The Museum of the Rockies maintains one of the largest field programs in the country, conducting fieldwork at multiple sites in the Judith River, Two Medicine, and Hell Creek Formations of Montana each summer. Research at each site is led by museum staff and graduate students under the direction of Dr. Jack Horner. We accept dedicated, hardworking volunteers to join us for a minimum of three weeks of fieldwork. The program is aimed toward college paleontology students, but volunteers may be any age 18 years and older. Volunteers must provide their own transportation to Montana, and bring a tent, sleeping bag, and other personal supplies. All food and tools are provided by the museum, except for your food on town day once a week.

This is a research-oriented program designed for college-age paleontology students; although other ages are welcome, note that this is not merely a summer camp or vacation. This is not a formal internship through Montana State University, and no stipend or class credit is offered. However, your time can count for volunteer service hours, and in some cases students have arranged internship recognition through their home institution.

Our crews are now full for summer 2012. For summer 2013, we will probably need a few volunteers to assist with our digs in the Hell Creek and Judith River Formations of Montana. The 2013 application and recommendation forms should be available in January 2013, so please email me then. Due to high numbers of returning volunteers from past years, the few remaining volunteer slots will be highly competitive; the acceptance rate for the 2012 field season was below 25%. Please email me at morpaleo@gmail.com if you have any questions about fieldwork.

Old versions for reference:

Click to download the 2012 application form

Click to download the 2012 recommendation form

A recommendation is now required for all new volunteers; please give the attached recommendation form to a professor, boss, or former crew chief, whichever is most relevant. They should return it directly to me at morpaleo@gmail.com.

Please note an important change from older versions of the application: due to smaller crew sizes and an ever increasing number of excellent applications, the application process has become highly selective, and so we are no longer able to accept high school students.