Connecticut dinosaur highlights Peabody’s celebration of fossils

In celebration of the first annual National Fossil Day on Wednesday, Oct. 13, the Yale Peabody Museum is extending its visiting hours for a rare public viewing of Anchisaurus, the most complete dinosaur skeleton ever discovered in Connecticut.

The Early Jurassic fossil was discovered in 1891 in a brownstone quarry near Manchester. It will be on view 2:30 to 6 p.m.

National Fossil Day — which occurs during Earth Science Week — was created by the National Park Service and American Geological Institute to promote public awareness and stewardship of fossils and to foster a greater appreciation of their scientific and educational value.

Also on view from 2:30 to 6 p.m. will be vertebrate fossils recently collected from federal lands in the American West by research teams from the Yale Peabody Museum’s Division of Vertebrate Paleontology. Each summer since 2002, Peabody research staff have made expeditions to North Dakota, Montana, Arizona and Utah, and they never come back empty-handed.

Beginning at 10 a.m., there will be activities for young children, including puppet shows featuring Roxi Fox and a cast of prehistoric creatures at 10:15 and 11:30 a.m. There will also be a fossil touch table on hand throughout the day.

All events are included with museum admission. The Peabody celebration is sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation.

The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, located at 170 Whitney Ave., is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.. Admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors 65 and over, and $5 for ages 3-18 and college students with I.D. Children under age 3 are always free. No admission is charged Thursdays from 2 to 5 p.m., from September to June. The museum is closed six days of the year: January 1, Easter, July 4, Thanksgiving, December 24 and 25. For additional information, visit www.peabody.yale.edu or call the Infotape at 203-432-5050.