Fossils are the museum owner Blathers’ favorite additions to his collection. Whenever you hand a new one over, his face lights up. But how do you find new fossils and assess which ones that Blathers doesn’t have yet?

Finding fossils

If Blathers has not come to your island yet, you must give more creatures (five total) to Tom Nook before you can begin finding fossils, as he is the one who gives you the Shovel DIY recipe.

Finding fossils is always a toss-up. You can find fossils on your island by digging up with a Shovel wherever you see cracks in the ground. There will be a few around your island, though some you will need the vaulting pole and ladder to reach.

New cracks will appear each day with new fossils to find. You can also find fossils on your Nook Miles trips, so keep an eye out on the islands you travel to.

Assessing your

finds with Blathers

While each fossil you find takes up one space in your inventory, you have no way of knowing which fossils you have found until you get them assessed.

If you bring these fossils to Blathers, you have the option to assess them. The fossil item will be named based on what dinosaur it was and what skeleton part it was. For example: Triceratops Skull.

It will show up in your inventory with a shortened version of that phrase, such as Tricera Skull.

Once your fossil has been assessed, if it is an item Blathers does not have yet, you can donate it to the museum. If he does, you can keep it or sell it at the shop. Keep in mind if you plan to sell that different fossils do sell for different amounts.