Category: Paleontology

He’s HERE!

Fruitadens, the Smallest Plant Eating Dinosaur in the World!
A small but excited crowd was given the pleasure of being the first to see Fruitadens today at Dinosaur Journey.
In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, Fruitadens is the latest sensation in the Grand Valley. Discovered in 1976 by George Callison, Fruitadens is the smallest plant [...]


Unveiling of New Dinosaur Exhibit: Fruitadens

This exhibit features a life-size, fleshed-out reconstruction of Fruitadens, one of the smallest adult dinosaurs in the world, found right here in the Grand Valley in 1976 by paleontologist (and Grand Junction resident) George Callison. Tiny adult dinosaurs are rare, and even more rare are plant-eating dinosaurs that weighed less than a house cat. Among [...]


Dinosaur Journey roars back to life

Dinosaur fans give museum welcome boost in ‘09 visitation
Fifteen months ago, the administrators in charge of Dinosaur Journey were as desperate and distraught as a Tyrannosaurus rex roaming a land filled only with ferns and cycads.
The mechanical components of the Fruita museum’s dinosaurs that allowed them to spit, hiss and growl were breaking down. The [...]


Fossil of the Week

Mymoorapelta was the first ankylosaur discovered in the Jurassic of North America. This dinosaur was discovered in the Morrison Formation (Brushy Basin Member) at the Mygatt-Moore Quarry, located in western Colorado’s Rabbit Valley. It represented a totally new group of dinosaurs in the Morrison Formation, one that hadn’t been found in this rock unit in [...]


Fossil of the Week

Above are examples of Ceratosaurus teeth that have been collected in the Grand Valley over the last few decades. Ceratosaurus was a carnivorous dinosaur that lived during the Jurassic Period, some 150 million years ago. Its bones and teeth are now preserved in the rocks known as the Morrison Formation. This theropod appears to be [...]


Parade of Lights Dinosaur Float

This year ReBecca Hunt, with the help of John Foster, Don Kerven and Gaylon Reynolds, constructed and decorated the Museum’s float for Grand Junction Parade of Lights. Our float consisted of four local dinosaurs (Brachiosaurus, Mymoorapelta, Ceratosaurus and a pterosaur) celebrating Christmas by decorating their palm tree and opening presents. These dinos were constructed from [...]


Snowmass Dig

Safely Secured: After wrestling 800 pounds of dinosaur, rock, and plaster down the mountain for nearly four hours, the team pauses for a photo with the field jacket chained down tight on a flatbed. Wrapped up in the rock and plaster are parts of an as yet unidentified dinosaur from the Morrison Formation in the [...]


Dinosaur Journey Gets a Facelift

NBC news has a short video on the renovations at Dinosaur Journey thanks to a grant from the Lions Club. Watch it here.


Riggs Hill Lecture - September 18

Kelli C. Trujillo will be our speaker for the talk on Friday, September 18.  Kelli will present:
Dinosaurs in the Pipeline - A Report on the Laramie Plains Dinosaur Quarry (Morrison Formation)
“The current boom in oil and gas across the West is creating unique opportunities for paleontologists. As a result of state and federal regulations and [...]


DINO DAYS!

Don’t forget that Dino DAZE are this weekend!  The fun starts with a VIP reception at Dinosaur Journey Museum Friday, July 24 at 6:30 pm.
After the reception there will be a street dance with Ralph Dinosaur and the Fabulous Volcanoes! And it’s FREE! The Fruita Rotary Club will be selling libations.
Then, Saturday morning, the PTROT! [...]