Dinosaur Journey is part of the Mueums of Western Colorado. Dr. Julia McHugh from Museums of Western Colorado’s Dinosaur Journey talks about what Holotype Fossils are, and how paleontologist use them to lay the foundation for new species discoveries. She talks specifically about the Mymorapelta dinosaur and it’s discovery.

Science investigation of Homologous traits. Homologous traits are structures that look similar but function differently in different organisms. Homologous traits occur when organism inherit traits from a common ancestor, but evolve different uses of the traits, an example would be a human arm and a bat wing. Activity uses a phylogenetic tree to examine traits within a lineage.

Dinosaur Journey is part of the Mueums of Western Colorado. Dinosaur Journey Curator of Education Stephanie Lukowski talks about the Saber-Tooth Cat found at the La Brea Tar Pits and other predators from the last Ice Age. She explains why we don't always find bones from these animals but have indirect evidence that they were in an area.

Dinosaur Journey is part of the Mueums of Western Colorado. What do you think lived in the Grand Valley during the Ice Age? Curator of Education Stephanie Lukowski shows us some Ice Age fossils we have on display at Dinosaur Journey and talks about how these species differ from the fossils found up in the iconic Snowmass dig near Aspen, CO.

Join Curator of Paleontology, Dr. Julia McHugh, as she teaches you how to make her famous frosted sugar cookies and throws in some neat dinosaur facts! Dinosaur Cut-Out Sugar Cookies:

1 cup of sugar
¼ cup of softened butter
½ tsp. of vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of baking soda
2 ½ cups of flour
In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, and sugar completely dissolves. Add eggs and vanilla to butter/sugar mixture and beat with mixer until well-blended (about 2-4 minutes). Gradually add the flour mixture, stirring well. Once entire mixture is well creamed together, divide into 2-4 “loafs” and wrap in waxed paper. Chill dough for 2-4 hours.
Rolling out cookies:
Cover surface with a light dusting of flour to prevent dough from sticking. Rub flour onto rolling pin and cookie cutters. Remove dough and roll “loafs” into a flat layer about ¼ inch thick (thinner for crispy cookies, thicker for doughy cookies). Use cookie cutters to cut dinosaur shapes. Peel away dough from in between shapes and add this remnant dough to the next loaf.
Place cookies on non-stick or greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes, or until edges turn golden brown. Let cookies completely cool on wire rack or on parchment paper before decorating.
Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting
½ cup of softened butter (not melted)
1 ½ tsp. of vanilla extract
5-6 Tbsp. of milk
4 ½ cups confectionary (powdered) sugar
Cream butter using spoon or spatula until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the rest of the ingredients, beating the mixture as you add them. If too runny, add small amounts of additional sugar, or if too stiff add additional milk. Beat frosting until desired consistency. Divide into bowls and add food coloring.

Middle School Paleontology Kit Module from Museums of the West in Grand Junction, CO. Lesson 5 on Mass Extinction. Students will learn about the causes of the "Big 5" mass extinctions in Earth's history and the effects of biodiversity over time. Lessons 1, 2, 3 and 5 can be completed without access to the Fossil Kit from Museums of Western Colorado. Lesson 4 uses fossile from the kit. District 51 personnel can request a kit to complete Lesson 4. See this URL for an overview of the module and a link to the Teacher's guide to Paleontology: https://www.museumofwesternco.com/classroom-resources/stem-lessons/

Dinosaur Journey is part of the Mueums of Western Colorado. Learn how scientists used meteorites to age the solar system. Curator of Paleontology Dr. Julia McHugh shows you meteorites on display at Dinosaur Journey.

Dinosaur Journey is part of the Mueums of Western Colorado. Our Curator of Education Stephanie Lukowski tells us about the unique and unprecedented finds during the 2010 Snowmass fossil excavation. Giving us insight into what life and climate would have been like in Colorado when Mastodons walked the earth.

Go behind the scenes with Curator of Paleontology, Dr. Julia McHugh, and Curator of Education, Stephanie Lukowski, to learn about the unexpected things we have in collections at Dinosaur Journey! one of the Museums of Western Colorado. Learn about Gastroliths, Crocodiles, Insects, Beetles, Turtles, Oerodont, Shellfish, Skulls, Fossils, Megalodons, Ice Age Creatures, Mammoths, Mastodons, Tusks and Horses.

Our virtual lecture celebrating Earth Science Week and National Fossil Day with Dr. Mathew Wedel of Western University of Health Sciences. The gigantic Brachiosaurus is one the most popular of all dinosaurs, appearing in everything from Jurassic Park to Walking With Dinosaurs and Dinosaur Train. But despite its fame, we actually have very few fossils of Brachiosaurus, and no complete skeletons. However, new discoveries in Utah have the potential to change that. Join our Dr. Matt Wedel as he talks about the battle with heat, storms, and simple gravity to find and recover new fossil bones of this Jurassic titan. Dr. Matt Wedel is an anatomist and paleontologist. He's coauthored three papers naming new dinosaurs: the long-necked sauropods Sauroposeidon (2000) and Brontomerus (2011), and the early horned dinosaur Aquilops (2014). In 2016 his book "The Sauropod Dinosaurs: Life in the Age of Giants", with artist and lead author Mark Hallett, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Trail Guide for hiking trail near where important fossil finds occured in Western Colorado. When visiting these trails it is important to visit with respect by staying on the trail and leaving fossils where you find them. These fossils and tracks are protected under the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA) of 2009. The act prohibits an attempt to excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface any paleontological resources located on Federal land. In order to collect any fossils (plants, invertebrates, vertebrates) at these sites, a proper permit must be obtained. If you are interested in excavating fossils with our scientists at Dinosaur Journey, check out our Dinosaur Digs and Expeditions! https://museumofwesternco.com/things-to-do/dino-digs/

Middle School Paleontology Kit Module from Museums of the West in Grand Junction, CO. Lesson 2 on Relative Dating from the Middle School Paleontology Kit Module. The lesson provides students with an understanding of how geologists and paleontologists use the Law of Superposition about rock layers and stratigraphic mapping to provide a relative way of dating fossile finds and rock origins. Lessons 1, 2, 3 and 5 can be completed without access to the Fossil Kit from Museums of Western Colorado. Lesson 4 uses fossile from the kit. District 51 personnel can request a kit to complete Lesson 4. See this URL for an overview of the module and a link to the Teacher's guide to Paleontology: https://www.museumofwesternco.com/classroom-resources/stem-lessons/

The following are lessons from the Middle School Paleontology kits that do not require the fossils within the kit. All lessons meet both Colorado State Academic Standards and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). For more information regarding kits, visit this page https://museumofwesternco.com/museum-education-kits/. Overview URL for the Middle School Paleontology Kit Module from Museums of the West in Grand Junction, CO. Lessons 1, 2, 3 and 5 can be completed without access to the Fossil Kit. District 51 personnel can request a kit to complete Lesson 4. For a Teacher's Guide to the Module, visit: https://museumofwesternco.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Paleontology-Teacher-Background-Info.pdf

Overview of the field of Paleontology for teachers. The resource covers a definition, career, fossils, dinosaurs, laws about collecting fossils, dating fossils, evolution, extinction events, and taxonomic diversity.