The Fossil Discovery Center
Madera County, in partnership with the San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation, is in the process of completing a unique and exciting Fossil Discovery Center. The project is located at the Fairmead landfill in Madera County, the site of one of the largest middle-Pleistocene fossil excavations in North America. These fossils are of particular significance for California and the western United States because there are few sites known from this time period, especially with so many species present. The facility will interpret both the paleontology activity and the landfill activity. These diverse themes will be united by showing how the world of the past became the world of the present, and how our current activities, including waste disposal, will create the world of the future.
The discovery center is next to the landfill. The area has been capped with earth and now looks like a grassy hillside. The site overlooks the current landfill operations and the paleontology dig. It also has a good view of the valley floor and the rising foothills to the east, the area where the prehistoric rivers washed down the bones that have become the Fairmead fossils.
The facility will consist of buildings arranged around a central courtyard, which will be designed as a “staged dig area” with hands-on paleontology activities, such as sifting dirt for micro-fossils. The portables will include exhibit areas, audio/visual educational displays, and fossil preparation stations where volunteers clean and identify specimens in the presence of the visitors, answering questions and helping to share the excitement of pre-historical discovery. On one side of the compound will be an observation deck where visitors can view the fossil dig and understand the geology that has been home to a changing biosphere. The entire complex will be covered with a permanent tent-like roof adding architectural interest and providing visual identification from nearby Route 99.
This facility will attract visitors from throughout the State, as well as national/international travelers to nearby Yosemite National Park. However the target audience is children and families in the Central San Joaquin Valley. School field trips, curriculum programs for teachers and other educational opportunities will be developed to serve the target populations. The Fossil Discovery Center represents an opportunity for Valley residents to share an internationally important historical resource that will help them understand their world and will inspire many of them to continue exploring and learning.
The discovery center is next to the landfill. The area has been capped with earth and now looks like a grassy hillside. The site overlooks the current landfill operations and the paleontology dig. It also has a good view of the valley floor and the rising foothills to the east, the area where the prehistoric rivers washed down the bones that have become the Fairmead fossils.
The facility will consist of buildings arranged around a central courtyard, which will be designed as a “staged dig area” with hands-on paleontology activities, such as sifting dirt for micro-fossils. The portables will include exhibit areas, audio/visual educational displays, and fossil preparation stations where volunteers clean and identify specimens in the presence of the visitors, answering questions and helping to share the excitement of pre-historical discovery. On one side of the compound will be an observation deck where visitors can view the fossil dig and understand the geology that has been home to a changing biosphere. The entire complex will be covered with a permanent tent-like roof adding architectural interest and providing visual identification from nearby Route 99.
This facility will attract visitors from throughout the State, as well as national/international travelers to nearby Yosemite National Park. However the target audience is children and families in the Central San Joaquin Valley. School field trips, curriculum programs for teachers and other educational opportunities will be developed to serve the target populations. The Fossil Discovery Center represents an opportunity for Valley residents to share an internationally important historical resource that will help them understand their world and will inspire many of them to continue exploring and learning.
