Three young fossil hunters helped uncover an unusually rare juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex in North Dakota. Their discovery led to a permitted professional excavation, a 6,000-pound field-jacket extraction, a Denver museum exhibit, and research into how T. rex grew during adolescence.
Three young fossil hunters helped uncover an unusually rare juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex in the Hell Creek badlands of southwestern North Dakota. Jessin Fisher, his younger brother Liam Fisher, and their cousin Kaiden Madsen noticed exposed bones while fossil-hunting near Marmarth in 2022. Their photographs brought the find to paleontologist Tyler Lyson of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, who led a permitted professional excavation the following summer.
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The specimen is now known as “Teen Rex.” The Denver Museum estimates that it preserves about 30% of the skeleton and belonged to a T. rex that was approximately 25 feet long, 10 feet high, and 3,500 pounds when it died. Those are estimates based on incomplete remains—not measurements of a complete animal—and researchers are continuing to study the fossil.
How three children found the dinosaur bones
The discovery began with observation rather than a dramatic scientific identification. Jessin, Liam, and Kaiden were exploring the fossil-rich badlands near Marmarth when they saw bones weathering out of the ground. The family photographed the exposed material and contacted Lyson.
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Lyson quickly recognized the material as dinosaur bone. At first, he thought it might belong to an Edmontosaurus or another duck-billed dinosaur, which are common in the Late Cretaceous rocks of the Hell Creek Formation. The bones turned out to be something considerably rarer: part of a young T. rex skeleton.
The children did not independently identify the animal as a T. rex or remove the skeleton on their own. Their crucial contribution was noticing the exposed bones, recording the location, and bringing the discovery to an expert. The excavation, identification, stabilization, transport, and scientific interpretation then became a collaborative professional project.
Why scientists call it a “teen” T. rex
The team initially estimated the dinosaur’s age by comparing the size of its tibia—the large shin bone—with adult T. rex specimens. Teen Rex’s tibia measured about 82 centimeters long, compared with roughly 112 centimeters for the adult comparison cited by the museum.
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When researchers placed the measurement into a published tyrannosaur growth curve, it suggested that the animal was approximately 13 to 15 years old when it died. That is an estimate, not a precise final birthday. A more rigorous age assessment can come from histology: examining thin sections of bone for lines of arrested growth, which are somewhat analogous to tree rings.
This distinction matters because a small tyrannosaur fossil is not automatically a juvenile T. rex. Scientists must determine whether it represents a young individual of a large species or an adult belonging to a smaller tyrannosaur species. In this case, the Denver Museum and the research team describe the specimen as an adolescent or juvenile T. rex, while noting that further preparation and analysis remain important.
What Teen Rex may teach researchers
Most famous T. rex fossils are enormous adults. A partially preserved adolescent skeleton fills in a much less well-known part of the animal’s life history.
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T. rex underwent especially rapid growth during its teenage years. A specimen from that stage can help researchers investigate:
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- how the animal’s bones changed as it grew;
- when its body became more heavily built and powerful;
- how juvenile proportions differed from those of adults;
- how quickly tyrannosaurs gained size during adolescence; and
- how to distinguish young T. rex fossils from adults of smaller tyrannosaur species.
The fossil is described by the museum as one of only a handful of adolescent T. rex skeletons found worldwide. Another museum education page describes it as one of four juvenile specimens worldwide. Those descriptions are not necessarily contradictory: the total depends on how researchers define terms such as “juvenile,” “skeleton,” and “found.” It is safest to describe Teen Rex as exceptionally rare, rather than claim it is the first or only juvenile T. rex ever discovered.
How the 6,000-pound fossil was removed
The professional excavation took place in summer 2023 and lasted 11 days. The crew first removed the rock above the fossil-bearing layer with picks, shovels, and a 70-pound jackhammer. Once the team reached the bones, it used awls and brushes to trace the fossil and expose it without damaging fragile areas.
The bones and surrounding sandstone were then enclosed in a protective field jacket made from burlap soaked in plaster. The finished jacket weighed approximately 6,000 pounds—far too heavy to carry down the steep badland slope.
A Black Hawk helicopter lifted the jacket from the hillside and placed it on a trailer for transport to Denver. The helicopter extraction made for striking footage, but it was only one step in a much longer process:
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- an expert examined the photographs and site;
- the team secured the necessary excavation permit;
- paleontologists excavated and stabilized the fossil;
- the specimen was wrapped in a plaster field jacket;
- the jacket was transported to the museum;
- preparators removed rock and repaired the bones; and
- researchers began identifying, measuring, and interpreting the remains.
Why a permit was required
Teen Rex was discovered on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The excavation proceeded under BLM permit ND2023-0084.
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That public-land setting is an important part of the story. Fossils found on federally managed land are not automatically private property, and a discovery does not give the finder the right to dig up or sell scientifically important material. Professional excavation was required, and the fossils were destined for a federal repository such as the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where they are held in trust for the American people.
From North Dakota hillside to museum exhibit
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science opened Discovering Teen Rex in June 2024. The exhibit shows the specimen and the preparation process, alongside other fossils from the museum’s collection, including Triceratops and Edmontosaurus material.
The public-facing preparation work is part of the scientific story. Museum visitors can see how specialists gradually remove the surrounding rock, stabilize fragile bones, document the specimen, and turn a plaster-wrapped field discovery into research material and an exhibit.
Museum pages continued to list the Teen Rex exhibit and related programming in 2026, but exhibit schedules, admission requirements, and showtimes can change. Anyone planning a visit should check the Denver Museum’s current official visitor information before traveling.
The discovery became a giant-screen film
Cameras were present when the team recognized that the fossil belonged to a juvenile T. rex and continued through the helicopter extraction. Giant Screen Films made T.REX, a documentary featuring the discovery and excavation alongside work by tyrannosaur scientists, natural-history institutions, paleo-artists, and visual-effects specialists.
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The film began museum giant-screen presentations on June 21, 2024. It is a natural follow-up for readers who want to see the fieldwork, but availability is not permanent: the official information confirms museum and giant-screen presentations, not a currently verified home-streaming listing. Check the film’s distributor or a local museum before assuming it is available to rent or stream.
Timeline of the Teen Rex discovery
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Jessin Fisher, Liam Fisher, and Kaiden Madsen found exposed dinosaur bones while fossil-hunting in the North Dakota badlands. |
| 2022–2023 | The family shared photographs with Tyler Lyson, who recognized dinosaur bone and pursued the excavation permit. |
| Summer 2023 | Lyson’s team and the children took part in an 11-day permitted excavation. |
| June 2024 | The Denver Museum announced the specimen and opened the Discovering Teen Rex exhibit. |
| June 21, 2024 | The associated T.REX giant-screen documentary began museum presentations. |
| 2026 | The museum continued to list the exhibit and related programming, subject to schedule changes. |
For young fossil hunters
The most useful lesson from the discovery is not that children can safely excavate a dinosaur skeleton alone. It is that careful observation, photographs, curiosity, and knowing when to contact an expert can make a real contribution to science.
For a supervised educational activity at home, a kids dinosaur fossil excavation kit can introduce children to the patience and tools involved in revealing a model fossil. It is a toy for learning—not permission or equipment for collecting protected fossils on public land.
Children can also learn from museum preparation labs, natural-history exhibits, library books, and local geology programs. The safest approach is to use designated educational materials and follow the rules of the specific park, preserve, or public-land agency when exploring outdoors.
What the discovery really shows
Teen Rex is exciting because it is a rare adolescent T. rex, but the larger story is the chain of cooperation behind it. Three children noticed something unusual. Their family documented it and contacted a specialist. A paleontological team obtained permission, excavated the site, lifted a massive field jacket, and brought the fossil to a public museum for preparation and study.
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The find does not prove the animal’s exact age, establish that it was the first juvenile T. rex ever discovered, or mean that any small tyrannosaur fossil was a young T. rex. It does provide an unusually valuable glimpse into a stage of T. rex growth that is much less familiar than the giant adult displayed in popular culture.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Teen Rex?
Teen Rex is a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex discovered near Marmarth, North Dakota, in 2022 by Jessin Fisher, Liam Fisher, and their cousin Kaiden Madsen. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science estimates that the fossil preserves about 30% of the skeleton.
How old was the teenage T. rex?
Researchers estimated the animal was about 13 to 15 years old by comparing its 82-centimeter tibia with adult T. rex specimens and applying a tyrannosaur growth curve. Histological study of the bone may provide a more rigorous age estimate.
Can people dig up fossils on public land?
No. The find was on Bureau of Land Management property and was excavated under permit ND2023-0084. Scientifically important fossils on public land should be left in place while the relevant land-management agency or a qualified paleontologist is contacted.
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The Denver Museum of Nature & Science opened the Discovering Teen Rex exhibit in June 2024 and continued listing it and related programming in 2026. Exhibit availability, admission rules, and showtimes can change, so visitors should check the museum’s current information before traveling.
The Bottom Line
Three young fossil hunters initiated the discovery of a rare adolescent T. rex in North Dakota, but the fossil became scientifically valuable through a permitted professional excavation, careful age analysis, and museum preparation. Its estimated 13-to-15-year age is based on growth-curve evidence and may be refined by histology.
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