Dinosaur National Monument re-opens Carnegie Quarry for first time in 5 years

Dinosaur National Monument is one of the lesser known gems in the U.S. National Park system. Spread out across parts of Colorado and Utah, the park is home to an amazing display of fossils left over from the Jurassic era. In fact, the park’s Carnegie Quarry is considered one of the best places on Earth to view the remains of a wide variety of dinosaurs. For the past five years however, the Quarry has been hidden from the eyes of visitors due to an ongoing construction project. On Tuesday, that will change.

The National Park Service has announced that the all new Quarry Exhibit Hall will officially open on Tuesday, October 4th at 11 AM local time. When the facility does open, it will allow visitors to view the world famous fossil wall, where the remains of nearly 1500 different dinosaurs are encased. Amongst the species on display are Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Torvosaurus, to name just a few.

The Quarry Exhibit Hall joins a new visitor center, which was just opened this past Wednesday, as well. The visitor center serves as a gateway to the Quarry and features its own exhibits, bookstore, and theater. The two were built in conjunction with one another over the past few years and are now ready for the public to enjoy.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony will be attended by Utah Governor Gary Herbert and a number of other guests, such as Park Paleontologist Dan Chure and the jazz and marching bands from a local high school. The public is invited of course, and for fans of dinosaurs, this is sure to be a grand occasion. After all, for the first time in a half-decade, we’ll all have the opportunity to see one of the best displays of natural history on the planet.