The Waco Mammoth Site became a National Monument on July 10 after President Obama signs executive order.
This was made possible after various years of hard work from the City of Waco, Baylor University, The Mayborn Museum, Waco Mammoth Foundation and the Waco community.
Raegan King, the Waco Mammoth Site Program Coordinator for one year and a half insert comma said having the Mammoth Site become a National Monument site, is monumental for this .
“For the President of the United States to say yes this is significant, yes this deserves to be part of the Department of the Interior is validation of everything,” King said.
The mammoth site has the nation’s only nursery herd of Columbian mammoths that perished 65,000 to 68,000 years ago.
“That is our claim to fame. That’s what makes this site so unique of a resource,” King said.
At the mammoth site, 23 Columbian mammoths can be seen, 18 of which are females and babies that died simultaneously.
In addition, visitors can go on guided tours every 30 minutes, a free public dig, and a mobile dig program.
“Its just a way to immerse children and families in the science that we offer here so they can get more from their trip and come back again and do something different,” King said.
Baylor’s Mayborn Museum, responsibilities include taking care of any bones that were found at the Waco Mammoth Site for study and safe keeping.
In addition to being responsible for the storage and care of the fossil materials, Rebecca Tucker Nall, the Assistant Director of Communication, said the Mayborn Museum also has a section in the inside devoted to the mammoth site.
“People can actually walk over a glass floor and see those bones,” Nall said.
The future of the National Monument Waco Mammoth Site is looking bright.
“The potential that more can be found here is also something that excites the National Park Service and is something that Waco is proud of,” King said.
The Mammoth Site is located at 6220 Steinbeck Bend Drive and is open from Tuesday through Friday from 11-5 p.m. every and on Saturdays from 9-5 p.m.
The Waco Mammoth National Monument serves as the 408th unit of the National Park Service and as the 14th im Texas.
More information about The Mayborn Museum can be found at www.baylor.edu/mayborn. To find out the details on the National Monument head to their website, www.waco-texas.com/cms-waco-mammoth.
