Dinosaur Journey Museum
Dinosaur Journey Museum is located at 550 Jurassic Court in Fruita, CO
(love the street name). It's one unit of the Museums of Western Colorado, the other
two being the Museum of the West and Cross Orchards Historic Site. I highly recommend
getting an annual membership so you can visit all three as often as you want. MWC sponsors
all kinds of events and trips as well. But I digress.
Dinosaur Journey Museum is all about the geology and paleontology of western Colorado
and surrounding regions. This area is dinosaur paradise for all you aspiring paleontologists
out there. Dinosaur Journey has an impressive collection of skeletal casts and actual bones of
many regional dinosaurs (some discovered right here in Mesa County), as well as
geological displays, interactive exhibits, and a dinosaur library.
So, without any more hyperbole from me, let's visit the museum.
Lectures at Dinosaur Journey
Dinosaur Journey Museum has an active research program, and will often invite visiting
scientists to present a lecture or two. These lectures are generally free to the public and
are VERY interesting.
Once around the Exhibit Hall
Now for a short tour of the exhibit hall. Below are random photos of some of the
exhibits. It would take the better part of a day to peruse everything in the museum.
Exhibit Hall from the mezannine
Special Exhibits
Every once in a while the Museum has a special exhibit. My guess is that these are on
loan from other museums, but sometimes maybe they are part of Dinosaur Journey's own
vast collection. I was fortunate enough to visit when there was a special exhibit called
"Horns and Frills". I actually went for a lecture, and this was a bonus. The exhibit was
mainly about ceratopsian dinosaurs (beaked dinosaurs with horns and frills), the most
famous of which is Triceratops.
Dinos in the Flesh
The Museum has lots of models of what dionosaurs presumably looked like in real life. Some of them are
even action figures (kind of like dinomatronics).
Utahraptor in action
Dilophosaurus expectorating
Stegosaurus
T Rex and Triceratops
Christmas at the Museum
A visit to Dinosaur Journey during the holiday season is an absolute must. Many of the
dinosaurs are decked out in their best holiday outfits.
Use the form on the Home Page to submit comments, questions, or suggestions. TD Productions Copyright © 2019