BYU Museum of Paleontology

In the first exhibit of the museum

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 Museum of Paleontology is located just West of BYU's football stadium. It is free, but donations are accepted (and encouraged).

The building was 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 40 minutes there, which was almost too long for my children. There was one other family there, and they went through quicker than we did.

The triceratops skull--so huge!

They have a viewing window where you can watch the paleontologists work on fossils, but no one was there while we visited the museum. They had a few fossils that were "hands-on," but no real interactive activities for the little kids.  

I would probably stop here anytime that I made it down to Provo, which is usually once or twice a year, but I am not sure it is worth a special trip. It takes me almost as long to get to the museum as it does to walk through it. If I had a slightly older child, I might make an exception because they might enjoy the amazing fossils displayed in such a small place. And it is free, so if you need an easy, free adventure, this is a great place to head.  For more info about the BYU Museum of Paleontology, click below.

http://cpms.byu.edu/ESM/index.html

There is a big alligator skull.

Other exhibits...the window in the background is for watching workers.

Giant Sloth