Kids swarmed the open window, leaning over to watch a volunteer brush away dirt, slowly exposing the triceratops’ jaw.
Many volunteers work in the fossil preparation lab at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, cleaning fossils from across the world. As they went about their work Saturday, three fossils sat in the lab’s window. These ones had just arrived the night before from somewhere significantly closer — the in Thornton.
The fossils were still in jackets — the plaster cases used to transport fossils — but had been cut open to reveal the sand and fossils inside.Only those three have been transported to the museum so far, but 20-25 bones have been found as of Saturday.
Jerry Clark, a 6-year-old also from Thornton, stood at the glass with his mom, Ashley Clark. The two had come to check out the triceratops and were looking at the jackets. Jerry Clark explained to his mom how the fossils were excavated.
Jerry Clark knows a good amount about dinosaurs, having learned about them from books and movies. He knew triceratops had a frill like a shield at the back of its head. They also eat plants. He said the fossils were “pretty cool.”
“I was thinking like, like, like, like, they dig into the bones, they find it so they could put it out around the museum so we can look at the triceratops,” he said.
Ashley Clark said it was wild that they found the dinosaur in their town buried around houses — it was a sentiment repeated by many who were at the museum Saturday.
“We could be living on top of a dinosaur and wouldn’t even know it,” she said to Jerry Clark. He responded with a simple “ya.”
Jerry Clark ran back to the window with his mom to look again at the jackets holding the fossils.
Waves of kids and parents made their way through, intermixing with periodic lulls and massive hoards. Some came to the museum just to see the Thornton triceratops while others were learning about it for the first time.
Museum educator Samantha Sands explained the fossils to visitors. while digging six feet deep — “yes, only six feet.” Museum workers and volunteers are working in a 20×20 area as construction carries on around them.
The , which tend to be in chunks, she explained. The museum has found the front and back of the triceratops, which makes them hopeful that they may find the middle. The triceratops was left on the ground for a while when it died 66 million years ago — give or take a thousand years — and its parts have been scattered, likely by scavengers.
The Denver basin was made up of soft sand at the time, making it easy for the museum to extract the bones from the surrounding dirt. The excavation could continue into the end of next week, or go longer if more bones are found, she said.
“We go all over the world to find dinosaurs,” Sands said. “To find one in our community is exciting.”
She said it was great to see the local excitement around the dinosaur, saying the Thornton triceratops represents the community’s history and belongs to the people of Colorado.
“Did you hear that?” One woman said, walking up to her husband. The two began to leave the exhibit. “They just discovered a triceratops. Here in Thornton!”
