St. Louis Prehistoric Life Show

The free St. Louis Prehistoric Life Show comes to the Saint Louis Science Center on Saturday, October 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Is that odd rock on your shelf a fossil? Bring it to the Fossil Road Show and let an expert take a look. Then split open layered rock from an ancient lake to look for fossil fish, search gravel for fossils, and meet the people who study prehistoric life.

At the Fossil Road Show, visitors can bring possible fossils from home for expert identification. Elsewhere, they can watch fossils being prepared, explore private collections and see specimens from ancient Missouri seas and around the world.

Children can try feather-a-dinosaur crafts, fossil digging, coloring and bracelet-making with real crinoid fossils. In the paleoart gallery, Lola, a giant Tyrannosaurus skull sculpture by St. Louis artist Nicki Mizell, will be on display. Lola was previously featured in Smithsonian Magazine.

The Dino Trading Post is like a little free library, but for dinos: take a dino, leave a dino. Visitors can bring a toy dinosaur and choose another to take home. Families are also welcome to donate prehistoric life-themed toys.

Participating organizations include the Eastern Missouri Society for Paleontology, Missouri Fossil Hunters, Missouri Dinosaur and Paleontology Center, Missouri Ozark Dinosaur Project, Mastodon State Historic Site, Paleoheritage, Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center, Missouri Master Naturalist, University of Missouri Geological Sciences, and University of Missouri Integrative Anatomy

The event is free, open to all ages, and requires no ticket.