We dug into the history of dinosaur discoveries in the Centennial State, where to see the coolest bones and tracksites, and what paleontologists are learning today.
Pops the Triceratops, a dinosaur fossil found near Briggsdale in 1982, is back on display at the Weld County Administration Building, 1150 O St., in Greeley. In October 2020, the fossil was taken to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where it was restored and studied.
Moving a 69-million-year-old dinosaur skull requires patience, care, and it turns out a little superglue. Thankfully all three were on hand as fossil restorers returned the skull of Pops the Triceratops to its permanent home at the Weld County Administration Building on Tuesday.
Pops the triceratops was excavated in Weld County in February 1982.
For nearly 40 years, the Weld County Triceratops – affectionately known as “Pops” has been stuck in an awkward spot for a fossil of its stature. A dinosaur for the people, Pops has been a very public figure, on display behind glass in various county buildings. Yet the most complete horned dinosaur skull ever found in Colorado had never been thoroughly examined by paleontologists it was essentially lost to science.
Thanks to a new agreement between Weld County leadership and researchers at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, that has now changed.