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CHOWCHILLA — If you’re a dinosaur or Ice Age fossil buff, you may have heard the story. If not, prepare to be amazed.
In 1993, a sanitation crew working on an expansion project at the Fairmead Landfill in Madera County made an astonishing discovery. A mere 12 feet below the surface, they unearthed part of a giant mammoth tusk. Scientists eventually dated the fossil to the mid-Pleistocene era, about 500,00 to 780,000 years ago.
County engineers and university paleontologists were called in, and the discoveries continued — 15,000 fossils, to be exact, including horses, Western camels, pronghorns, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves and extinct antelope species. With the exception of the La Brea Tar Pits, it is the largest excavation in California’s history.
And you can experience it just across the street from the dig site at the Fossil Discovery Center in Chowchilla. The museum was erected in 2010 to display the collection and give visitors an idea of what prehistoric life was like in the San Joaquin Valley during the last Ice Age.
We passed through Chowchilla on a recent trip from the Bay Area to Yosemite National Park — and visiting the center was the only thing our 7-year-old, who’s been a dinosaur junkie since he was in diapers, could talk about. A fossil museum across the street from where they were excavated? That’s so cool.
Inside, docents escorted us to a modest theater, where we watched a short film about that first dig and the animals who roamed here during the Pleistocene epoch. Afterwards, we were given laminated guides that explain the various exhibits in detail, from the environment and long-extinct animals to the current fossil discoveries.
Among our favorites: The fossils showing teeth marks from dire wolves and short-faced bears, and bones that were trampled by 10-ton Columbian mammoths. There is an amazing 13-foot replica of that mammoth and another of the 14-foot Western camel, its hump glinting in the sunlight streaming through the window.
Fun fact: Eight species of camel were discovered in California. They were all extinct as of 11,000 years ago, but distant relatives of these ancient animals exist in South America today as llamas and vicunas.
Our son particularly enjoyed peeking into the paleo lab located in the center of the museum, which allowed him to see the techniques and tools used to excavate and preserve the fossils. While many of the fossils at the Fossil Discovery Center are protected inside glass cases, an equal number are available for little hands to explore with brushes and magnifying glasses.
Have a younger tot? Check out the mock dig outdoors, where youngsters can excavate 22 replicas of fossils that have been found in the area.
IF YOU GO
Admission to the Fossil Discovery Center is $9 for adults, $5 for kids ages 4 and older. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays at 19450 Avenue 21½ in Chowchilla; www.maderamammoths.org