Capital Campaign Details

Friends of Dinosaur Ridge

Nonprofit Name:

Friends of Dinosaur Ridge

Nonprofit EIN: 

84-1146279

Nonprofit Website Address:

https://dinoridge.org/

Nonprofit Mailing Address:

16831 W Alameda Pkwy Morrison, CO 80465

Nonprofit Geographic Focus:

Metro Denver

Nonprofit Sector:

Sciences

Board of Directors URL:

https://dinoridge.org/about/board-founders-and-track-id-team/

Board of Directors Document:

Capital Campaign Name:

Martin G. Lockley Discovery Center Remodel and Exhibits Capital Campaign

Campaign Short Summary:

We are raising funds to update a small building located near Entrance 1 to Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre to provide office space for staff, updated collections and archive space, a podcast studio, and classroom space on the lower level, and a state-of-the-art museum exhibit for public visitors on the main floor. The building was constructed in 1961 and is in need of updates and a floorplan that will better accommodate our needs. Previously it served as a Sikh Temple and before that a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall. Our organization acquired the building in 2013 and has not invested more than small improvements since then. A new RTD bus stop will be operating just outside the building's driveway in May 2026 (Westracks) and we would like to provide an informative and impressive experience to visitors using that new public transit system, as well as the thousands of tourists who explore Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre each year.

Campaign Goal (in $):

750000

Campaign Website (if available):

https://dinoridge.org/deep-time-detour/

Capital Campaign Phase:

Public

Capital Campaign Scope:

We launched a public announcement on October 15, 2025 following months of quiet fundraising via major donors and grant applications. We are aiming for a Memorial Day Weekend Grand Opening and the construction firm (BNBuilders) expects to complete work designed by the architecture firm (MHK) by early December 2025. An exhibits artist (Keegan Kuhn of TRX Dinosaurs) has been commissioned and is working closely with our Director of Paleontology (Amy Atwater) and Director of Education Programs (Erin LaCount) to build delightful new exhibits that present views of prehistoric Colorado. At the time of this submission we have raised more than 63% of our goal and are actively working on campaigns to raise the rest as soon as possible. We are also aware of the rising cost of materials as international tariffs come into play, and so time is of the essence for this project.

Capital Campaign Proposal Document:

Capital Campaign Contact Name: 

Jeff Lamontagne

Capital Campaign Contact Phone:

3035176368

Capital Campaign Contact Email:

jeff.lamontagne@dinoridge.org

Capital Campaign Additional Details:

This new exhibit will be unlike anything out there and is being constructed via state-of-the-art digital designs using 3D printing and materials that are more eco-friendly than typical museum exhibits. It is intended to delight and educate visitors of every age, and speakers of every language, and pre-existing knowledge about paleontology and geology. The year Colorado became a state (1876) is also the year now-iconic dinosaur fossils were found on what is now called Dinosaur Ridge. Colorado's state fossil, the Stegosaurus, will be prominently featured in this museum which sits just a few hundred yards from the quarry where the original bones were excavated by Colorado School of Mines Professor Arthur Lakes and his team.