3 Boys Discover Rare T. Rex Fossil While on a Family Hike: 'That's a Dinosaur'
Behind-the-scenes footage from the rare discovery was documented in the 40-minute movie 'T. REX'
Three teen boys made a grand scientific discovery while on a family hike in North Dakota!
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science shared on Tuesday, June 4, that a group of young boys found a rare juvenile tyrannosaurus rex fossil while on an outing in 2022.
Jessin and Liam Fisher were on a hike in the badlands with their father, Sam Fisher, and their cousin Kaiden, according to the release. At the time, Liam was 7, Jessin was 10 and Kaiden was 9, per ABC News.
“You just never know what you are going to find out there," Liam and Jessin's dad told the outlet. "You see all kinds of cool rocks and plants and wildlife."
Upon their discovery, the family reached out to the museum’s Curator of Paleontology Tyler Lyson, who knew the Fisher patriarch from high school, to help with identification.
The following summer, Lyson and the boys returned to the site with a team of paleontologists to dig up the fossil.
Lyson spoke highly of the children, telling the museum, "By going outside and embracing their passions and the thrill of discovery, these boys have made an incredible dinosaur discovery that advances science and deepens our understanding of the natural world."
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The fossil will be showcased in the Denver museum's temporary exhibition "Discovering Teen Rex," which opens to the public on June 21. Behind-the-scenes footage from the discovery was documented in the 40-minute movie T. REX, set to screen in the museum's Infinity Theater.
"I'm excited for Museum guests to dig into the 'Teen Rex Discovery' experience, which I think will inspire the imagination and wonder, not only our community, but around the world," Lyson added.
In a recent interview with The New York Post, Liam recalled finding the prehistoric fossil.
"I went up to a ledge with my dad and then he and I spotted the bones," the young boy told the outlet. "We called for Jessin and Kaiden and Jessin said, 'That’s a dinosaur.' "
Jessin said that he had previously found "buffalo and cow bones," and noted that the dinosaur remains were "definitely bigger."
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The press release amplified the rarity of the boys’ findings calling it a "significant moment for science as only a handful of juvenile T. rex skeletons have ever been found."
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Read the original article on People.