Friends of Dinosaur Ridge offer the public two very popular and informative programs. Learn more and sign-up today.
- Educational Dinosaur Talks
- Dino Ridge Science Quiz Bowl
- Dinosaur Ridge After Dark Series
- Dinosaur Ridge: Night at the Museum
- SCFD Free & Reduced Days
- Walk with a Geologist Series
Everything Dinosaur Talks
This 12-part public lecture series is meant to introduce visitors and volunteers to the amazing world of dinosaurs! Dinosaur Ridge’s Education Programs Director, Erin LaCount, delivers fun and educational talks about paleontology all year long. Attend as many as you would like in any order.
Registration is $2 per person, per talk. Vol.unteers can register for free
Location: Dinosaur Ridge Discovery Center
17681 W Alameda Pkwy, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Questions: ErinLaCount
VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers can register for FREE through VicNet. Register today.
Monday, November 18 at 10 am | Talk #9: Ceratopsians. This ninth talk focuses on the horned dinosaurs—ceratopsians.
Wednesday, November 20 at 6 pm | Talk #11: Archosaurs. This eleventh talk focuses on archosaurs, the crocodilians, pterosaurs, birds, and a bit on the dinosaurs.
Monday, November 25 at 10 am | Talk #10: Pachycephalosau
Monday, December 2 at 10 am | Talk #11: Archosaurs. This eleventh talk focuses on archosaurs, the crocodilians, pterosaurs, birds, and a bit on the dinosaurs.
Monday, December 9 at 10 am | Talk #12: Mammals. This twelfth and final talk focuses on prehistoric mammals.
Wednesday, December 18 at 6 pm | Talk #12: Mammals. This twelfth and final talk focuses on prehistoric mammals.
Dinosaur Ridge After Dark: Bones & Brushes
Painting Dinosaurs
Thursday, November 14, 2019 | 7:00pm-8:30pm
Discovery Center
17681 W. Alameda Parkway, Golden
The second Dinosaur Ridge After Dark event is on the calendar. Get ready to unleash your creativity! Learn the science behind prehistoric dinosaur coloring and then take up a paintbrush and paint your very own dinosaur figurine. Set in our Discovery Center Exhibit Hall, you’ll be inspired by your surroundings – fossils, casts, replicas, and dinosaur art. The artistic possibilities are endless!
Appetizers and wine will be provided.
Food Sponsor:
Launch Espresso Food & Spirits, 18455 W Colfax Ave #101, Golden
Age: 18+ adults, seniors
Price: $15 member/volunteer, $30 non-member
Maximum Attendance: 30 adults
Questions? Contact Kat Rivers.
SCFD Free & Reduced Days – 2019
On these days, admission to Trek Through Time, the Dinosaur Ridge exhibit hall, will be FREE to the public. We are also offering our guided bus tours at a reduced rate of $8 for adults and $6 for children.
- Saturday, May 18
- Saturday, August 17
- Saturday, November 16
Dinosaur Ridge: Night at the Museum
Saturday, November 2 | 4:00pm-9:00pm
Dinosaur Ridge Visitor Center
Bring your flashlights and headlamps to enjoy and explore Dinosaur Ridge Trail at night. Hop on a shuttle and view the Ridge, dinosaur tracks, and the surrounding area by flashlight. This limited event is open to all who aren’t afraid of the dark and who love dinosaurs! Tickets ($6 adult/$4 kids) will be sold onsite, the day of and can be reserved online.
Reserve your shuttle ticket today.
Dino Ridge Science Quiz Bowl
Saturday, November 2
Lakewood High School, Lakewood, CO
The Quiz Bowl will showcase three things all at once: youth achievement, an emphasis on science learning, and unpredictable, spirited competition! More information will be posted shortly. Funds raised will also cover the entry fees for any Title 1 High Schools participating in the Quiz Bowl.
Walk Dinosaur Ridge with a Geologist
Have you ever wondered about the geology behind the discoveries and fossils at Dinosaur Ridge?
Join a professional geologist for a tour of Dinosaur Ridge–a 2½-hour walk and discussion of the geology and changes of the Denver area through time. This walk is part of a series running through October and begins at the Dinosaur Ridge Main Visitor Center, 16831 W. Alameda Parkway. You will be transported by van from the Visitor Center to the west side of Dinosaur Ridge for a 1½-mile walk back. The first quarter mile of the walk gains approximately 100 feet of elevation. The remaining 1¼ miles of the walk is downhill. These exclusive tours offer you private access to scientists who can give you insider secrets about all of the sites at Dinosaur Ridge.
Your tour leader will explain:
- the Precambrian–Fountain Formation unconformity located across the valley in Red Rocks Park;
- the missing rocks and life in between the Precambrian and the Pennsylvanian time;
- the dinosaur fossils and environment of formation of the Jurassic Morrison Formation;
- the volcanic ash bed in the Cretaceous Dakota Formation;
- why there are oil and gas deposits in the Denver Basin;
- the dinosaur track site that developed along a swamp section of the Cretaceous beach;
- the tidal channel and associated life along other stretches of that same beach;
- and finally, the Cretaceous interior seaway that extended across Colorado from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico
Your leader will use maps that show how North America and Colorado fit into a global pattern of movements with the assembly of the supercontinent Pangea that allowed world-wide migration of dinosaurs to our continental dispersal of today.
Tour Specifics:
- Tour is suggested for ages 16+
- Maximum of 20 participants
- $15 for adults (16+)
- Tour may be called off for active precipitation, temps below 32 degrees, or lack of registrations.
Tour Guides:
Kermit Shields received his geology degrees and spent his professional career with Mobil Oil in a variety of production and exploration jobs in both domestic and international offices. After retiring, he became an active volunteer at both the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and at Dinosaur Ridge. He has been on the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge board of directors since 2006.
Bill Stone received bachelor and master of science degrees in geology and spent a career in the petroleum industry, exploring for and developing oil and gas reserves in the U.S. Bill began guiding tours at Dinosaur Ridge in 2018 and loves sharing its geological wonders with everyone.
The program is offered on most first Saturdays of the month at from 9-11:30 am, June-October. See full schedule below:
MONTHLY TOURS
Monthly tours will resume in the spring.
