Last updated: 11/28/2013
Royal, Nebraska
Street Address
4 E, 6 N of Orchard
Royal, NE 68773
Mailing Address
86930 517th Ave
Royal, NE 68773
phone: 402-893-2000
e-mail: ashfall2@unl.edu
web: ashfall.unl.edu

Hours

May 1 to Memorial Day weekend:
Tuesday - Saturday
10 AM - 4 PM
Sunday - Monday
closed
Memorial Day weekend-Labor Day:
Monday - Saturday
9 AM - 5 PM
Sunday
11 AM - 5 PM
Labor Day-2nd weekend in October:
Tuesday - Saturday
10 AM - 4 PM
Sunday
1 PM - 4 PM
Monday
closed
School and tour groups may make special arrangements to visit Ashfall between April 1 and October 20 with advance reservations.

Staff

Rick Otto
phone:
Description

Your first stop should be the interpretive displays and the fossil preparation laboratory. You are invited to ask the paleontologists about their work. Educational programs are presented on a regular basis. From the Visitor Center, it is but a short stroll to the Hubbard Rhino Barn, where new discoveries continue to be unearthed.

Ashfall is situated on 360 acres of rugged rangeland in the scenic Verdigre Creek valley. Nature trails were developed to help interpret the geology as well as the flora and fauna of the area. Picnicking is permitted on the park, and campers can use nearby Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area near Royal.

Collecting fossils or other specimens on the park grounds is strictly prohibited. (If every visitor took a "souvenir," one of Nebraska's natural historic treasures would be gone forever.) Preservation of Ashfall now and for future generations is made possible by the generosity of the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation, which purchased the land in 1986, and the Burlington Northern Foundation, which supplied a grant for construction of facilities.

Paleontologists and interpretive staff at the site are provided by the University of Nebraska State Museum.

Services
For Educators :

School and tour groups may make special arrangements to visit Ashfall between April 1 and October 20 with advance reservations. A visit to Ashfall is an unusual educational experience. Students view a real fossil site that has been referred to as "one of the wonders of the natural world." A tour leader provides an orientation and full description of the fossil bed exposed in the Hubbard Rhino Barn. For detailed information and to make reservations call (402) 893-2000.

Become a Friend of the Museum

Join the Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum and receive membership benefits.

Special events: Invitations to scientist-led field trips, exclusive exhibit openings, the annual dinner, behind-the-scenes tours of the research collections and more.

Publications: Four issues of The Mammoth and three issues of Museum Notes.

Admissions: Receive a year's free pass to Ashfall Fossil Beds, Morrill Hall (Lincoln) and Trailside Museum (Crawford) and free or reduced admissions at any museum belonging to the American Association of Museums or the Association of Science-Technology Centers.

Discounts: 10% discount on all purchases from the museum's gift shops and 25% off your planetarium admission.

Group Tours
Exhibitions
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MUSEUM CONFERENCES

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

February 18 - 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

Tuesday, February 18 - Saturday, February 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

Hosted by: California Association of Museums

CAM is hard at work planning for the 2025 conference, set to take place from February 18–22, 2025 in San Francisco. We look forward to highlighting best practices and innovative ideas from California's museum community

The California Association of Museums is excited to continue offering in-person programming for 2025. We will not be requiring proof of COVID vaccination/s, but highly encourage vaccination and boosters. For the health and safety of our colleagues, masks are also encouraged (but not required). Capacity and spaces will be thoughtfully considered in the planning of this event.

For more information, please email programs@calmuseums.org.

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

March 15 - 18, 2025

Blacksburg, Virginia

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

Saturday, March 15 - Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Inn at Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

Hosted by: Virginia Association of Museums

2025 Conference Theme: Looking Back to the Future For the past several years, many museums have been deeply involved in planning programs and events to observe the 250th birthday of the United States of America. While this is certainly an occasion to celebrate, this anniversary also forces us as a society to reckon with ongoing inequities and challenges within the US that go back to its inception. As museums ask their audiences to look to the past to understand the present and shape a better future, perhaps now is a good moment in time for Virginia’s museum community to take pause and look back at its own history. We are excited to see you in Blacksburg in March 2025 as we take a moment in our hectic schedules to take pause and visit our diverse pasts. Let’s uncover and share our histories to build a more resilient Virginia museum community.

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

September 10 - 13, 2025

Cincinnati, Ohio

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

Wednesday, September 10 - Saturday, September 13, 2025

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

Hosted by: American Association for State and Local History

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email info@aaslh.org.

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