Have you been to see Teen Rex Experience yet at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science? People from all over the country are coming to see the incredible live preparation of the juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex fossil and discover the amazing story of how it was found by three boys in North Dakota.
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Museum Paleontologist Dr. Tyler Lyson and full-time fossil preparator Alex Polich, among many others, are making exciting progress as they continue to uncover the juvenile T. rex from its 6,000-pound plaster and dirt jacket. The specimen, pulled out of the hills of North Dakota by helicopter, continues to reveal fascinating details about its life and anatomy.
The Black Hawk helicopter places a 6,000-pound field jacket containing the juvenile T. rex fossil onto a trailer in North Dakota in 2023. (Photo/ Rick Wicker)
Over the summer, we uncovered the lower jaw of this incredible dinosaur. We also found a beautiful, fossilized palm frond from the same late Cretaceous Period 67 million years ago. Since then, our team has discovered significant portions of the skull, including the upper jaw and many teeth. Visitors can now see its nose and nostril area, eye socket and an impressive array of maxillary teeth. Alex explains a particularly cool fact that they’re finding smaller teeth visible among the larger ones —evidence of how T. rex continually shed and replaced its teeth throughout its lifetime.
We’ve also made progress on uncovering the leg and foot bones. These bones, carefully preserved and articulated, include the tibia, which is the shin bone of the dinosaur. That’s actually the first bone that seven-year-old Liam found in North Dakota!
Liam lying next to the femur and tibia of the juvenile T. rex. (Photo/ Sam Fisher)
The tibia, along with the fibula, articulate with the femur showcasing the entire leg of Teen Rex. The tibia is significant because it is the bone that first clued us into the fact that this T. rex was a juvenile. We used the tibia length to estimate the age of this dinosaur to be between 13 and 15 years-old when plotted on a Tyrannosaurus growth curve.
Moving forward, we will estimate a more exact age by looking at the tibia bone through microscope. This will be accomplished by carefully removing a portion of the bone and looking at its cross section. Similar to the growth rings in trees, some dinosaur bones also contain evidence of growth on the interior bone.
Teen Rex's foot bone in the jacket after it was air abraded. (Photo/ Alex Polich)
The fossil preparators were also thrilled to find the T. rex’s metatarsals — the bones of the foot. These remain articulated as they were in life, showcasing a unique locking mechanism that enabled an energy-efficient stride.
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Visit the T. rex Prep Lab to witness these discoveries firsthand and watch as paleontologists continue to bring the "Teen Rex" to life, one bone at a time. Whether it’s the ferocious teeth or the intricate foot structure, this fossil is sure to captivate dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages.
Come be a part of the discovery! Get tickets, here.