Dino Shindig
July 26 & 27, 2025 at 9am to 5pm
Annual Dino Shindig
Cost: $10 Adults, $7 Kids (ages 16 and younger)
At Carter County Museum 306 N Main Street Ekalaka, MT 59324
The 13th Annual Shindig is July 26-27, 2025!
Named Montana’s Event of the Year by the Office of Tourism and Business Development, the Annual Dino Shindig takes place at the end of July. Visitors travel from all over the world to hear lectures from leading paleontologists, partake in kids activities, and dance the night away. Talks and kid’s activities on July 26 are $10 for adults and $7 for kids (under 13). They will go on sale in-person at the Carter County Museum on July 26.
The Annual Dino Shindig Auction includes a silent auction that runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the St. Elizabeth Lutheran Church (where the talks are located). The Live Auction will begin after lunch at 1:30 p.m.
Extend your stay and join us on Thursday, July 24 at Medicine Rocks State Park for Sunset Yoga at 8 p.m. a Bat Walk at 9 p.m. and Dinosaurs & Dark Skies at 10 p.m. (Free admission).
Continue scrolling for the full schedule of events!
Friday, JUly 25, 2025
Drawing the Dinosaur Trail
Art Workshop with Jenn Hall
10 a.m. - Noon
Join us at the Central Schoolhouse Gallery at the Carter County Museum for an art workshop with artist Jenn Hall, designer of the official Montana Dinosaur Trail poster series.
Cost is $15 per person and pre-registration at the museum is required. Includes all materials (drawing paper, pencils, etc.) and two hours instruction. Contact us to reserve your spot.
Friday, JUly 25, 2025
Sister Museum SCIFriday
Program and activity with Museum of the Rockies
1 - 3 p.m.
Join us for our annual Sister Museum SCIFriday with Museum of the Rockies! Part of the 13th Annual Dino Shindig festivities, this event will include a paleontology lecture by Ashley Hall, Outreach Program Manager at MOR, followed by an activity led by the MOR team and CCM Museum Educator, Barb Elmore.
Free admission, all ages welcome.
SATURDAY, JUly 26, 2025
Prehistoric Fight Night
2025 Contenders: Dr. Thomas Holtz, Dr. Holly Woodward-Ballard,
Eric Scott, & Kallie Moore
7 - 8 p.m. 411 East Cleveland Street, Ekalaka MT 59324
T. rex had a bit that could crush steel. Spinosaurs had claws as long as your torso. They lived at different times, on different continents, but everyone wants to know…Who would win in a fight? It’s the question on the mind of every kid (and a lot of grownups) when they visit a museum or watch a dinosaur movie. We all have our ideas but find out who the scientists would put their money on during the 13th Annual Dino Shindig! We’re pulling fighters from all of prehistory, represented by an expert panel of leading paleontologists: Dr. Thomas Holtz, Dr. Holly Woodward-Ballard, Eric Scott and Kallie Moore!
Hosted by Rextooth Studios. Free admission.
Other events on Saturday, July 26:
SUNDAY, JUly 27, 2025 AT 10 A.M. TO 2 P.M.
Science & Cultural History Gathering
Free Admission
The Science & Cultural History Gathering takes place at Medicine Rocks State Park Group Use Area.
- 10 a.m. Brenna Moloney, Montana State Parks Heritage Resources Program
- 11 a.m. Brody Miller, Burke Museum
- 12 p.m. Microsite fossil activity
- 1 p.m. Nature Hike
SUNDAY, JUly 27, 2025 AT 8:30 A.M. TO 5 P.M.
Fossil Field Expedition
Carter County Museum
Tickets for the 2025 Fossil Field Expedition are sold out.
Registered participants should meet at the museum at 8:30 a.m. to sign waivers and receive their field assignment. Please bring your own lunch, a hat, hiking shoes, a water bottle, and plenty of bug spray and sun screen. The museum will provide digging tools and snacks for participants. A limited number of vegetarian options will be provided.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Where will you be digging?
This fossil field expedition includes exposure from the latest Cretaceous period (66-100 million years ago). Participants will be assigned to one of several sites and can find dinosaur, mammal, and marine material, as well as fossil plants.
What happens to the fossils we collect?
All the fossils will be deposited at the Carter County Museum per agreements with our private landowners and the Bureau of Land Management. There, they will be sorted, prepped, cataloged, and made available to researchers. All finds will include participant names as collectors and will be identified as such if put on display at the CCM.
Please Note:
We are excavating fossils on BLM and private lands. As such, dogs and other animals are not allowed. Participants may not remove any material for personal or commercial purposes. The privilege to dig on private and public land is granted only for the duration of this single experience and participants may not return to the property without receiving permission from the owner. Violations of this will be considered trespassing and/or theft and will be subject to penalty under the law.
