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{{Infobox museum
[[image:wyomingdinosaurcenter.jpg|right|290px|thumb|Wyoming Dinosaur Center]]▼
|image = Museum overview.jpg
|imagesize =
|map_type =
|map_caption =
|coordinates = {{coord|43.64297|-108.199754|display=inline, title}}▼
|established = 1995
|dissolved =
|location = 110 Carter Ranch Rd.<br>[[Thermopolis, Wyoming]],<br>[[United States]]
|type = [[Nonprofit]]
|website = [https://wyomingdinosaurcenter.org/ Official website]
}}
The '''Wyoming Dinosaur Center''' is located in [[Thermopolis]], [[Wyoming]] and is one of the few [[dinosaur]] [[museum]]s in the world to have excavation sites within driving distance.<ref name= "kids">{{cite news |last=Sukut |first=Juliana |url= https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/time-names-wyoming-dinosaur-center-1-of-50-coolest-places-for-kids-in-the-world/article_60c5619e-0085-5dc4-aae6-118a871355a0.html |title=TIME names Wyoming Dinosaur Center 1 of 50 coolest places for kids in the world |work=[[Billings Gazette]] |date=December 16, 2019 |access-date=January 11, 2021}}</ref><ref name= "Jurassic">{{cite news |last=Walker |first=Rachel |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/a-real-jurassic-park-lies-underground-at-the-wyoming-dinosaur-center/2016/11/17/a127acc2-85be-11e6-a3ef-f35afb41797f_story.html |title='Stranger Things' Shannon Purser To Star In 'Sierra Burgess Is A LosA real Jurassic park lies underground at the Wyoming Dinosaur Centerer' |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=November 17, 2016 |access-date=January 11, 2021}}</ref> The museum displays the Thermopolis Specimen of ''[[Archaeopteryx]]'', which is one of only two real specimens of this genus on display outside of Europe.<ref name="Moody & Buffetaut">{{cite book |last=Moody |first=Richard; Buffetaut, E. |title=Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Saurians: A Historical Perspective |publisher=[[Geological Society of London|Geological Society]] p. 239 |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-8623-9311-0}}</ref>
Fifteen minutes from the museum are their many dig sites. Located on the Warm Springs Ranch, more than 10,000 bones have been discovered and excavated, most of which are either on display or stored just down the hill at the museum.
One of the most notable fossil assemblies on the property is from the "Something Interesting" or SI excavation site. This site presents the rare occurrence of both dinosaur trace fossils and body fossils including footprints of many [[Sauropods]] and ''[[Allosaurus]]'' as well as skeletal remains from ''[[Camarasaurus]], [[Diplodocus]],'' and ''[[Apatosaurus]]'' - three of the sauropods most common in the area during the Late Jurassic.<ref name= "bones">{{cite news |last=Billock |first=Jennifer |url= https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/want-to-dig-dinosaur-bones-join-pros-these-spots-180973138/ |title=Want to Dig For Dinosaur Bones? Join the Pros at These Spots |work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |date=September 24, 2019 |access-date=January 11, 2021}}</ref> Most of the bones belong to a juvenile (30 foot long) ''[[Camarasaurus]]'' that was scavenged by many ''[[Allosaurs]]''. This is known based on the presence of both teeth and claw marks on many of the bones present as well as an abundance of shed ''Allosaur'' teeth (more than 100) found among the bone debris. Research conducted by Debra Jennings back in 2006, determined that the bones were accumulated in the past when the site was part of a shallow alkaline lake. There are in fact at least two separate layers of bone bearing material created as the lake expanded and shrank with changes in the environment over time.({{Harvnb|Jennings|2006}}).
[[File:Going Where the Dinosaurs Roamed In the US.ogv|thumb|[[VOA]] report about the museum]]
== Dig sites ==
Other
There are many more inactive sites found around the property including "Don't Fall," "Bone Bed," "Above Bone Bed," "West to Beside Sauropod," "Laura's Apatosaur," and "Cheryl's Blind" just to name a few. Out of all the dig sites discovered, the main concentration of bones belongs to one of the four following genera: ''Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus'' or ''Allosaurus''.
During the winter, the excavation sites are closed to visitors, but over the summer months (late-May to mid-September) active digging occurs every day (weather permitting).
== References ==▼
== Collections and exhibits ==
{{Citation | surname=Jennings | Given=D.| title=Taphonomic analysis of a dinosaur feeding site using geographic information systems (GIS), Morrison Formation, southern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA | journal=Palaios| volume=21 | Issue=5 | year=2006 | pages=480–492 | doi=10.2110/palo.2005.P05-062R}}▼
The museum is open all year round and hosts a gallery with more than 50 mounted skeletons, including a full mount of ''[[Supersaurus|Supersaurus vivianae]]'' excavated from a quarry near Douglas, Wyoming. The replica skeleton on display is 106 feet long and is the first mount based on data from the second and most complete ''Supersaurus'' ever found affectionately named "Jimbo" (WDC DMJ-001) which was donated to the museum in 2003. Other dinosaurs present include a ''T rex, Triceratops, Medusaceratops'' as well as various ''Hadrosaurs, Stegosaurs'' and ''Allosaurs''. One of the newest members to the museum is the almost 90% complete, composite skeleton of a ''Camarasaurus'' found on the property by staff and visitors, excavated over the past 20 years. There is also a collection of real and replica marine reptiles, and flying reptiles. From these times before and after the dinosaurs, the museum hosts an impressive display of pre-Mesozoic fossils, including numerous Devonian fish and invertebrates. The more modern displays include fossil camels, horses, rodents and nimravids (sabretooth cat like animals).
The museum also houses a fully functional preparation lab, where staff and visitors can be seen cleaning, repairing and preserving fossils found on the property as well as from other locations around the country, all year long.
▲{{coord|43.64297|-108.199754|display=title}}
== Programs ==
The Wyoming Dinosaur Center offers many programs that allow visitors to dig up dinosaurs. Starting end of May (depending on the weather) the Dig for the Day program starts. This program is for families and individuals that are interested in learning more about paleontology. The Dig for the Day begins at 8am and finishes at 5pm. All fossils found remain at the museum for science and research. Throughout the summer, many dates are available for the Kids' Dig. Children ages 8 to 12 learn all aspect of what The Wyoming Dinosaur Center does. They dig, work in the prep lab removing matrix from dinosaur bones and they learn molding and casting. Other programs include Dinosaur Academy, Senior Activities and Paleo Prep program.
==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:Lytoloma Specimen.jpg|A fossil [[sea turtle]] on display
File:Othnelia.jpg|A pair of replica ''[[Othnielia]]'' spar
File:BS Quarry.jpg|Excavations at the 'Beside Sauropod' Quarry
File:Mymoorapelta (1).jpg|A replica ''[[Mymoorapelta]]'' on display
File:Long tailed turtle fossil.jpg|A fossil [[turtle]] from the [[Green River Formation]] in southwestern Wyoming
File:Ankylosaur (1).jpg|A replica ''[[Gastonia (dinosaur)|Gastonia]]'' on display
File:Lystrosaurus Wyoming.jpg|A replica ''[[Lystrosaurus]]'' on display
</gallery>
==Further reading==
▲{{Citation | surname=Jennings |
{{commons category|Wyoming Dinosaur Center}}
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/the-wyoming-dinosaur-center The Wyoming Dinosaur Center on Google Cultural Institute]
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Fossil trackways in the United States]]
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[[Category:Natural history of Wyoming]]
[[Category:Museums in Hot Springs County, Wyoming]]
[[Category:Fossil parks in the United States]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Paleontology in Wyoming]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1995]]
▲[[fr:Wyoming Dinosaur Center]]
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