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.

Museums of Western Colorado present an overview of 15 stops on the Museum of the West Virtual Tour. View short videos describing collections at the museum to preview your field trip or if you are unable to visit the museum in person for a virtual field trip.

Museums of Western Colorado allow education kits for check out in District 51. The kits come with a curriculum, teacher training materials and artifacts. Some of which are genuine from the Grand Junction BLM Field Office. Kits local to the Grand Junction/Western Colorado area.

This is an online portal to search photos of items in the Museums of Western Colorado Collections intended for specific research. The Museums of Western Colorado has the duty to preserve more than 100,000 items related to Mesa County’s cultural and scientific heritage, including historic documents, photographs, objects, works of art, paleontological specimens, and archaeological artifacts. For research access to other primary sources in the collections items visit: https://www.museumofwesternco.com/collections/

The Museum is currently prioritizing creation of an online collections search portal. Digitization is an on-going process but content is being added frequently.

Overview URL for the Social Studies Lessons Module from Museums of the West in Grand Junction, CO. This URL links to Modules on three topics. 1) The Original Coloradans provides students with an understanding of the peoples that inhabited the Western Slope before the arrival of the Utes. Designed for grades 3-4, but can be used with older students. 2) Clues from the Landscape allows students the opportunity to study historical photographs and maps of western Colorado in order to assess the challenges of homesteading. Designed for grades 2-4, but can be used with older students. 3) Mountain Men was compiled as part of a PBL at Grand Junction High School in 2018. Some of the lessons herein were developed and tested by GJHS students with the help of 4th grade classes at Pomona Elementary. It would not have been possible without the partnership between the MWC and D-51 schools. For the purpose of this educational kit, some lessons have been adapted from other existing museum kits including the History Colorado Mountain Man Kit and the Wyoming State Museum Mountain Man Discovery Trunk. This kit is to be used as an educational tool and is strictly non-profit in order to adhere to educational fair use policy.

Elementary student wrap-up following a field trip to the Museum of the West exhibits

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.

Cross Orchards is a part of the Museums of Western Colorado. Curator of Cross Orchards Matt Darling, tells us a bit of the history behind what was once the largest fruit and land company in the valley. He takes us from the 1890s when Walter and Elizabeth Cross began their venture all the way to what Cross Orchards is today. The Red Cross Land and Fruit Company was established in 1899 and operated a massive orchard on the site until 1923. Today it is a living farm museum open to field trips, local events and historical demonstrations. Field trips are welcome.

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/

The Pastime Saloon: Stop 8 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch this short video to learn about a Museum of the West exhibit or collection to preview your field trip or for a virtual field trip if you are unable to attend in person. The Museum of the West is part of the Museums of Westen Colorado. Saloons were gathering places during the early days of Grand Junction. Curator of History, David Bailey, describes what went on in these gathering places.

Mountain Men Social Studies Lesson 5 The Price is Right! is designed to be used with Mountain Man Artifact Kit. Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 can be completed without the artifacts from the kit. These kits are available through Musuems of Western Colorado to D51 Teachers. This lesson can be adapted to use without the kit. Students will be able to: • understand the exchange of goods between trappers and traders by solving mathematical problems.

Short history of the Railroad in Grand Valley and historical timeline for the railroad with photos and diagrams.

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 Original Coloradans Social Studies Lesson 4 designed to be used with The Original Coloradans Artifact Kit. Lessons 1, 2 and 4 can be completed without the artifacts from the kit. These kits are available through Musuems of Western Colorado to D51 Teachers. This lesson can be adapted to use without the kit. Students will create their own "rock art" using red tempera paint on brown or tan construction paper. Students will be able to: • distinguish petroglyphs from pictographs, • create their own “rock art” and evaluate each other’s symbols, • theorize on the importance of rock art to ancient people, • describe how rock art vandalism has a negative impact on our understanding of history. For more background information, see Rock Art and Cultures of the Colorado Plateau https://museumofwesternco.com/rock-art/

Short history of Rock Art styles and historical timeline for Rock Art on the Colorado Plateau with photos and diagrams.

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

Museum to the West is a part of the Museums of Western Colorado. Curator Dave Bailey takes you back in history to the time of the Little Bookcliff Railway. A narrow gauge railway operating in the Grand Valley from 1889-1925.

Elementary student scavenger hunt for use on a field trip to the Museum of the West exhibits