Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center facts for kids
Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center viewed from US Highway 24 in Woodland Park, Colorado
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| Established | May 2004 |
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| Location | U.S. Highway 24 at Fairview Street Woodland Park, Colorado |
| Type | Natural history |
| Visitors | About 100,000 annually |
The Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center is an exciting museum in Woodland Park, Colorado. It's packed with incredible fossils, mostly from the Late Cretaceous period in North America. This was a time when dinosaurs, flying reptiles called pterosaurs, huge marine reptiles, and fish lived! The museum also has a special lab where scientists prepare fossils. Plus, there's a big gift shop. Friendly guides give tours, sharing stories about each fossil and the ancient creatures they came from. This museum is also the main office for a company called Triebold Paleontology Incorporated.
Contents
Discovering the Past: Museum History
The Dinosaur Resource Center was first created to be a place to store and show off fossils. These fossils were found and made into casts by Triebold Paleontology Incorporated. The museum first opened its doors to the public in May 2004. It displayed both real fossils and copies of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and many sea creatures from the Late Cretaceous period. Most of these amazing sea fossils came from the shale and chalk beds of Western Kansas.
Since it opened, the museum has shown many important original fossils. Some of these were on their way to universities and research centers. This includes the very first discovered specimens of Anzu wyliei and Mercuriceratops gemini. These "holotype" specimens are super important because they are the first of their kind ever found and named!
Exploring the Exhibits
The museum has two main halls filled with fossils. One hall focuses on land animals like dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and ancient mammals. The other hall shows off amazing sea creatures such as fish, mosasaurs, and plesiosaurs.
Many of the real fossils are "tactile exhibits." This means you can actually touch them! There's also a fun children's corner where you can use a touchscreen to see 3D digital models of fossils. You can also try hands-on activities like digging for fossils and solving puzzles. It's a great way to learn about paleontology!
Where to Find the Museum
The Dinosaur Resource Center is located on the south side of U.S. Highway 24 (Colorado) at Fairview Street. You can find it in Woodland Park, Colorado.
Gallery
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Front of Thescelosaurus
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Saurodon leanus
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Plioplatecarpus skull
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Anzu wyliei skeleton cast
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Dorygnathus in flight
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Martinectes bonneri
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Cast of Albertosaurus
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Meniscoessus skull
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Daspletosaurus torosus
