Kids dig into paleontology

Big Horn Basin Foundation Director Jessica Lippincott recently received $1,100 from the Thermopolis Community Fund to pay for 13 children to participate in a local Kids' Dig. The normal cost of the Kids' Dig is $85, which none of the kids had to pay for.

The kids are at Wyoming Dinosaur Center from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

They receive a t-shirt, water bottle, lunch and a sample bag to collect surface fossils in the Sundance Sea Formation. They also get to make a plaster cast, dig in the Morrison formation at one of the active dig sites, eat lunch at the state park, work in the prep lab and do other activities at the museum.

"They basically get to be a paleontologist for a day," Lippincott stated.

Those receiving the scholarship are Zane Hubele, Brylie Apel, Destiny Abrams, Patrick Chapel, Scotty Whipps, Saraiya Sosa, Bronwyn Dobbins, Zane Stone, Dakota Pulver, Jon Freeman, Teresa Steadman, Daiyton DeLeon and Ruthanne Johnson.

As for how the kids were selected, Lippincott explained she sent out letters to teachers in Hot Springs County for grades 2-6, and asked them to nominate kids interested in earth science. From those nominations, the Big Horn Basin Foundation selected 13 students.

The Kids' Dig program is designed for kids ages 8-12.