“Alabama Fossil Fest”, hosted by the Alabama Museum of Natural History (ALMNH) and UA Museums’ Department of Museum Research and Collections, is a free and perfect opportunity to explore paleontology! Visit Smith Hall on The University of Alabama campus on Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. for a tabling event, the Alabama Avocational Paleontologist Award presentation, exciting talks by Drs. Ron Buta and David Schwimmer, a new exhibit unveiling, and hands-on learning spanning 500 million years of Alabama’s past. Paleontologists from around the state will have wonderful items on display, plus the ALMNH will be facilitating educational programming suitable for all ages.
Crocodilians will be the main theme for this year’s event, although there will be many other fossils on display as well.
Alabama’s ancient prehistory is very extensive with a fossil record spanning ~500 million years. Fossils from each of the three geological eras (Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic) are on display in the regular exhibits at ALMNH, but also during the special tabling event. Again this year, both paleontological societies in Alabama, the
Birmingham Paleontological Society and the
Alabama Paleontological Society, will be present at the tabling event, among various other organizations and individuals. One free fossil is available per person at the tables of the Department of Museum Research and Collections.
This will be the 13th year the Museum has hosted a fossil-themed event. In previous years, this was traditionally known as our National Fossil Day event, but beginning this year, we are rebranding our annual event as the “Alabama Fossil Fest.”
Schedule
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Tabling Event (Grand Gallery)
This is the popular annual tabling event at the Alabama Museum of Natural History. As crocodilians are the theme of this event, more crocodilian fossils than usual will be present on the tables. However, such remains are rare in Alabama, so most fossils will be from other organisms, some of which have never been shown to the public. Check out the newest fossil discoveries at the tables of the Department of Museum Research and Collections and receive one free fossil there. There are also various educational fossil activities for all ages.
2:00 p.m.
New Exhibit Unveiling (Grand Gallery)
Come and see a brand-new fossil exhibit that the museum staff has prepared recently. While we won’t disclose what it is until the unveiling, it will feature a large, ancient predator from Alabama’s past that many people will get excited about!
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Presentations (back-to-back in Smith Hall Room 205 next to the Grand Gallery). Note the Grand Gallery will be closed from 3:00 p.m. onwards.
About Dr. David Schwimmer
Our keynote speaker Dr. David Schwimmer is a professor in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at Columbus State University in western Georgia. He did much research on Cambrian-aged trilobites, including those from Northeast Alabama and Northwest Georgia. However, he has also done substantial research on vertebrates such as dinosaurs and crocodiles from the Cretaceous Period. He has written more than 40 journal articles, two academic books, and a monograph. Of particular interest for this event is the book he wrote entitled “
King of the crocodylians: the paleobiology of Deinosuchus”.
Parking
Parking on
The University of Alabama campus on Saturday is free! Parking spots are available on the east side of Smith Hall (entrance only via Hackberry Lane), next to the
Math and Science Education Building and next to
Lloyd Hall. Check out
UA’s online map of campus for more parking options.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about this event, contact Kristin Harrell (Education Outreach Coordinator, Alabama Museum of Natural History) by calling
205-348-6383 or emailing
kristin.harrell@ua.edu.
