This month, The Master’s University’s paleontology program was spotlighted in a press release sent out by the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation.

The release, titled “Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Yields New Research,” tells the story of how Dr. Matthew McLain and a group of his students made the first ever fossil footprint discovery at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area in Santa Clarita during a routine field trip.

“I took students out to Vasquez Rocks for an Essentials of Geology lab,” says McLain, dean of TMU’s School of Science, Math, Technology & Health. “A couple of students were pointing at mud cracks and we looked down and there was a tiny footprint. We didn’t know it at the time, but this was the first fossil footprint ever found in the park.”

McLain had the track identified by a curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; it is believed to belong to a small dog-like creature. TMU students presented the finding last year at the Geological Society of America, and work is now underway on a scientific article about the finding.

This project is only the latest example of McLain’s belief in the importance of student research.

“If you want to study geoscience or paleontology at a school that takes the Bible seriously, this is it,” he says. “Part of our hope is that prospective students can hear about this research and know that they can come here and actually do science for their undergrad. We hope the program continues to grow, and that we get more and more students coming through here that are learning how to do science and have a positive impact on these fields and this world for Christ.”

If you are interested, learn more about TMU’s geoscience and paleontology majors.