This is Mazon Monday post #347. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at esconi.info@gmail.com.
For the last few months and continuing for a while longer, Mazon Creek is center stage in the Field Museum’s Grainger Science Hub. The Science Hub is a great place to learn about the museum’s ongoing research and collections. It’s open daily from 10am to 3pm.
Here is the exhibit’s description from the Field Museum’s website.
Mazon Creek: Illinois’s Fossil Hotspot
Imagine the Earth 300 million years ago. The planet was a vastly different place with both familiar and unfamiliar life. Tropical wetland forests were populated with ferns, amphibians, and giant invertebrates. Nearby coastal and marine habitats were home to fascinating and bizarre creatures whose fossils are currently being studied by Field Museum scientists.
Some of the best fossils of this bygone era can be found in Mazon Creek, a fossil bed located about 60 miles southwest of Chicago. For generations, amateur fossil hunters and professional researchers have traveled there hoping to discover more about ancient life in Illinois. For this temporary exhibition, you’ll be able to view selected specimens of flora and fauna from Mazon Creek, including the enigmatic Tully Monster. Come get hands on with some real Mazon Creek fossils and see what fossil nodules from the region reveal about Illinois’s distant past.
Back in May 2026 as they were planning/building the new exhibit, a group of us headed to Pit 11 for a field trip.
They’ve been been actually freeze/thawing the concretions we collected all summer. You can stop by and see what opened each day.
They let you can get a close up look at some beautiful specimens.
Jon and the rest of the team are there to answer questions and tell you more about Illinois during the carboniferous.
There’s a few large displays with specimens from the Field Museum’s collection.
Photo display
Who doesn’t like an Arthropleura?!? That would make a great t-shirt…
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