The East Tennessee State University and General Shale Brick Natural History Museum and Visitor Center at the Gray Fossil Site was formally dedicated on August 30.  Since its discovery seven years ago during a TDOT road-widening  project in the community of Gray, the five-acre Miocene Epoch site has proven to be a prolific animal and plant fossil field that is 4.5 to 7 million years old with a deposit running some 100-140 feet deep.

The $10 million, 33,000-square-foot building is one of only a few fully functional museums located directly “on a site.”  It features a multitude of opportunities and amenities for visitors of all ages, for researchers and students, and for scholars from around the world.  Within the facility, The Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology champions the ETSU mission of teaching, research, and public service as it recognizes the former governor’s support for the project since 2000.