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The 1.5 update added a lot of new content to Stardew Valley, including the Island Field Office with Professor Snail. Here, you can trade fossils for Golden Walnuts and other rewards. This guide will explain how to get every fossil needed for the Field Office.
To unlock this content, you must first complete the Community Center. After that, there’s one remaining task: fixing Willy’s boat to reach Ginger Island. You’ll need 200 hardwood, five battery packs, and five iridium bars. Once you collect these items, you can go to Ginger Island.
Updated November 25, 2025, by Gabrielle Castania: Finding all the fossils on Ginger Island can be a long process. This guide has been updated with extra details to help you find all 11 fossils faster, plus what rewards you can get if you’ve already collected all your Golden Walnuts.
How to Unlock the Field Office
Before donating fossils, you need to unlock the Ginger Island Field Office. This is simple—start by repairing the bridge that leads to the dig site. From Willy’s dock on the beach, head north to find a new area. You’ll see a path leading to a tent. To the left of the tent, there’s a small river with a broken bridge.
To repair the bridge, pay ten Golden Walnuts to the parrot nearby. Once paid, the bridge is fixed, and you can access the dig site. Use bombs or explosive ammo to break the large boulder blocking the cave’s entrance at the top of the site. This will free Professor Snail, who oversees the Ginger Island Field Office. After he’s released, he’ll talk about the island’s plants and animals, and you can donate fossils.
You need to donate a total of 11 fossils to complete the collection, with each fossil offering its own reward.
Finding Fossils
Luck does not influence fossil discovery—it’s all about exploring and searching. Even if you’re unlucky, keep looking; fossils can be found repeatedly.
Where to Find Snake Fossils
You need three fossils to complete the snake: a snake skull and two snake vertebrae. These can be found in artifact spots on the west side of Ginger Island, while fishing nearby can also yield some. You can locate these fossils by digging in artifact spots or breaking rocks in the jungle area, accessible through weeds on the right side of Willy’s boat. Simply clear the grass with your sword or scythe until the frog appears. If you don’t find it initially, wait for the grass to regrow and try again with a sharp weapon.
Locating the Fossils
- Snake Skull: Found in artifact spots on the island’s west side, fishing spots, and at the dig site.
- Snake Vertebrae: Found in artifact spots on the west side of Ginger Island.
Overall, these fossils are mainly located on the west side of Ginger Island, near Birdie and the island farm. To access, pay ten Golden Walnuts to the turtle on the left side of the starting beach—this is a one-time fee, after which you can revisit Island West anytime.
Large Mammal Fossils
There are six fossils to find for the large mammal collection. These are scattered across different locations on the island. You may also get a reward for collecting all walnuts, but the main goal is to gather all six fossils, which will be listed with their locations.
How to Get Golden Coconuts
Golden Coconuts act like geodes or artifact troves and contain fossils, including the mummified frog. They appear naturally around the island, found in artifact spots or on palm trees. Alternatively, trade ten regular coconuts at the Island Trader for a Golden Coconut—after unlocking the island farm for ten Golden Walnuts. Finding a Golden Coconut first might be the quicker way.
Where to Find the Mummified Frog
The mummified frog is found by clearing weeds in the jungle area of Ginger Island, accessible from the right side of Willy’s boat. Swing your sword or scythe through the grass until the frog appears. If it’s not there, wait for the grass to grow back and try again—it’s a rare find, with about a 1 in 200 chance per rock break. Using bombs can help clear larger sections of rocks where the frog might be hiding.
Where to Find the Mummified Bat
This fossil is located in the volcano dungeon, the northernmost area of Ginger Island. Break rocks there with a strong pickaxe and bombs. The mummified bat has a very low chance (about 1 in 200) to appear when breaking rocks. To speed this up, bring powerful tools and bombs to clear rocks more efficiently.
Accidentally Lost a Fossil?
If you sell or throw away a fossil by mistake, don’t worry—you can find it again on the island. Simply revisit areas where fossils spawn, and it’s likely you’ll encounter duplicates naturally during your exploration. Extra fossils can also be sold for 100g each, which isn’t much but helps if you’re saving up.
Bone Mill and Fossils
The Bone Mill is a device unlocked by completing a special order called Fragments of the Past. It allows you to process bones into fertilizers. Extra fossils can be used in the Bone Mill to obtain fertilizers, making it a useful way to recycle fossils.
Rewards for Completing the Collection
Turn in all 11 fossils, and you’ll receive a reward: the recipe for the Ostrich Incubator. This incubator can hatch an ostrich from an egg, which takes about ten days. The recipe needs 50 Bone Fragments, 50 Hardwood, and 20 Cinder Shards. Once built, place an ostrich egg inside, and after ten days, you’ll get an ostrich that lays an egg every week.
Once your ostrich is hatched, you can raise it with other farm animals. A regular ostrich egg costs about 600g and can be processed into mayonnaise, which sells for a good price. Although it only produces once a week, it’s more profitable than chickens, which only produce seven jars of mayonnaise per week.
Summary
Fossils can be found in artifact spots, by breaking rocks, or in artifact troves around Ginger Island. The main locations are on the island’s west side, accessible after paying the parrot. Keep exploring, use tools and bombs to uncover hidden fossils, and enjoy completing your collection for the special rewards.
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