The denver museum of nature & science (DMNS) will carry out its project, conserving cretaceous collections & digitizing dinosaurs, to rehouse, catalog, and digitize an exceptional fossil collection…

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Denver Museum of Nature and Science $944,518 on September 1, 2026, under the Museums for America program (CFDA 45.301) to rehouse, catalog, and digitize a Cretaceous vertebrate fossil collection from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The project will repair and archivally house vulnerable specimens, fully catalog 100 percent of GSENM vertebrate fossils in the collections system, digitize associated field documentation, and create and publish approximately 400 high-resolution 3D surface scans of priority specimens through an online portal. A full-time collections assistant, supported by interns and trained volunteers, will execute the cataloging and scanning work. The museum will provide hands-on training in collections stewardship and digitization to interns, volunteers, and early-career staff. Primary beneficiaries include researchers accessing rare and holotype-quality material digitally; federal land managers documenting public trust resources; and students, educators, and the general public engaging with newly accessible fossils through online collections, scientists-in-action broadcasts, on-floor programs, and social media. Period of performance runs through February 28, 2029. Work is performed in Denver, Colorado.

The denver museum of nature & science (DMNS) will carry out its project, conserving cretaceous collections & digitizing dinosaurs, to rehouse, catalog, and digitize an exceptional fossil collection from grand staircase-escalante national monument (GSENM), one of america's great dinosaur resources. Project activities include: (1) repairing and archivally rehousing vulnerable specimens; (2) fully cataloging 100% of GSENM vertebrate fossils in the collections system; (3) digitizing associated field documentation; and (4) creating and publishing approximately 400 high-resolution 3D surface scans of priority specimens via an online portal. A full-time collections assistant, supported by interns and trained volunteers, will complete this cataloging and scanning work. Primary beneficiaries of this project are researchers who will gain digital access to rare and holotype-quality material; federal land managers who will benefit from improved documentation of public trust resources; and students, educators, and the public who will engage with newly accessible fossils through online collections, scientists-in-action broadcasts, on-floor programs, and social media. Interns, volunteers, and early career staff will receive hands-on training in collections stewardship and digitization.