LEWISTOWN, Ill. (WCIA) — The Illinois State Museum announced on Wednesday that the annual Artifact Identification Day will return to its Dickson Mounds branch in Lewistown for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event is scheduled on March 19 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Museum archaeologists and other experts will identify Native American artifacts and objects, including fossils, animal bones, and rock specimens. The museum said all visitors are encouraged to bring their curiosities and questions to the event, but no appraisals will be given.

“We are thrilled to revive Artifact ID Day after such a long hiatus,” said Logan Pappenfort, Illinois State Museum Curator of Anthropology. “I’m excited to meet with visitors, view their collections, and discuss the shared history of the Illinois River Valley.”

The museum also said that the event has drawn both mundane and spectacular objects for more than 40 years.

Admission is free. Food from the Lunchwagon will also be on-site for purchase.

Dickson Mounds is located between Lewistown and Havana, near Illinois Route 78/97. The museum is open to the public seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

More information about the museum can be found here.