Mammoths, camels and giant sloths in Nevada: Students display talent in Fossil Day art contest

Thousands of Ice Age fossils – including Columbian mammoths, camels, American lions, saber-toothed cats, and even giant sloths – remain in an arid desert wash on the northern outskirts of the Las Vegas Valley.

Tule Springs, home of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument and the Ice Age Fossils State Park set to open next year, contains one of the most significant fossil beds in North America, where thousands of fossils await scientific excavation, examination and public viewing.

So it is only fitting that the Clark County School District School-Community Partnership Program – in partnership with the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, the Las Vegas Science and Technology Festival, and Protectors of Tule Springs – hosts an annual student art contest in celebration of National Fossil Day, which was Oct. 16.

More than 170 entries were received from Clark County School District (CCSD) students this year, whose theme was “Flora, Fauna and Fossils in Southern Nevada.” Prizes were awarded to the top three winners in each of five categories at a special ceremony on Oct. 12 at Las Vegas Natural History Museum.

Click here to see the wonderful winning entries submitted by elementary, middle and high school students. Student artwork will be on display at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum through Nov. 21. Pictured above is Eileen Brookman Elementary School student Matilda’s submission, which was chosen as the cover of the 2020 National Fossil Day Art Contest calendar.

Each year, the art is also used in a special commemorative calendar to benefit the nonprofit organization Protectors of Tule Springs that supports both the National Park Service with development of this National Monument and the Ice Age Fossils State Park opening early next year.

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument contains the single largest assemblage of Ice Age fossils in the Southwest, spanning geologic history from 7,000 to 300,000 years before present, and offering important insights into at least two Ice Ages and multiple warming and cooling periods.

As they are developed, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument and Ice Age Fossils State Park will provide educational opportunities, especially firsthand experience in several fields of earth science, for students in Clark County and the surrounding areas. The area is also supported and utilized by state higher education institutions, and is expected to be a significant educational and research resource far into the future.