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A group of local school kids got a front-row seat to the unveiling of Apex, the new dino at AMNH on Thursday, December 5.

Though millions of years old, Apex is a fairly new discovery. This remarkable fossil was uncovered by paleontologists near the aptly-named town of Dinosaur, Colorado, in May 2022. One of the largest and most complete Stegosaurus skeletons ever discovered, Apex is nearly 80 percent complete. Missing fragments have been filled in using 3D-printed and sculpted components. All told, Apex stretches 27-feet in length and stands 11 feet tall.

For the next year, guests can find Apex in the lobby of the Gilder Center, where the fossil is visible to passersby in Theodore Roosevelt Park. In the fall of 2025, Apex will be relocated to the fourth floor and greet visitors who enter the famed dinosaur galleries from the Gilder Center. Privately owned by museum benefactor Kenneth C. Griffin, who purchased the fossil for a reported $44.6 million at auction last summer, Apex is expected to be on display at the American Museum of Natural History for four years. A cast of the fossil will take up permanent residence when the loan is over.

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Apex's skeleton contains 320 bone fragments, and 254 are fossils, making it a rare find.

In addition to loaning the remarkable fossil, Griffin and his foundation will provide monetary support for research into stegosaurs, and a wide range of educational workshops are planned for all ages.

All photos by author