I say "re-visited" because when my mother, sister and I lived there, my mother worked at this museum, so I spent many days as a child exploring its wonders. My uncle spent over thirty years as head preparator at this unique natural history museum. Many of the same exhibits exist today, however, in the "Panorama of North American plants and animals" (which is the largest diorama of its kind in the world), there used to be buttons that were interactive to produce sounds from each environment. These are now gone, but the incredible diorama exists.

Above the entrance is a mosasaur that hangs above the unique tiles with images of crustaceans and other ancient sea fossils.

Two of my most fondest memories of exhibits are the "bee tree" located on the 6th floor and the fluorescent mineral exhibit.

This museum carries such a family history for me, I had "deja-vu" moments the entire time since I spent so much time there as a child running up and down the marble stairs and exploring the many exhibits There are definitely many more child-friendly collections and interactive exhibits now. There is a cute YouTube video of the museum here: Video

University of Kansas Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center
Dyche Hall • 1345 Jayhawk Blvd. Lawrence, KS 66045-7561
Phone: (785) 864-4540
Website: http://www.nhm.ku.edu/