Several species of North American mammals in the Panorama exhibit.

Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum

We study past and present life on Earth to educate, engage and inspire.

Natural History Museum

Museum Hours & Admission

Tuesday-Saturday: 9am-5pm
Sunday: 12pm-4pm
Closed on Mondays

Admission is a suggested contribution of $7 per adult and $4 per child. KU students and members are free. All proceeds support the museum.
Plan Your Visit

Location & Contact Info

Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Blvd
Lawrence, KS 66045

Phone: 785-864-4450
Email: biodiversity@ku.edu
Directions & Parking

Membership

Support the KU Natural History Museum with a Museum Membership and enjoy benefits at the museum and at 300+ institutions around the country!
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Panorama Newsletter

Keep up with the latest news, events, and more by subscribing to the Panorama Newsletter, a monthly email from the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum.
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Natural History Museum

The KU Natural History Museum is home to four floors of public exhibits including the historic Panorama, live snakes and insects, vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, flora and fauna of the Great Plains and more.
A child holds his arms up imitating the Pteranodon on display.

Biodiversity Institute

The KU Biodiversity Institute is an internationally recognized center for research and graduate student education in evolutionary biology, systematics and biodiversity informatics, with curated collections of over 11 million plant, animal and fossil specimens and 2 million cultural artifacts.
Four researchers gathered around herpetology collection specimens

Upcoming Events

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The KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum relies on your support to fund its programs, research, exhibits and more.
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Education & Outreach

Group of students sitting at a table and getting feedback from the instructor on the geology activity they just completed.

K-12 School Programs

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Students looking at a wet specimen in a jar.

KU Student & Faculty Programs

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Scout group with museum staff and 6 youth in front of the silvisaurus dinosaur exhibit

Scout Programs

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News

Teresa MacDonald accepts the ASTC award while smiling for a photo with Lisa White.

KU Natural History Museum’s VENOMventure wins Leading Edge Award at ASTC conference

VENOMventure, a bilingual STEM-themed experience developed by the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, was honored with a 2025 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award at the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) conference in San Francisco.
Newly emerged male cellophane bee Colletes inaequalis Say at a nesting aggregation in Tenhave Woods Nature Preserve in Royal Oak, Michigan, in 2024.

Study: Cellophane bees are built for chill temperatures, more so than honeybees

Scholarship from the University of Kansas shows the cellophane bee is specialized by evolution to handle the harsh shocks and cold temperatures of early spring.
A photo of Hypancistrus zebra (Loricariidae), a critically endangered species, heavily demanded by the aquarium trade and threatened by the Belo Monte hydropower plant.

Expert on catfishes publishes updated volume on catfish biology and evolution

Researcher Gloria Arratia serves as editor and contributor to the just published first volume of “Catfishes: A Highly Diversified Group,” a two-volume reference.
Photo of fossil in box from KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum

Paleontologists will convene in Kansas to boost sharing and crediting of scholarly data

A conclave of about 20 prominent paleontologists, data scientists and editors from academic journals will gather Aug. 4-5 at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum to improve how data is shared among professionals in the field — and beyond.
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