We have been wanting to go to the BYU Dinosaur Museum (as my 4 year old calls it) for a long time, and we finally made it! The BYU Museum of Paleontology is located just West of BYU’s football stadium. It is FREE, but donations are accepted.
The building is rather small. Nothing like the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum, but the fossils displayed were quite amazing. I was impressed with the full Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex heads, as well as the complete Giant Sloth. We walked through the museum twice and only spent about an hour there, maybe a little less.
They have a viewing window where you can watch the paleontologists work on fossils. We have seen a few students there cleaning off fossils and this fascinates my boys. They had a few fossils that were “hands-on,” but no real interactive activities for the little kids.
There is one room filled with plant and other animal fossils that aren’t reptiles. We like to look at the size of the leaves that have been saved. This is where you will find the Giant Sloth.
When we need a place to visit that is inside, we often head to BYU and stop at the dinosaur museum. We love that it is free (donations accepted), so if you need an easy, free adventure, this is a great place to head.
If you are near BYU campus, you can also visit the Bean Museum, Botany Pond, BYU Museum of Peoples and Culture, or the BYU Creamery. We usually pick a few BYU stops and make a day of it!
I parked right by this place at Women’s Conference and had never heard of it before. I told Mark about it, and he’s been wanting me to “investigate,” but haven’t had a chance. You just answered all our questions! THANX! 🙂