CU Museum will remain closed from Monday, December 23 through Friday, January 10 for CU’s official winter holidays and planned construction activities nearby. 
The Museum will resume normal operating hours (10 AM-4 PM) on Saturday, January 11, 2025. Thank you!

Construction updates, accessibility, and parking information 

Materials and Resources

The goals for the Fossils in the Classroom Project are to engage students and teachers in communities across Colorado in the study of the ancient prehistory of Colorado through hands-on experience with fossil animals and plants that once lived here, and to get students turned on to science through Paleontology (the study of fossil life). Our project goals are addressed through the following activities:

  • Hands-on teaching kits containing real and cast fossils and lessons and lab investigations
  • Training to teachers in their districts on how to best use the kits in their classrooms
  • A poster for the classroom featuring photographs of fossils from the CU Museum’s Paleontology Collection, a Colorado map of the geologic age of rocks in Colorado and a listing of places to see fossils in Colorado

Beaded saddle made from elk antler and hide

Horses in the North American West

Check out our new online exhibit on the history of horses in the North American West. Understand when, why, and how horses shaped human history by studying horse equipment and ancient animal bones!
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Paleo Hall with fossils

Virtual Paleo Hall

Take an interactive 3D tour of Paleontology Hall with educational videos, photos, and information panels.
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Explore more

Short videos featuring Senior Educator Jim Hakala and select specimens from the museum’s Paleontology Hall.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbQCAzBLiks&ab_channel=CUMuseum]

Fossil Clues Part One: Hypertragulus
English Closed Captions and American Sign Language

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMN8ByZyJSs&ab_channel=CUMuseum]

Fossil Clues Part Two: Clams
English Closed Captions and American Sign Language

[video:https://youtu.be/1nCSRN4UhZ8]

Fossil Clues Part One: Hypertragulus
Spanish Closed Captions

[video:https://youtu.be/e5QicAZzFOI]

Fossil Clues Part Two: Clams
Spanish Closed Captions

[video:https://youtu.be/cBhe5ZmTA3c]

Looking at Dinosaur Teeth Part One: Triceratops
English Closed Captions and American Sign Language

[video:https://youtu.be/wsq1UhOCw6U]

Looking at Dinosaur Teeth Part Two: Hadrosaur
English Closed Captions and American Sign Language

[video:https://youtu.be/kPcJpJi0L7I]

Looking at Dinosaur Teeth Part Three: Torvosaurus
English Closed Captions and American Sign Language

[video:https://youtu.be/Qy4LXg19YZ8]

Looking at Dinosaur Teeth Part One: Triceratops
Spanish Closed Captions

[video:https://youtu.be/Nc6eVfL3Mfg]

Looking at Dinosaur Teeth Part Two: Hadrosaur
Spanish Closed Captions

[video:https://youtu.be/__AtdeeSGGQ]

Looking at Dinosaur Teeth Part Three: Torvosaurus
Spanish Closed Captions

Short videos about fossils formation, preservation, types of fossils, fossil teeth and geologic time. These videos were created by Daniel Griffitts for the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History's Fossils in the Classroom project.

[video:https://youtu.be/I8PWs_uM2OA]

How Fossils Form and Fossil Preservation

[video:https://youtu.be/tm4UwAYqzZM]

A Brief Look at Geologic Time

[video:https://youtu.be/dqJ4EFkKsq8]

Geologic Time Featuring Fossils from the CUMNH

[video:https://youtu.be/r1a9taUjyUE]

A Brief Look at Fossil Teeth

[video:https://youtu.be/WJhUH5abgLo]

A Brief Look at Trace Fossils