Fodor's Expert Review Quarry Exhibit Hall
The Monument's astoundingly large collection of fossils was discovered by Earl Douglass in 1909, when he stumbled upon eight enormous dinosaur vertebrae exposed on a sandstone ridge. Although most of the park's acreage is in Colorado, the Utah side features its prime attraction: the Quarry Exhibit Hall. Here you can view more than 1,500 genuine fossils, displayed in their original burial positions in an excavated river bed, several stories high, 150-feet long, and now enclosed by a large, airy museum. A "touch wall" allows you to run your hands over some of the ancient bones, and various displays and dinosaur replicas help you put the jumble of bones in their prehistorical context. Before going to the Exhibit Hall, stop by the Quarry Visitor Center near the Monument's west entrance. There you can view a short video and see displays that give an overview of the site and its paleontological significance. Then hop a shuttle (in summer) or drive (in winter) up to the Exhibit Hall.
The Monument's astoundingly large collection of fossils was discovered by Earl Douglass in 1909, when he stumbled upon eight enormous dinosaur vertebrae exposed on a sandstone ridge. Although most of the park's acreage is in Colorado, the Utah side features its prime attraction: the Quarry Exhibit Hall. Here you can view more than 1,500 genuine fossils, displayed in their original burial positions in an excavated river bed, several stories high, 150-feet long, and now enclosed by a large, airy museum. A "touch wall" allows you to run your hands over some of the ancient bones, and various displays and dinosaur replicas help you put the jumble of bones in their prehistorical context. Before going to the Exhibit Hall, stop by the Quarry Visitor Center near the Monument's west entrance. There you can view a short video and see displays that give an overview of the site and its paleontological significance. Then hop a shuttle (in summer) or drive (in winter) up to the Exhibit Hall.
Use one of the interactive kiosks to identify the massive bones embedded in the wall, or, better yet, flag down a ranger, who can add interesting tidbits about the bones and their excavation.
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