New Exhibit at Museum Opens Thursday Evening

JUNE 4, 2025 |

Photo – Flyer for Museum’s new exhibit – Courtesy Carbon County Museum

On Thursday evening, the Carbon County Museum will unveil its newest addition: an 11,000-year-old mammoth skull.

Thursday, June 5th, the Carbon County Museum will debut a brand-new exhibit featuring the skull of an adult Columbian mammoth found in Utah.

In 1960, a Union Pacific worker discovered mammoth remains 24 miles southwest of Rawlins, at Chicken Spring Creek. Excavations of the site found a juvenile Columbian mammoth skeleton, regarded as one of the most complete ever discovered.

Carbon County Museum Director Tom Mensik explained he was inspired to create an exhibition after learning about the discovery of the juvenile mammoth.

Using radiometric dating, scientists determined that the Carbon County mammoth died roughly 11,500 years ago. The animal’s remains are currently housed at the University of Wyoming’s Geology Museum in Laramie.

Museum Director Mensik explained scientists linked the Carbon County mammoth to a Paleo-Indian butcher site because of additional animal remains found nearby. However, the University of Wyoming later determined that the area was likely an ancient marshland, where mammoths would become trapped in the swampy mud. Mensik said evidence suggests that ancient tribes either killed the juvenile mammoth after it was trapped or butchered the animal soon after it died.

The museum director said he originally planned to obtain a cast of the mammoth skull from the University of Wyoming. However, Mensik said the cost was too high, leading him to reach out to Gaston Design in Fruita, Colorado. Mensik said the company, known for its museum-quality fossil casts, offers an adult Columbian mammoth skull modeled after remains discovered in Huntington, Utah.

A generous grant from the Carbon County School District One Recreation Board has enabled the museum to purchase the mammoth skull cast, complete with 9-foot-long tusks.

Mensik said due to Gaston Design’s durable resin casting technique, visitors will have the opportunity to view the skull up close, emphasizing the ancient animal’s impressive size.

After Thursday’s unveiling, the mammoth skull will be on permanent display in the Carbon County Museum’s garage, alongside a 1920s LaFrance fire truck. Mensik said he is confident that the Rawlins museum is the only place where visitors can see an 11,000-year-old mammoth skull and a 100-year-old fire truck side by side.

The Carbon County Museum’s “Unboxing of Mammoth Proportions” will take place at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 5th, at 904 West Walnut Street, in Rawlins. Admission is free and light refreshments will be served during the event.

Museum Director Tom Mensik said the mammoth exhibit reflects his ongoing commitment to the success of the Carbon County Museum.