020. Established in response to the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, National Fossil Day promotes the scientific value of paleontology and highlights the importance of understanding our world's history. Fossils are proof of the existence of once-living things, and the study of fossils gives us a unique look at how life has changed over time.
To learn more about fossils, check out these sources.
Get an exciting and impactful overview of what fossils are and how they are used to study earth's history.
Discover valuable information and breathtaking images in this comprehensive overview of the prehistoric record.
A discovery of 11 million-year-old bones prompts new thoughts on the evolution of bipedalism. Human origin comes into question in this thought provoking work of German paleontologist and professor Madelaine Bohme.
Fossil Men: The Quest For The Oldest Skeleton And The Origins Of Humankind
Written by journalist Kermit Pattison, this intriguing story of scientific discovery details the findings of Ardi, a 4.4 million-year-old fossilized skeleton found in Ethiopia. A million years older than the oldest known human ancestor, Lucy, Ardi has challenged existing human evolution knowledge.
Paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and punctuated equilibrium theorist Niles Eldredge traces the history of how life evolved in a concise and yet engaging read.
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