general information

Address and Phone:
1212 Suncrest Drive
PO Box 9221
Gray, TN 37615

Email: grayfossilinfo@etsu.edu
Phone: (423) 439-3659
Fax: (423) 439-3658
Toll Free: (866) 202-6223

Admission Rates:
Visit grayfossilmuseum.org for current prices.

Hours Open to the Public:
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday

Dates Closed:
Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day

Discounts:
Group Discount, Other Discounts Available, Senior Citizen Discount, Student Discount

Payment Types Accepted:
Visa, Cash, MasterCard, American Express

ETSU and GSB Natural History Museum and Gray Fossil Site

www.etsu.edu/naturalhistorymuseum

Gray, TN

The ETSU and General Shale Brick Natural History Museum and Visitor Center at the Gray Fossil Site is dedicated to understanding, preserving and interpreting biodiversity of the Southern Appalachians through time, using an interdisciplinary approach.

The Gray Fossil Site covers more than five acres, a Miocene site dated at 4.5 to 7 million years old, containing fossilized remains of an entire ecosystem of plants and animals. A series of sinkholes, formed from a collapsed cave, created a watering hole that drew animals from near and far. For some unlucky animals, the sinkhole became a trap that preserved them as fossils for the ages.

With less than 2 percent of the site excavated, thousands of fossil specimens have already been recovered!

The Museum is open daily, 9:00 a.m. to 5p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and offers numerous educational and outreach programs, activities, and special lectures, as well as new temporary exhibits each season. Join in on hourly guided tours of upstairs exhibits, on-site research laboratory and collections, the dig site outside and dry screening activity stations! 

Directions: From Interstate 81, take Interstate 26 south to the Gray exit 13 (Hwy 75) Turn left (south) at the light. The Fossil Site and Museum is approximately 1.8 miles south on the left.