Highway Paleontology Program

Heavy construction machinery travels across snowy land near road construction with wind turbines in the background.

The Highway Paleontology Program is a partnership between the University of Nebraska State Museum and Nebraska Department of Transportation.

Since 1960, the University of Nebraska State Museum and Nebraska Department of Transportation (formerly the Nebraska Department of Roads) have worked together to preserve Nebraska's prehistoric past. The Highway Paleontology Program was the first of its kind in the United States. Through the collaborative efforts of contractors, museum paleontologists, and transportation department staff, an estimated 200,000 vertebrate fossils have been recovered from new construction across the state.

Highway Paleontology Exhibit in Morrill Hall

Highway Paleontology Exhibit, Life in the Past Lane wall art
Highway Paleontology Exhibit
Highway Paleontology Exhibit display