Petrified Forest - Rainbow Forest Museum

The Rainbow Forest Museum has displays showing Triassic plants and animal in their original habitat. This photograph shows a reconstruction of a carnivorous raptor-like dinosaur, Coelophysis, in a river and forest setting (NPS, 2006b). Petrified Forest National Park and the surrounding Painted Desert is the target of paleontological investigations, and is considered one of the world's most significant fossil resource areas. Today, collecting of fossils is illegal on public lands without special permits, and research programs are closely monitored to ensure both the quality and professional character of scientific investigation. However, the National Park Service also ensures that the public can share in the enjoyment of these protected resources, and the creativity of exploration.