Entrance to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, MT.

Dinosaurs, space, environmental processes, earth science. Are you getting excited? The best science and natural history museums promote wonder and spark your imagination. They’ll get you thinking, educate, and maybe even get you excited about the natural sciences.

I’ve been to several museums in the past few years due to my son’s interest in dinosaurs and space. This isn’t anything new for me; only the frequency has increased. I’ve been a fan of natural history museums since I was a kid. Growing up in Pittsburgh, trips to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History were a thrill. It was an impressive building filled with all these amazing things for a young scientist-to-be to explore. The dinosaurs, of course, were the biggest attraction. But there was also the diorama, “The Arab Courier.” I had to see this every visit. As a kid I “got” dinosaurs, but this was different. It put me in a curious mental place that nothing else did. I was fascinated and even a bit scared. Looking at a photo of it now, it’s still fascinating! Isn’t that a what a natural history museum should do? Continue reading →