I Always Wanted To

Becky Barnes is a paleontologist with the North Dakota Geological Survey, located in Bismarck, ND.  She works as the lab manager and volunteer coordinator for the paleo. Department, and is one of three paleontologists on staff.  Her summers are spent out across North Dakota, collecting fossils and assisting with public fossil digs.  Her winters are spent cleaning those same fossils in the lab (located in the basement of the Heritage Center and State Museum), wrangling volunteers, doing public outreach and tours, and writing or illustrating new educational publications.  Her love of paleontology began at a  young age, and she never grew out of it.  She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Concordia College, in Moorhead, MN in Biological Sciences, and her Masters degree through North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND – also in Biological Sciences, with an emphasis in vertebrate paleontology.  She enjoys woodworking as a hobby, and lives with her husband, daughter, and a plethora of cats. For the NDGS Paleo cr