Paleo Prairie

07/10/2026

This Edmontosaurus jaw fragment and tooth came out of the Hell Creek Formation in North Dakota, about 66 million years ago.
Edmontosaurus was a duck-billed dinosaur that roamed in huge herds, and the jaw once held a battery of grinding teeth built for tough vegetation.

Both pieces are displayed in a labeled Paleo Prairie Riker box, ready for a shelf, a classroom or a collection. Only one available.

https://vgnxep-be.myshopify.com/products/edmontosaurus-jaw-and-tooth-large

04/10/2026

We have a fundraiser now to save the Museum! The very short version is that things are actually looking up, but we’ve got a lot of Cretaceous Seaway to swim through before we find a safe shore.

Regarding 2027 Camps’ status, I have been told that as of this writing we have an 80% chance of running our full slate of middle and high school programs as normal in 2027. I of course will be doing everything I can to get that likelihood to a full 100% via conversations with FHSU administration. One way or another we will run programs this summer! It looks like that will be able to involve our Kansas programs as usual, but we will have a clearer idea of this in a few weeks. In the meantime, thank you for your patience!

Very importantly the FHSU Foundation has set up a fundraiser page to help cover the Museum’s total funding needs for an additional year. This will buy us crucial time to seek a more robust long-term sustainable solution to annual operations funding. Here is the Foundation fundraiser link: https://foundation.fhsu.edu/save-sternberg. (Also in the links in our bio!)

If you do any social media posts about the fundraiser (especially on Facebook or Instagram) please tag in the post. This is an official organizing group being run by FHSU alumni who worked in the Museum as well as former Camps staff and other Museum affiliates.

Getting word out, sharing your stories of why you love the , and direct donations are all great ways to help. We are *especially* looking for individuals or organizations interested in making larger donations to take larger chunks out the $855,000 fundraising target.

Thank you so much for your support of the Sternberg Museum and Science Camps!

Yours,
David Levering
Director, Sternberg Science Camps


(Illustration commissioned from the spectacular Natalia Jagielska.)

02/10/2026

Oktoberfest is here!

Paleo Prairie is all set up and ready for Junction City Oktoberfest!

This is my second year, and I’ve gone twice as big with the booth this time around. I’ve got fossils, replicas, paleo art, natural history products, and plenty of new stuff I’ve been working on.

New products include:
Paleo-themed bola ties
Fossil amber
Replica dinosaur skin
Replica velociraptor skulls
Lots of real dinosaur fossils

Come say hi, check out the booth, and own a piece of the past!

Thank you for supporting Paleo Prairie and local small businesses. See you at Oktoberfest!

29/09/2026

As you've probably heard, Fort Hays State University has now publicly released plans to close the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in December of this year due to budget cuts from the Kansas state legislature among other aggregate factors. The future is uncertain, but we are here to say with confidence that one way or another we will be running programs this coming summer.

We have spoken with our program partners, and we are still on to at least run our slate of programs outside of Kansas this coming summer. (We consider this our absolute worst case scenario at this stage.) This includes at least twelve high school programs and two middle school programs.

In the awful circumstance that FHSU chooses to not retain the Camps program in any capacity, please know that it will not be the end of the mission and community this program has been building for the past thirteen years. As we have told some students and staff already, this program isn't just the fossils and camping gear and data sets. Sternberg Camps is its people and their unity to sustain a safe, uplifting community who just happen to love earth and life science!

The paleontology community also understands the tremendous value of the Sternberg Museum and the Camps, and are committed to fighting to sustain these institutions.

A million thanks to every one of you for your participation in and support of the Sternberg Science Camps. Providing a space for kids who love science grow and thrive has been a joy and privelege we hope to continue past this dreadful turbulence.

Where we go, we go together.

28/09/2026

Getting ready for Oktoberfest!

This will be Paleo Prairie’s second year at Junction City Oktoberfest, and this time I’m going bigger — literally. My booth is twice the size it was last year!

I’ve been working on new products, getting everything organized, and testing out the booth setup before the big weekend.

Expect plenty of fossils, replicas, jewelry, natural history products, and some new stuff I’m excited to finally show off.

28/09/2026

Getting ready for Oktoberfest!

This will be Paleo Prairie’s second year at Junction City Oktoberfest, and this time I’m going bigger — literally. My booth is twice the size it was last year!

I’ve been working on new products, getting everything organized, and testing out the booth setup before the big weekend.

Expect plenty of fossils, replicas, jewelry, natural history products, and some new stuff I’m excited to finally show off.

28/09/2026