A Dino Discovery Beneath the Parking Lot

Deep under a parking lot in Denver, a museum known for its dinosaur exhibits made an unexpected discovery.

A Tiny Fossil with a Big Story

While exploring geothermal heating options, they drilled over 750 feet down. What they found was a tiny fossil, about the size of a hockey puck.

This fossil is a vertebra from a small, plant-eating dinosaur that lived around 67.5 million years ago, just before the asteroid impact that ended the dinosaurs' reign.

A Rare Stroke of Luck

The odds of finding this fossil were incredibly low. The drill was only a few inches wide, making the discovery a rare stroke of luck. Experts compared it to winning the lottery or hitting a hole-in-one from the moon.

This is only the third time such a find has happened worldwide, and it's the first time it's occurred on the grounds of a dinosaur museum.

A Glimpse into the Past

The fossil was found near some fossilized plants, suggesting the dinosaur lived in a swampy, heavily vegetated area. While the exact species is unknown, experts believe it could be a duck-billed dinosaur or a thescelosaurus.

Despite its small size, the discovery is exciting for the museum and dinosaur enthusiasts.

On Display and Future Mysteries

The fossil is now on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. However, there are no plans to dig deeper in the parking lot. The museum needs the space for parking, so the rest of the dinosaur will remain a mystery.

The discovery is a reminder that there's still so much to learn about the past, even in the most unexpected places.