Start Your Adventure:

You've got your tickets, you've arrived at the museum, and one of our friendly Explorer Guides hands you a card with a sweet image of a Cretaceous Creature on it, and you think to yourself, what is this? That little card is your Explorer Key, and it is your key to unlocking the past and discovering the future! Your Explorer Key connects you to the story of the dinosaurs, enables you to interact with the museum, and continues the experience at home.

When you first arrive at the museum, our Explorer Guides will help you activate your Explorer Key. From there, keep it close as you explore the museum! You will see places to tap your key and personalize your experience with the digital exhibits in our main gallery. As you enjoy this personalized experience, your Explorer Key is keeping track of the points you earn by completing each activity. The points you earn enable you to level up and earn badges, which you can see on your personalized page on efm.org/login, but more on that later!

Fossil Detectives:

Your Explorer Key is also the only way to play the Fossil Detectives scavenger hunt! There are twelve fossil boxes hidden throughout our Cretaceous Galleries, and it is up to you to find them. Each time you spot a fossil box, tap your Explorer Key and look for the light to turn green, that means you've found a fossil! Once you've found all twelve, find one of the giant leaderboards in the gallery to learn more about each fossil you found and add your name to the leaderboard!

Act Now:

As you make your way through the gallery of Extinction and Hope, you will find two screens toward the end. These are the Act Now kiosks. This is where you can step up and pledge to be a part of our mission of discovering the past and protecting the future! Tap your Explorer Key and select different events, organizations, books, and more to add to your personal page and continue your learning at home. For example, learn all about planting native plants in your backyard or sign up to attend a local event like a bird walk or kayak tour!

Continue Learning at Home:

When you get home, visit efm.org and have your Explorer Key handy. On the upper right section of our homepage, you will see a button to Sign In. Click that button, enter your first name as you wrote it when activating your Explorer Key at the museum, and then take the last five characters from the eight-digit card number on the back of your Explorer Key. You will see the points you've earned, a fun little post-visit quiz to test your knowledge after a day of learning, and everything you saved from the Act Now kiosk. As you complete the tasks you added from the Act Now kiosk, let us know! We love to hear about how our guests are taking action to help our planet - shoot us an email at info@efm.org to tell us all about it.

Come Back for More Adventure!

On top of all that, this Explorer Key is not only a souvenir to remind you of your first visit, but it becomes a big part of every future visit! When you become a member (join here), you can upgrade your card to one of our snazzy new members-only Explorer Keys and use it as your admission to the museum and for discounts at Quarry Grounds café and the Darwin & Co. museum store. Even without a membership, bring your Explorer Key with you on every visit to help you unlock the past and discover the future!