Young girl discovers rare ancient fossil at Calgary playground
Posted June 24, 2026 2:18 pm.
A recent Calgary playground visit led to an unexpected find after a young girl uncovered something unusual at a neighbourhood park.
Alyssa, a seven‑year‑old with a passion for dinosaurs, spotted a dark shape embedded in one of rocks bordering a local playground and immediately recognized it as a fossil.
She urged her parents to contact experts at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, where specialists confirmed the discovery was a rare 250 to 400 million‑year‑old sea star fossil measuring about five centimetres across.
According to Dr. Don Henderson, the Curator of Dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, sea stars fossilize only under extremely specific conditions, making specimens of this age exceptionally uncommon and usually found at only a handful of sites worldwide.
The boulder had been placed during the playground’s construction in 2005, meaning the fossil sat unnoticed for more than two decades.
Museum staff used a diamond saw to remove the fossil, leaving the rest of the boulder in place while City crews repaired the area. The fossil will be cleaned, catalogued and may eventually be displayed.
Alyssa watched the extraction from above and later held the fossil herself. Her parents described the moment as surreal and filled with pride, noting her thoughtful questions for museum staff.
City archaeologists are remind residents that fossils are protected under Alberta’s Historical Resources Act and should be reported directly to the Tyrrell Museum website.
