Downtown Nederland is getting a Jurassic makeover.

Driving down 1st Street over the past several weeks, people have been treated to a scene worthy of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park slowly taking shape. Towering over 1st Street a family pod of Apatosaurus and their companions Stegosaurus grace the side of Nature’s Own, the local geology gift shop that’s been a Nederland fixture for over 30 years.

All the dinosaurs in the mural actually lived in the Nederland area, eons back when Colorado was still mostly low plains with swampy grasslands. The plants the dinosaurs are munching on are also accurate depictions of what grew in Colorado during the Jurassic time period. Nature’s Own offers brochures with further specifics about why these specific dinosaurs are significant to Nederland.

The mural is being done by Sally Eckert and her daughter Siena Tone. Eckert has painted several murals over the years, including ones in Boulder and Nederland. This is the first time, however, working on a major project with her daughter. It’s a fitting first professional project for the mother- daughter team, painting dinosaurs that traveled in family pods.

The mural is the second in a series funded by the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA). There is another mural planned for the space between The Deli and Busey Brews on 1st Street. “We just want art to liven the community,” said Judi Anderson, the point person on the dinosaur mural for the Nederland Public Art Committee.

This mural is also funded in part by Roy Young, who opened Nature’s Own in 1986. According to Anderson, Young has long wanted a mural of this kind for Nederland and wanted to allow the artists to fulfill their vision, which is larger than the original budget allowed.

Both artists admit that he has been integral in informing the contents of their Jurassic mural, his expertise spilling forward into the artist’s work as they explain why recent scientific discoveries about the shape of skin cells have helped determine the color of the dinosaurs themselves. It also helped Eckert choose their color palette.

The process of deciding on the Jurassic scene took some convincing, with the original concept of the mural being simply a nature scene. But Young hoped to have something that was not only unique to the Nederland area but something more personal to the 1st Street shops and to serve as a reminder. “It makes you remember that everyone gets their own little moment in time. This was the dinosaur’s moment in time. Now, we have our moment in time,” Eckert said.

“The hope for the mural, with its impressive and unique imagery, will encourage visitors to stop not just at the mural, but in the other businesses as well.” Eckert explained. She continues, “[We’re] trying to create more opportunities for all the businesses, not just the rock shop.”

Painting the mural has certainly piqued the interests of locals and passersby, especially the children. Eckert laughs as she talks about a little boy who could not only name all the dinosaurs she was painting, but the plants they were eating too. Eckhert and Tone are glad to see people embracing their work. “If [communities] feel like they’re part of something or they can buy into something in a way and participate, they will take ownership of something,” Eckert said.

The excitement over the mural is evident. At least three times during our thirty-minute interview, locals and strangers alike lean out their car windows to shout various encouragements or compliments on the artists’ work.

“It’s cool because you know, there’s so often that you just are doing art and no one ever sees it,” Tone said, ”But getting to do it is like actually getting to like bringing it to people. It’s not yours at that point. It’s for other people.”

Her mother agreed, “And that’s the whole point.”

To find out more about Nederland Public Art, check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ Nederland- Public- Art- 108318241349377/?ref=page_ internal. To find out more about the Nederland Downtown Development Authority, check out their website at https://www.nederlanddowntown.org/.

Meet the Artist on Friday, August 5, 2022, from 1 to 3 p.m. to find out more about the mural, the Nederland Downtown Development Authority and Ned Public Art.