Students work at uncovering fossils that have been hidden from view for centuries.

Mesalands Community College will be offering three field classes in paleontology this summer on June 9 - June 13, June 23- June 27, and July 7 - 11,

Each course provides a week-long experience of excavating fossils and processing them in a museum. Students will prospect for and learn to excavate dinosaur-age vertebrates in the Quay County area. Basic laboratory methods will be studied in the Natural Science Laboratories at Mesalands Community College’s Dinosaur Museum. Students will learn about the local rocks and age determination, and they will also study the major groups of fossil vertebrates found in this area, including dinosaurs and dinosaur tracks.

The course is listed in its college catalog as GEOL 120 Paleontology Field Discovery (4 credit hours).

This year, the field classes will take place in the Redonda Formation of Late Triassic age (200 Million years old) in the vicinity of Tucumcari, at a site that was worked with a field class very successfully in 2007.

One of the finds of last year received nationwide attention.

The flat fee for each field class is $575 per person. This is a package that includes tuition and other college fees, the use of tools and field materials, transport to and from the excavation site, sack lunches, water, and soft drinks for all five days, the excursion, an ice breaker party, a barbecue dinner at a scenic location, and a specially designed T-shirt as a memento of a unique experience.

The fee does not include travel to Tucumcari, accommodations, breakfast, or dinner except the barbecue dinner, and additional snacks or beverages students might wish to take along during the day.

Additional information is available by contacting Axel Hungerbuehler, Ph.D., at (575) 461-3466.

“I am happy send out specific information about the classes upon request, including a preliminary schedule of activities, and directions on how to get to Tucumcari along with available lodging," said Hungerbuehler.

To enroll in one or all classes, contact the Enrollment Office at Mesalands (575) 461-4413, ext. 153. A non-refundable deposit of $100 is required at the time of registration.