Destinations of Discovery

Journeys of exploration and education

By Anne Braly

You’re on vacation, and you’ve planned so many things — where to stay, where to eat, what to pack. You think you’ve done everything in advance to ensure a great holiday. But then, it happens. You’re only into your second day of vacation and your child is saying, “I’m bored.” A little extra planning might just prevent this pitfall, and you can treat the kids to a day of adventure while providing them an education in the earth sciences and state history.

Everything’s big in Texas, and so were the Columbian mammoths that roamed the landscape more than 400,000 years ago. They stood as tall as 14 feet and weighed about 20,000 pounds. All that remains today, though, are the fossil records they left behind, and at Waco Mammoth National Monument, you can see those remnants up close and personal.

Tour guides will lead you from the Welcome Center down a 300-yard paved path to the Dig Shelter and the mammoth fossils. They are only partially uncovered and still in their original position within the bone bed. During your tour, you will learn about the Ice Age, how the fossils were discovered, and the differences between dinosaurs and mammoths. “Mammoths were not dinosaurs,” says site director Raegan King. “The tour can teach kids about the difference between dinosaurs and animals from the Ice Age. They get a crash course in paleontology.”

But, she adds, kids also learn about the importance of park stewardship — leaving no trace behind. “It’s important for kids to learn about cleaning up and leaving things just as they found them,” King says.

Research is ongoing at Waco Mammoth National Monument with finds that many paleontologists consider among the most important in North America. Scientists have unearthed a treasure trove of fossils, including the only known nursery herd — mothers and their young — in North America. The bones currently lie in storage at nearby Mayborn Museum, a natural science and cultural history museum at Baylor University.

But visitors to the national monument can see the bones of an adult male mammoth and an adult female, as well as the bones of a saber-tooth tiger, a camel and remnants of four other mammoths in the bone bed at the dig site. It’s a unique experience that gives people a different perspective on paleontology. Rather than see a replica of a mammoth in a museum or one reconstructed from partial bones, viewers can walk along a suspended walkway and look into the bone pit where paleontologists have left the bones of the Ice Age animals as they found them — still in the ground and only partially uncovered.

“It gives the public a better idea of how paleontology works,” King says. “Seeing them in the ground lets people learn something about the environment in which the mammoths lived and interacted with the ecosystem.”

Mammoths lived across North America during the Ice Age, but there’s something about this area in the north-central region of Texas — its air, water and soil, which, combined, made the perfect recipe for preserving the skeletons. Paleontologists working at Waco Mammoth National Monument know there are more fossils underground. In fact, they know where they are, King says. At this time, though, they choose to leave them in place because as soon as they leave the ground, the fossils begin to disintegrate, and valuable information goes with them.

In addition to the bone pit, there are miles of trails to explore around the park with its plethora of birds, butterflies, bugs, and plants. Kids can join the Junior Ranger Program and look for specific things around the site. They’ll get a booklet asking questions about what they see and when they return it, they’ll get a Junior Ranger badge. There’s also a mock dig pit that lets kids search for replica fossils and leave them in place just like paleontologists.

Bring your own food and drink — there are no dining facilities at the site — and have a picnic on the grounds.

Guided tours take place every 30 minutes, so just show up and join the fun — no reservation needed. Tours last from 45 minutes to one hour. For more information, visit the National Park Service's page on Waco.

Finding the fun-damentals

Entertaining kids while traveling isn’t easy. But there are places just a smidge off the beaten track, outside the glitz and glamour of big cities, that will spark your child’s interest. Here are some ideas for taking kids around the Lone Star State that bring into focus history and science in fun and interesting ways. They’ll be having so much fun, they may not realize they’re learning in the process.

Heard Natural Science Museum
McKinney, Texas
The museum features exhibits of natural history: fossils, archaeology, rocks and minerals, plants — close to 150 species of wildflowers alone — and native animals — more than 240 species that live around the 289-acre wildlife sanctuary. Stroll along the boardwalk that snakes its way through 50 acres of wetlands, or see the grounds from a different perspective — a challenging ropes course that traverses the Texas canopy. For more information, visit the Heard Museum website.

Texas Through Time
Hillsboro, Texas
Discover Texas’ interesting and diverse fossil history from the Ediacaran Period more than 600 million years ago all the way up to the Holocene Epoch — our current geological time period. Many museums exhibit replicas. Not so Texas Through Time. The museum works hard to feature as many real specimens as possible for a more authentic experience. The collection includes paleontological finds from around the world, but its main goal is to highlight those from Texas. With several hands-on exhibits as well as a fossil “dig” box for kids that allows them to take home the fossils they find, this makes for a great day for budding archaeologists. Admission is free to all. For more information, visit the Texas Through Time website.