Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center

05/07/2026

05/06/2026

Meow!

fatalis cast at the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center with me for scale giving it a high five.

Appearances in books, artwork, The Flintstones and Ice Age series, and overall awesomeness make them legends. Marvel knows, look at Victor Creed, :-).

The heaviest of the at ~1,000 lbs, it had an astoundingly impressive skull, with a bite force that didn’t back up that massive appearance.

What it lacked in bone-crushing power, it made up for with artery and spinal cord pe*******on skills. The canines pushed 11” (counting the root) and are what make the animal so iconic (it is the state fossil of California).

You’d think it would be tough actually to eat with oversized canines, and you’d be right! Try eating with a pair of straws hanging off your canines, not easy to do. Which is why they used all their teeth when eating.

The big canines were used for killing. Blind biting is risky, so perhaps it had extra sensitive whiskers to help guide those missiles home. It had the ability to open its mouth almost twice as wide as a lion! Think about how impressive that would have been.

Once an animal had been subdued and twas time to eat, the cat set to work using its incisors to nip chunks of flesh and carnassials to tear open dinner. Reminds me of opening a beef jerky bag while driving, tearing it open with the side of my mouth, and grabbing the jerky with the front.

The incisors protrude a good amount forward of the canines. Separation of duties!

Gnawing on bones is no problem with massive carnassial teeth. Many cats “side eat,” which renders oversized canines not a problem. Recent studies suggest that despite not having top-tier bite strength, they could crack open bone for marrow.

The first Smilodon tooth found was initially thought to belong to a large hyena, and Lund, working from Brazilian material, declared it to be giant in 1842.

FossilCrates

05/06/2026

05/05/2026

Woodland Park is commonly known as the "City Above the Clouds." Occasionally we are the City IN the Clouds.

Drive safe if you are travelling Highway 24 today. And as always, you can check out the FOX21 News camera on top of the RMDRC for live look at weather conditions (see link in comments).

04/29/2026

I was once on a panel at a Comic Con in Denver talking about the science of Jurassic Park and someone asked about the worst inaccuracy in the movies. While I’d love to break down a list of the anatomical and scientific liberties taken, the one that stood out to me was that they had a refrigerator ...

04/24/2026

04/23/2026

The Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center is more than just a museum; it's the largest commercial paleontology lab in the country. For under $13, you can s...

04/23/2026

📰IN THE NEWS:
"The space is packed with more than 300 exhibits both large and small that feature a range of full-size replicas as well as original fossils. The wealth of displays feature dinosaurs (like the enormous Tyrannosaurus rex), ancient marine life and prehistoric mammals.

When you walk into the RMDRC's first display room, you can expect to be staggered by the size and number of dinosaurs that greet you.

"We are the largest commercial paleontology lab in the United States. We go out and find our own fossils, we bring them back here to Woodland Park, we clean up the dinosaur bones, and then we make copies of them. And this here is kind of our showroom for other museums. Our owner actually walks other museum owners through, shows off what we can do, gives them ideas, and then they kind of build their museum off of that."
-Eric Goderis, Education Director at RMDRC

Aside from the three large rooms dedicated to displays, the RMDRC also provides a space for visitors to watch paleontologists work on fossils"

The RMDRC is packed with more than 300 exhibits both large and small and features a range of full-size replicas, as well as original fossils.

04/07/2026

The Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center is proud to be nominated for two categories in the 2026 Best of Teller County (hosted by the Pikes Peak Courier); "Things to Do With Kids" and "Museums"

We would absolutely LOVE if you took the time to vote for the RMDRC in both categories. 💖🦖💖 (Link in comments below)

03/06/2026

Effective immediately, for the safety of our staff and patrons, the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Center will be closing for the day (March 6) due to the inclement weather.

We will resume normal hours of operation tomorrow (March 7) at 9:00am

Stay Safe & Warm! 🦖❄

02/12/2026

HOT DOG! Summer Saturdays are going to be sizzling with Mountain Dogz 🌭🦖

Just got our confirmation for Mountain Dogz summer location on Saturdays. Starting Saturday, May 30th. Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center