Museum of the Rockies

October 2, 2021

600 W Kagy Blvd, Bozeman, MT 59717

“Museum of the Rockies is a museum in Bozeman, Montana. Originally affiliated with Montana State University in Bozeman, and now, also, the Smithsonian Institution, the museum is known for its paleontological collections, although these are not its sole focus.” Wikipedia

If you like dinosaurs then you must visit the Museum of the Rockies. While I have never been very interested in dinosaurs, I found the exhibits in this museum very interesting and informative. As far as I could tell, all of the bones, fossils, and other items were all from this area of the country. Some of the skeletal parts were reconstructions, cast from actual bones found…others were actual bones…both types were identified as such. I loved listening to people express their amazement at some of the displays. It was especially gratifying to hear the joy in the voices of young children, many of which could tell you the names of the dinosaurs, which I can not.

While the dinosaurs are a big attractions, the museum, true to its name, also has exhibits telling the story of the people of the Rockies. There is a small exhibis about Yellowstone National Park, a section dedicated to the Native Americans from the area, and a section about transportation and early life in the area.

The museum also houses a planetarium. I sat in on a presentation about the Northern Lights which was very interesting.

The museum houses a paleontological lab.

Some of the dinosaur displays had a skeleton on one side and the museum's rendering of what the dinosaur looked like on the other.

The display said dinosaur embryos are very rare, but the museum has five. This display is a reconstruction.

A T-Rex that was found in the area. The skeleton is made up of 60% real bones (dark areas) and the rest reconstructed bones.

A stereoscope with photos of Yellowstone.

In the early days of Yellowstone visitors came by stagecoach. There were also stagecoach companies that gave tours of the park.

A water wagon that was used to bring water to construction areas and/or farms.

I loved this gas station display, especially the sign over the door which read, "For gas sales after hours, first honk horn, once! Then keep your shirt on while I get my pants on."

Mail order planes were the first aircraft in the Rockie Mountain area.

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