A Visit to the Aurora Fossil Museum

The Aurora Fossil Museum in Aurora, North Carolina is a small, little-known museum that is worth a visit. The museum contains mostly marine fossils, and a few terrestrial animals, that have been provided by the nearby PCS Phosphate Mine operation and quarry. Entrance to the museum is free and so is the opportunity to dig for fossils in the adjacent park.

This area of North Carolina was underwater during the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs. Calcium phosphate from the shells of invertebrate animals living in the ocean was deposited on the sea bottom, along with sharks' teeth, bones of fish, pieces of coral, and the shells of invertebrates. This calcium phosphate is now mined for industrial purposes, in one of the world's largest phosphate facilities, and the fossils and non-phosphate-containing rocks are removed and deposited in a small park across from the museum. Visitors can search for their own fossils in this pile, spending as much time as they would like.

The focus of the museum is sharks, and the visitor will find the jaws and teeth of several species of shark represented at the museum. Visitors can have their photo taken while peering out from a model of a giant shark's jaw.

In the five rooms of the small museum, visitors will see murals of sharks, fish, and marine mammals that lived in the area when this part of North Carolina was underwater. There is also an exhibit of early humans who lived in this area after the ocean receded. Visitors can also watch an informative 18-minute video about the animals whose fossils are displayed, and the phosphate mining operation.

Visitors will want to pick up a copy of the Aurora Fossil Museum Mini-Museum, a free, photocopied guide with pictures of some of the most common fossils that are found in the fossil quarry. While visitors may not find large, spectacular fossils, with a little patience it is rather easy to build up a nice collection of small sharks' teeth and other fossils. Fossil collecting can be made easier with a small shovel or some spoons and a plastic bag, margarine container, or beach pail to keep finds in.

Although the museum itself is small, it is educational, and the opportunity to dig for fossils makes it well worth a visit. Although it is not guaranteed that the visitor will find any fossils, much less any that are particularly spectacular, it is a good way to entertain paleontologists of all ages-my husband and I happily picked up shark's teeth until we were driven to our car by a sudden downpour! Since it can be difficult to find fossils in areas without a lot of exposed soil, which is the case of most of the east coast, this is a great opportunity for amateur fossil hunters to get experience in collecting fossils, and to build a personal collection.

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