Planned Giving
“Pops” the Triceratops Comes to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
The Colorado Front Range has become the epicenter of community-based fossil discoveries, including horned dinosaur skeletons excavated in Brighton, Thornton and Highlands Ranch, and a major post-extinction ecosystem from rocks just east of Colorado Springs. However, an overlooked fossil discovered nearly 40 years ago near the small town of Briggsdale, in the eastern plains of northern Colorado, arrived at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in October and may end up rewriting the story of horned dinosaur evolution.
The specimen, consisting of a nearly complete skull and parts of the skeleton of a dinosaur similar to Triceratops, was originally collected in 1982 from a ranch then owned by Roland “Sonny” Mapelli and family. Hoping to see the discovery inspire local children and dino enthusiasts, the Mapelli family donated the specimen, later nicknamed “Pops,” to Weld County in 1986 under the condition that it remain on public display.
The fossil originated in the Laramie Formation, in rocks deposited along an ancient lowland plain teeming with turtles, crocodiles and small mammals between 69 and 68 million years ago. This makes it up to two million years older than the Thornton Torosaurus and Highlands Ranch Triceratops discoveries, suggesting that it may be a key in understanding the origins of these iconic last dinosaurs.
Beginning in early 2018, Museum Curator of Dinosaurs Joe Sertich began working with Weld County officials to bring this scientifically significant find into a museum collection for study. Pops arrived in October 2020 and over the next year, Museum preparators will clean and restore the fossil in the preparation lab window of our Prehistoric Journey exhibit before sending it off for molding, casting and reconstruction. The original specimen, now accessioned and protected as a vital piece of Colorado state heritage in the Museum’s collections, will return to Weld County for permanent display while researchers decipher its true identity and significance.
You can be part of telling the history of our world. A legacy gift to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science can help teach future generations about these amazing discoveries. Contact DMNS Advancement at 303.370.8262 or development@dmns.org to learn how you can make a gift to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for the future.
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