Best Dinosaur Museums for Families
A family vacation almost always includes the chance to visit a local museum or learning institution, and dinosaur museums top the list. There are so many museums, big and small, around the country that make great day trips for families with dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages. From city museums to small, university museums, these exhibits feature the most impressive and important finds, give a behind the scenes look at work happening and recreate the world that these dinosaurs lived in.
If you are looking for just the best museums that feature dinosaurs, there are several that you can take the entire family for a fun filled day of science.
The Field Museum, Chicago
The Field Museum is one of the premiere natural history museums in the country and world, and there is plenty of dinosaur to go around. The most recent and famous acquisition is Sue, the T-Rex, which fills the grand hall that visitors enter the museum through. After gazing up at the fossil that towers over everyone, head upstairs to the working lab behind glass walls and watch as museum scientists learn the secrets held in bone. The Field has several fossils on display in its permanent exhibits, but there are always new specimens being pulled out and displayed so its always worth a visit
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, California
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is another place dinosaur fans can get up close to a T-Rex, where one of the best preserved T-Rex skulls sits on display. It is also home to a cast of a complete, long necked mamenchisaurus skeleton. Go behind the scenes into the Dino Lab where you can watch paleontologists work on new and old discoveries, preserving them for students and research.
Wyoming Dinosaur Center, Wyoming
The Supersaurus at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center will impress any dinosaur obsessed or dinosaur light observer, its one of the longest dinosaurs. In addition to have complete fossils of some of the most popular dinosaurs that kids will know, the entire family can speak with and ask questions of the paleontologists that work there. Active dig sites ensure that there is always something new to see and learn about, and that’s important for a place that focuses only on dinosaurs.
Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta
Most museums try to display the dinosaur fossils and finds that represent the area where they are located, but Fernbank was able to display beautiful specimens from Patagonia. The Gigantosaurus and Argentinosaurus take center stage at this natural history museum. Its not all about South America here though, prehistoric Georgian landscapes and animals are featured in displays and dioramas, along with a flock of pterosaurs.
http://www.fernbankmuseum.org/
Do you have any tips on locations for dinosaur loving families? Share them below!
I take my grandson to the museums in NY all the time. Why is it that kids are so enamored of dinos?
I love going to Museums! We have one here, but I would love to go to one of these-especially the one in Los Angeles. It looks like fun and a good learning experience.
These all looks like wonderful picks for Museums, we go as a family as much as we can, my kids love the hands on stuff, great way to learn and have fun!
We went on the dino trail by Red Rocks. very cool!
I have been to Fernbank Museum in Atlanta and it is a fantastic. I would love to go to Museum in Chicago. I’ve heard they have the Lions that were portrayed in the movie “The Ghost and the Darkness.”
Thanks for the list, these sure sound like some great ones. I know there is a fab dinosaur museum outside of Orlando.
This would be so much fun! We have never been to a museum before.
The Denver Museum of Science and Natural History has a lot of great dinos and then a short trip to Dinosaur Ridge to see fossils on the mountain.
I wish I lived in a big city that had a lot of museums. I love them and visit them when I travel. My husband and I love history and all things revolve around it, like dinosaurs. Atlanta is about 4 hours away, but is a hard city to navigate. But if we go there we will sure visit their museum!
We absolutely love Fernbank! We live in Atlanta, and Fernbank is DEFINITELY a place to visit if you’re here!
We went to the Field Museum when I was a kid, and it was amazing. Unfortunately, it was so large that we weren’t able to see it all. I’m hoping to go back someday.