Ammonites, trilobites, dinosaurs, oh my! Fossils are all around Washington. That’s the message paleontologist Kirk Johnson and artist Ray Troll share in the traveling exhibit "Cruisin’ the Washington Fossil Freeway," opening at Dry Falls Visitor Center on April 30, 2011. Fossils have long been a subject of fascination and are used by paleontologists to help answer questions about early life on Earth. But how much can the fossil record tell us about evolution, extinction, and geologic time?
Cruisin’ the Washington Fossil Freeway features a specially commissioned Washington fossil map by Ray Troll (see that and more examples below). The exhibit also features panels of whimsical, fossil-inspired artwork by Troll as well as several real fossil specimens. The exhibit combines visuals and text from paleontologist Kirk Johnson to tell the tale of prehistoric life and death in Washington. Come touch the cast of a mammoth tooth and travel the fossil freeway at Dry Falls Visitor Center.
Along with the fossils on display there will also be a Saber Tooth Cat skull, Shortface Bear skull, Bear-Dog skull, Pygmy Mammoth skull, a Jefferson Ground Sloth skull and an artist’s interpretation of the Blue Lake Rhino featured at the Dry Falls Visitor Center.
Cruisin’ the Washington Fossil Freeway was organized by the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, Washington in collaboration with Ray Troll and Kirk Johnson, authors of the book "Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway: An Epoch Tale of a Scientist and an Artist on the Ultimate 5,000-Mile Paleo Road Trip" (Fulcrum Books 2007). Local sponsorship for Cruisin’ the Washington Fossil Freeway was provided by Washington State Parks.
