Go fossil hunting with the whole family
If the weather isn’t suitable for sunbathing and a day at the beach, visit the Natural History and Palaeontology department of Museum Sønderjylland in Gram. Bring the whole family on an exciting fossil hunt in the grey-black clay of the Gram Clay Pit.
In Gram, about halfway between Haderslev and Ribe, you can visit a small museum that showcases unusual things such as 10-million-year-old whale fossils and the world’s largest shark.
The museum’s name – Natural History and Palaeontology – perfectly reflects its special focus: extinct animals. The word “Palaeontology” means the study of ancient animals and plants through the discovery and analysis of fossils.
The southwestern part of Sønderjylland, which is land today, was 10 million years ago covered by the ancient North Sea, which extended over the area. The soft seabed formed by the clay was home to a great number of marine animals: snails, mussels, crabs and sea urchins. In the open waters above the seabed lived sharks, rays, fish, seals and whales. It is the remains of these creatures that you may be lucky enough to find today when you visit the old clay pit.
A visit to the museum in Gram combined with digging in the clay can easily become a “journey back in time” as you discover the remains of life forms that lived in the area more than 10 million years ago.
The museum lends out the necessary digging equipment, and if you have forgotten your rubber boots, the museum also has boots in both children’s and adult sizes for you to borrow. During holiday periods, the fossil hunt is staffed with a Fossil Hunter guide who gives digging tips and explains the fossils that are found. Outside the holiday season, you have the chance to watch an introductory film about fossil hunting at the museum, where the museum host can also tell you about your finds. Most fossils can be taken home, but always show what you find to the staff – it may be a rare fossil that must be submitted as Danekræ.
So bring the family for a day in the name of natural history!
Schools can contact Museum Manager Asbjørn Holm, asho@msj.dk, or +45 65 37 07 74 for a tour during the period where the museum is closed.
