If you’re trying to find the best places to visit in order to observe dinosaur-related history in person, there are quite a few special spots in America.
Scattered throughout the country is a multitude of fully built dinosaur specimens. If you’re looking for the best museums to see dinosaur fossils and down for a little adventure, consider one of these spots. With amazing exhibits and some of the most famous fossils, any of these places are sure to astound you.
Wyoming Dinosaur Center
Located in Thermopolis, Wyoming, the 12,000-square-foot Wyoming Dinosaur Center contains thirty full-size dinosaur skeletons. Visitors can tour some of the dig sites on Warm Springs Ranch’s 500 acres to see scientists extracting dinosaur bones. The museum even offers a “Dig for a Day” program that allows participants to join paleontologists at an active site.
Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center
Located near Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center also features over thirty life-size specimens. This museum offers a close look at many dinosaurs, such as close relatives of the T. rex and raptor. Visitors can view scientists restoring, casting, and assembling fossils inside the Paleontology Lab.
American Museum of Natural History
Located in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, this famous museum has a must-see exhibit for dinosaur enthusiasts all over the country. It contains a barosaurus towering five stories high at the entrance; it’s the tallest freestanding dinosaur display in the entire world. The museum also has several halls filled with fossils, two of which are dedicated to the most infamous beasts.
The Field Museum
Located in Chicago, Illinois, this museum contains one of the most famous Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons, named Sue. At more than 67 million years old, she is the best-preserved, the most complete, and, in fact, the largest T. rex fossil in the world. The Field Museum also has an “Evolving Planet” exhibit that features examples from all the major dinosaur groups.
Dinosaur Journey Museum
Located in Fruita, Colorado, this museum is interactive. There’s a lot to do here, including many hands-on paleontological opportunities. In addition to the fossils and cast skeletons of the velociraptor and stegosaurus, there are robotic creations to demonstrate how dinosaurs moved. This is a great place for young children, as it offers a reading room and a kids’ quarry to make dino tracks and hunt for bones.
There are many more wonderful fossil-filled museums to consider visiting. From Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, California, the best museums to see dinosaur fossils are scattered throughout the country. There’s bound to be places near and far that pique your interest, and they’re definitely all unique in the way they exhibit these prehistoric creatures.
