World profile
Act 1 Near Earth
1 The Quarry
the dig site where it all begins
The sun is setting over the Quarry. The pink mountains hide in the mist and the lanterns light up. Tommy digs, and Cosmo lights up the hole where a fossil glows.
Your dino ally
Cosmo, the guide
In the game
Your first dig site: run, jump, dig… and find your first fossil.
- Here, you learn everything, gently
- Cosmo, your guide, lights up the hole
- A fossil glowing at the bottom
- Lanterns, a pond and a flag
Its light Sunset.
In real life
Real dig sites
A fossil forms when an animal is covered by mud, sand or silt. Over time, water leaves minerals in its bones and turns them into stone: this can take thousands, or even millions, of years. [1]
Wind, rain and rivers slowly wear the rock away. One day, the fossil appears at the surface: that's when it can be found. [1]
At the dig site, paleontologists remove the rock around the bones, with hand tools and power tools. Then they wrap the fossil in a shell of toilet paper, gauze and plaster, so it can be moved without breaking. [2]
At the museum, the shell is opened on one side. Then the fossil is cleaned and strengthened so that it lasts a long time. [2]
Sources
The information on this page comes from these sources:
- How are fossils formed?, Natural History Museum, London (accessed November 5, 2026).
- Paleontology at NHM, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (accessed November 5, 2026).