Morrison Natural History Museum Morrison, CO |
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Rating |
Excellent |
Age |
6 and up |
Lockers |
Not Needed |
Restrooms |
Adequate |
Food |
In town |
Closest Coffee |
Ozzies in Downtown Morrison |
Recommendation |
This is a must-see little museum. Looks are deceiving-Give yourself at least an hour but leave some extra room in your schedule, just in case! |
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Review: by Sam
The Morrison Natural History Museum is a great little museum that is just outside of Morrison, Colorado. When we were there there were almost no other visitors so you don't have to wait in line to see something interesting. While we were there we got to work on an actual fossil. The fossil was excavated in the late 1800s and had never been cleaned or studied.
This is a fossil rich area. Morrison, Colorado is the location of one of the first great fossil sites in North America. The Morrison Formation is the layer of earth that has produced many of more familiar dinosaurs. This is actually the location that the first Apatosaur (Brontosaurus) was found. The Museum has the first set of footprints from a baby Stegosaurus. They are displayed next to adult footprints so you can see there relative size. The Museum staff continues to work the Historic Dig sites around Morrison, and when we were there had giant bolders out front they were working on that were collected from a local building site. If not for this museum the fossils in these rocks may never have been found.
The staff are as nice as they come and we even got our own personal guide. Out back they have a sandbox for younger kids. The sandbox is full of real fossils for the kids to discover. The staff member we talked to said there were a few hundred in there.
For such a small museum, the MNHM has a massive collection, but the personal knowledge and stories of the staff are what make this museum stand out.
This is a must see if you are near Denver.
We Just checked the website and found out they are now hosting dig tours!!!!
Additional Reviews:
Will: This is the best museum I have ever been in because I got to touch the real dinosaur fossils, and I got to dig for them in a sandbox out back too. On the second floor there is a display where you can meet snakes and various other reptiles. They also have a skeleton of an actual velociraptor which shows it is only about the size of a chicken. I guess you can't trust everything you see in the Jurassic Park Movies. The gift shop is outstanding, too.
Dad: A ½ hour stop turned into 2 hours. This is a great experience and the staff members are out of this world. There are not a lot of "blow you away" fossils, but the explanations from the staff make it come to life. This is a must-see if you are anywhere in the Denver area. Do the Dinosaur Ridge Drive and make it a day.