Researchers Discover Dinosaur Fossil Beneath Denver Museum of Nature & Science

DENVER — The Denver Museum of Nature & Science announced today the discovery of a dinosaur fossil under the Museum’s parking lot in City Park. In January, the Museum conducted a geothermal test drilling project to assess the viability of transitioning from natural gas to geothermal energy. At that time, the team took the opportunity to carry out a scientific coring research initiative to help researchers better understand the geology of the Denver Basin. The coring investigation led to the unexpected discovery of a nearly 70 million dinosaur fossil. The partial-bone fossil was found 763 feet below the surface and has been identified as the deepest and oldest dinosaur fossil ever found within the city limits. The fossil is now on display on the Museum floor in the “Discovering Teen Rex” exhibition.   

Find the media kit, here. 

“This is a scientifically and historically thrilling find for both the Museum and the larger Denver community,” said Dr. James Hagadorn, curator of geology at the Museum. “This fossil comes from an era just before the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs, and it offers a rare window into the ecosystem that once existed right beneath modern-day Denver.”  

Dr. Patrick O’Connor, director of Earth & Space Sciences at the Museum, was part of the team that identified the bone as a vertebra of an herbivorous dinosaur. The fossil is described in an article in the scientific journal “Rocky Mountain Geology.” The bone occurs in Late Cretaceous rocks dated to approximately 67.5 million years ago.   

"This may be the most unusual dinosaur discovery I have ever been a part of," said Dr. O’Connor. “Not only is it exceptionally rare to find any fossil as part of a drilling project, but the discovery provided an outstanding collaborative opportunity for the Museum earth sciences team to produce an article led by Denver Museum of Nature & Science postdoctoral scholar, Dr. Holger Petermann.”     

In 2024, the Museum was awarded a $250,000 grant through Gov. Jared Polis’ Geothermal Energy Grant Program at the Colorado Energy Office, part of a $7.7 million statewide investment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to clean energy. The grant is helping the Museum explore the viability of replacing natural gas with geothermal systems to sustainably heat and cool the facility.  

For longtime Earth Sciences Research Associate Dr. Bob Raynolds, the project is nothing short of extraordinary: “In my 35 years at the Museum, we’ve never had an opportunity quite like this — to study the deep geologic layers beneath our feet with such precision. That this fossil turned up here, in City Park, is nothing short of magical.”   

The specimen deepens our understanding of dinosaurs in the Denver Basin and encourages us to imagine all the fossils hidden right beneath our feet — a world still waiting to be discovered and explored!  

Read more on Catalyst: Museum Makes Another Incredible Dinosaur Discovery — This Time Underneath Our Parking Lot 

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