Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History
@smmnh.bsky.social
Official account of the SMMNH located in Blue Earth, Minnesota. www.smmnh.com
Zircon crystals are nearly indestructible, and are some of the only things to survive the hellish pressure and heat of the Haldean Eon, when the earth was formed. The oldest zircons are found in Jack Hills, Australia, where our specimen was found. It may be small, but it's 4.4 billion years old!
November 4, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Zircon crystals are nearly indestructible, and are some of the only things to survive the hellish pressure and heat of the Haldean Eon, when the earth was formed. The oldest zircons are found in Jack Hills, Australia, where our specimen was found. It may be small, but it's 4.4 billion years old!
Ammonites were abundant in the seas during the Jurassic Period. Ammonites are shelled cephalopods, a class of marine animals that include octopuses, squid, cuttlefishes and nautiluses. Ammonites have retractable tentacles for catching small prey, although some species filter-fed for small plankton.
October 13, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Ammonites were abundant in the seas during the Jurassic Period. Ammonites are shelled cephalopods, a class of marine animals that include octopuses, squid, cuttlefishes and nautiluses. Ammonites have retractable tentacles for catching small prey, although some species filter-fed for small plankton.
Abundant Eocene fossils of plants and animals are found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. This fossil Pseudosalix Hanleyi, with stems, leaves and flowers preserved, is harder to find than a T-rex tooth!
October 12, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Abundant Eocene fossils of plants and animals are found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. This fossil Pseudosalix Hanleyi, with stems, leaves and flowers preserved, is harder to find than a T-rex tooth!
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $300 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
October 11, 2025 at 6:59 PM
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $300 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
A flower beetle in baltic amber. We hope to raise money for a museum microscope so kids can examine insect specimens like this one!
October 10, 2025 at 6:59 PM
A flower beetle in baltic amber. We hope to raise money for a museum microscope so kids can examine insect specimens like this one!
Pegmatite is a type of igneus rock that frequently contains large crystals of quartz, feldspar, or mica. When looked at with a longwave UV flashlight, these minerals seem to glow! Kids at our museum can see this for themselves up close and personal.
October 9, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Pegmatite is a type of igneus rock that frequently contains large crystals of quartz, feldspar, or mica. When looked at with a longwave UV flashlight, these minerals seem to glow! Kids at our museum can see this for themselves up close and personal.
Searching for fossils in the Badlands is an unforgettable adventure. There is not a house, telephone pole, or any sign of modern civilization, conditions are hot, and without amenities. Most of the fossils from this region are from the Eocene, like this hoplophoneus (a saber cat) skull fragment.
October 8, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Searching for fossils in the Badlands is an unforgettable adventure. There is not a house, telephone pole, or any sign of modern civilization, conditions are hot, and without amenities. Most of the fossils from this region are from the Eocene, like this hoplophoneus (a saber cat) skull fragment.
During the Silurian Period, 430 million years ago, equatorial reef systems developed in the seas. The reefs were home to all kinds of invertebrates and among the most plentiful were brachiopods, bryozoans, and gastropods, seen in this specimen in our collection.
October 7, 2025 at 6:59 PM
During the Silurian Period, 430 million years ago, equatorial reef systems developed in the seas. The reefs were home to all kinds of invertebrates and among the most plentiful were brachiopods, bryozoans, and gastropods, seen in this specimen in our collection.
Woolly mammoths have two sets of tusks that grow continuously throughout life, about 6 inches per year. They have growth rings that are similar in appearance to growth rings of a tree. The rings can also be used to reveal which month the animal died.
October 6, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Woolly mammoths have two sets of tusks that grow continuously throughout life, about 6 inches per year. They have growth rings that are similar in appearance to growth rings of a tree. The rings can also be used to reveal which month the animal died.
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
October 5, 2025 at 6:59 PM
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
Pegmatite is a type of igneus rock that frequently contains large crystals of quartz, feldspar, or mica. When looked at with a longwave UV flashlight, these minerals seem to glow! Kids at our museum can see this for themselves up close and personal.
October 4, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Pegmatite is a type of igneus rock that frequently contains large crystals of quartz, feldspar, or mica. When looked at with a longwave UV flashlight, these minerals seem to glow! Kids at our museum can see this for themselves up close and personal.
This fossil is of a lobed-finned fish named Osteolepsis macrolepidotus and was found in Scotland. The Devonian Period (named after fossils first found in Devon, England), is known as "The age of fishes" and was fish transformed into three major groups: lobe-finned, ray-finned, and sharks.
October 3, 2025 at 6:59 PM
This fossil is of a lobed-finned fish named Osteolepsis macrolepidotus and was found in Scotland. The Devonian Period (named after fossils first found in Devon, England), is known as "The age of fishes" and was fish transformed into three major groups: lobe-finned, ray-finned, and sharks.
Ammonites were abundant in the seas during the Jurassic Period. Ammonites are shelled cephalopods, a class of marine animals that include octopuses, squid, cuttlefishes and nautiluses. Ammonites have retractable tentacles for catching small prey, although some species filter-fed for small plankton.
October 2, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Ammonites were abundant in the seas during the Jurassic Period. Ammonites are shelled cephalopods, a class of marine animals that include octopuses, squid, cuttlefishes and nautiluses. Ammonites have retractable tentacles for catching small prey, although some species filter-fed for small plankton.
A flower beetle in baltic amber. We hope to raise money for a museum microscope so kids can examine insect specimens like this one!
October 1, 2025 at 6:59 PM
A flower beetle in baltic amber. We hope to raise money for a museum microscope so kids can examine insect specimens like this one!
Adult Mammoths had one natural enemy–Neanderthals. This Neanderthal scraper in our collection was used for preparing large mammoth hides. The Mousterian style of manufacture reveals it to be 120,000-200,000 years old.
September 30, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Adult Mammoths had one natural enemy–Neanderthals. This Neanderthal scraper in our collection was used for preparing large mammoth hides. The Mousterian style of manufacture reveals it to be 120,000-200,000 years old.
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $300 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
September 29, 2025 at 6:59 PM
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $300 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
This Dimetrodon footprint was found in a fossilized swamp in New Mexico and dates from the late Carboniferous to early Permian Period, and is 300 million years old. Dimetrodons lived during the Permian period and went extinct 40 million years before dinosaurs evolved.
September 28, 2025 at 6:59 PM
This Dimetrodon footprint was found in a fossilized swamp in New Mexico and dates from the late Carboniferous to early Permian Period, and is 300 million years old. Dimetrodons lived during the Permian period and went extinct 40 million years before dinosaurs evolved.
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
September 28, 2025 at 1:21 AM
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
September 27, 2025 at 11:22 PM
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
Titanus giganteus is the world's largest beetle! They can grow up to 7 inches long and are native to tropical forests in South America.
September 27, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Titanus giganteus is the world's largest beetle! They can grow up to 7 inches long and are native to tropical forests in South America.
Check out our write-up in @popsci.com! www.popsci.com/science/amat...
Amateur paleontologist opens fossil museum in rural Minnesota
Jim Pollard is bringing bison bones, fossilized mammoth poop, and more to Blue Earth's 3,000 residents.
www.popsci.com
September 27, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Check out our write-up in @popsci.com! www.popsci.com/science/amat...
During the Silurian Period, 430 million years ago, equatorial reef systems developed in the seas. The reefs were home to all kinds of invertebrates and among the most plentiful were brachiopods, bryozoans, and gastropods, seen in this specimen in our collection.
September 26, 2025 at 6:59 PM
During the Silurian Period, 430 million years ago, equatorial reef systems developed in the seas. The reefs were home to all kinds of invertebrates and among the most plentiful were brachiopods, bryozoans, and gastropods, seen in this specimen in our collection.
Glossopteris were the dominant trees across the supercontinent Gondwana during the Permian Period. Come see this and many other fossils and minerals in our collection that tell the story of Antarctica when it was a rainforest 270 million years ago.
September 25, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Glossopteris were the dominant trees across the supercontinent Gondwana during the Permian Period. Come see this and many other fossils and minerals in our collection that tell the story of Antarctica when it was a rainforest 270 million years ago.
Titanus giganteus is the world's largest beetle! They can grow up to 7 inches long and are native to tropical forests in South America.
September 24, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Titanus giganteus is the world's largest beetle! They can grow up to 7 inches long and are native to tropical forests in South America.
Acrocanthosaurus was the top predator of the early Cretaceous. This theropod dinosaur weighed 15,000 pounds, measured 38 feet tall, had a 51 inch long skull, and a running speed of 20 mph. Prickly spines ran along the top of its back forming a ridge that gave an armored appearance.
September 23, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Acrocanthosaurus was the top predator of the early Cretaceous. This theropod dinosaur weighed 15,000 pounds, measured 38 feet tall, had a 51 inch long skull, and a running speed of 20 mph. Prickly spines ran along the top of its back forming a ridge that gave an armored appearance.