 On June 1, when Jake Carstensen and Tyler Kellett went outside to explore a stream bed near their homes in Ken Caryl Ranch, they never imagined they would make a discovery that would dazzle scientists.
There had been heavy rain in the area the day before, and as the boys were picking up rocks deposited on the creek banks by the torrent, they came across something that looked like a rock at first. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the jawbone and tooth of a large animal.
They brought their discovery home to determine what they had found.  After quizzing Tyler Kellett’s father, Don, a wildlife biologist, and ruling out every suggestion he made, the boys turned to the internet to find some answers. They quickly realized they had discovered the mandible of an American mastodon, a prehistoric relative of the elephant that went extinct approximately 13,000 years ago. The boys contacted Dr. Steve Holen, the Museum’s curator of archaeology, who confirmed their conclusion.
Holen was immediately interested in the discovery because unlike mammoths, mastodon fossils are extremely rare in Colorado. With the help of other scientists, Holen learned there were only two other instances of mastodon discoveries on record in Colorado.
 Carstensen and Kellett went back to the creek bed to look for more pieces of the mastodon and discovered an intact tusk submerged in water. They shared the news with Holen, and with the blessing of the Ken Caryl Ranch Master Association, plans were made to temporarily divert the stream to excavate the tusk.
It took two days of backbreaking, messy work by Holen, Carstensen, Tyler and Don Kellett, and several other volunteers in mid-September to unearth the tusk, but the team succeeded. It was wrapped in paper towels and plaster and was transported to the Museum. With the input of other local scientists, it has been determined the mastodon is between 50,000 and 150,000 years old.
 Thanks to the Ken Caryl Ranch Master Association, which donated the mastodon mandible and tusk to the Museum, this spectacular piece of Colorado’s prehistoric past is now a part of the Museum’s permanent collection. It will be preserved and studied by scientists—including the two young friends who discovered it.
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