Museums with dinosaurs help people understand past ecosystems while often providing new information about fossils.
Beautiful shouldn’t come at the expense of scientific truth, though. A museum can take steps to ensure its exhibits are scientifically accurate; this may take more time and work; some museums take it further and do even more than this.
The Natural History Museum in London
The Natural History Museum in London’s South Kensington does not just feature dinosaur skeletons decoration. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road; the others are the Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, which make up what is collectively referred to as the London Museums Complex. As well as being a fully functioning laboratory for research in biology, geology, zoology, and other scientific fields, its collections provide vital data that facilitate this research – plus visitors can take part in behind-the-scenes tours offered to visitors!
The museum collection boasts numerous fossils and models of dinosaurs. Some full-sized specimens even include an integrated hologram that displays how their bones fit together to form their bodies.
Museum exhibits focus not only on dinosaurs but also on other prehistoric creatures, such as marine reptiles. One interesting display shows the development of dinosaur armor, from clubbed tails to spikes over one foot long that were designed to defend them against predators.
Izikio Museum provides another exhibit featuring dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals native to South Africa. Although South Africa doesn’t conjure up images of T. Rex or Brachiosaurus immediately, there are some dinosaurs from Karoo region on display at this museum – among them is nearly complete skull of Carcharodontosaurus which would easily top T. Rex size when crushing a small car!
At the museum are various exhibits depicting dodo birds – the first bird ever preserved this way – such as full-size models made by curator Richard Owen using only paintings by 17th-century masters as references for piecing together its bones in 1866. Owen’s interpretation of their appearance is no longer considered accurate by scientists, but Julian Pender Hume depicts more athletic-looking birds as more indicative of what scientists now think they look like.
Tring, Hertfordshire, also plays host to a branch museum of the Natural History Museum known as the Museum of Life and Evolution. Admission to both branches of the Natural History Museum is free; however, there may be fees charged for certain special exhibits or events. Additionally, there is a cafe within walking distance, and numerous restaurants are nearby.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH), one of Pittsburgh’s four Carnegie museums and one of the top natural history museums in the US. Home to millions of artifacts and specimens representing diversity worldwide, its collections provide inspiration to scientists, educators, students, and the general public on exploring and comprehending how humanity and nature co-exist.
Andrew Carnegie established the museum to fulfill his ambition of bringing “the world” to Pittsburgh. Early expeditions in the western US yielded fossils that formed part of their legendary dinosaur collection; research expeditions worldwide soon thereafter resulted in collecting flora, fauna, artifacts, and natural history objects for display and study in the museum’s ever-expanding collection.
Dinosaur fans will delight in viewing the museum’s impressive collection of real dinosaur bones–the fourth largest in North America. Furthermore, the museum offers other captivating exhibitions like Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems, Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians, Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life, Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt, and Benedum Hall of Geology to keep guests enthralled for hours on end.
CMNH also houses an extensive collection of other prehistoric animals, such as sea reptiles and pterosaurs. Its impressive pterosaur collection boasts a fantastic amount of Quetzalcoatlus as well as other smaller species like Rhamporhyncus and Sinosauropteryx; these dinosaurs demonstrate how birds may have evolved from small theropod dinosaurs through direct descent.
Visitors seeking more information on the museum can explore it by visiting its website and social media channels, like its blog page or TikTok channel. Both channels regularly post dinosaur-related articles, snail jokes, cute animal videos, and other topics of interest to museum fans.
Visits to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History are fun and educational experiences for the whole family, located just steps from Heinz History Center and close to both University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon campuses as well as numerous popular restaurants and bars in Downtown Pittsburgh.
The Field Museum in Chicago
The Field Museum (officially the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History) is one of the country’s premier science and natural history museums, boasting something for every type of visitor. You’ll be delighted by mummies up close, exploring 4 billion years of life on Earth, or meeting SUE the Tyrannosaurus Rex! There truly is something here for everyone at this iconic institution of science and natural history.
The museum quickly outgrew the Palace of Fine Arts, so a group led by retail magnate Marshall Field raised funds for a new museum building to house their expanding collections. Opening to the public in 1921 under their generous donors’ namesake, The Field Museum officially welcomed visitors.
The museum features not only dinosaurs but also an impressive selection of other prehistoric creatures, fossils, and minerals. One of its best-known dinosaur exhibits – an Allosaurus skeleton built from an original fossil found by world-renowned paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope during his “Bone Wars” period of American paleontology – remains on display today.
SUE stands as the centerpiece of this display: she is the world’s largest, most complete, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur skeleton, measuring nearly 40 feet from tip to tail and weighing an astounding 62,000 pounds! Visitors can explore SUE more on the museum’s balcony level.
Along with dinosaurs, the museum boasts impressive exhibits of other prehistoric creatures like Albertosaurus libratus and Bambiraptor. Additionally, you can watch scientists at work restoring, casting, and assembling fossils in its Paleontology Lab.
The Field Museum provides various ways for Illinois residents to save on admission, with free days available throughout the year for children and seniors alike. You can purchase your tickets ahead of time online or at their box office; additionally, reciprocal admission may apply to other science museums across the nation. For more details, check out their website! Ticket purchases can also be made in advance online or at box offices, and you can potentially take advantage of reciprocal admission programs offered at other science museums across the nation!
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
Boston’s premier art museum (commonly referred to as MFA or MFA Boston) houses an exceptional collection of paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings by Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Gauguin as well as a stunning Egyptian temple replica. As one of the country’s largest institutions, MFA collections are widely respected for their diversity and breadth of depth. It ranks among one of the country’s largest museum collections.
The museum features many notable dinosaurs, including a 106-foot Supersaurus and a recreation of 22 specimens of Albertosaurus found in Alberta. Additionally, visitors can observe paleontologists at work while learning about turning rocks into dinosaur bones; in its fourth floor fossil halls the majority of exhibits consisting of real fossils rather than casts make this experience truly captivating and provide an intriguing way to learn about our planet’s history.
MFA also hosts an impressive collection of birds and mammals, arranged according to evolutionary relationships; thus a visit through its dinosaur halls feels much like walking along an ancestral family tree.
The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) is one of the world’s premier art museums, boasting an extraordinary selection of works from Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and ancient Americas. Recently, MFA expanded into an adjacent building to double its size while adding an exquisite new wing dedicated to American art; making it now one of the world’s premier collections and affiliated with Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences.
The MFA is an increasingly popular tourist attraction and can become extremely crowded on weekends. For a more relaxing and serene visit, visiting during the week would be preferable; traveling exhibits, classes and gallery activities take place year round in this museum; children are welcome but most exhibits aren’t designed specifically for active exploration by them.