Aurora Fossil Museum, Aurora

Aurora Fossil Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit natural science museum that educates on the geology, paleontology, and prehistory of the Aurora, NC area. The museum was founded in 1976 and opened in 1978 as a collaboration between the town of Aurora, local mines, East Carolina University, and other interested parties. The museum's collection is built around fossils recovered from the nearby phosphate mine, but also includes fossil, rock, and mineral displays from around the world. Fossils from the local mine are approximately 23 to 2.5 million years old and are from the early Miocene and Pliocene eras of the Pungo River and Yorktown formations. The museum also maintains two fossil pits in the Fossil Park located directly across the street from the main museum and visitors are allowed to collect fossils and keep what they find as a memento of their visit to Aurora, NC. The pits are open from dawn to dusk daily and are filled with mine tailings where small shell, coral, shark tooth, and other fossils are relatively easy to find. Major events hosted by the museum include the Annual Fossil Festival held on Memorial Day Weekend and the National Fossil Day Celebration in October. Plan a Aurora trip in moments using our itinerary builder.