Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum
We are a biodiversity research institute and a public natural history museum. We study past and present life on Earth to educate, engage and inspire.
Holiday Hours
The KU Natural History Museum will be closed on Friday, July 4th with regular weekend hours Saturday-Sunday.
Natural History Museum
Museum Hours & Admission
Tuesday-Saturday, 9am-5pm
Sunday, 12pm-4pm
Closed on Mondays
Free admission, suggested donation of $7 for adults, $4 for children. All proceeds support the museum.
Sunday, 12pm-4pm
Closed on Mondays
Free admission, suggested donation of $7 for adults, $4 for children. All proceeds support the museum.
Location & Contact Info
Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Blvd
Lawrence, KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-4450
Email: biodiversity@ku.edu
1345 Jayhawk Blvd
Lawrence, KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-4450
Email: biodiversity@ku.edu
Membership
Support the KU Natural History Museum with a Museum Membership and enjoy benefits at the museum and at 300+ institutions around the country!
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.
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.
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.
Help Fund our Future
The KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum relies on your support to fund its programs, research, exhibits and more.
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News
Researchers unearth big possum that lived around 60 million years ago in Texas’ Big Bend National Park
Paleontologists from the University of Kansas have described for the first time a species of Swaindelphys discovered in Texas’ Big Bend National Park, though the ecosystem was drastically different in the Paleocene, when it thrived, than today.
University Research Award Spotlight: James Saulsbury
James Saulsbury, postdoctoral researcher in the Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, received the Research Postdoctoral Achievement Award at the University Research Awards ceremony. In the video, Saulsbury talks about his research.
Class of 2025 Nominates Stephen Benedict Most Impactful Professor Award Winners
Three winners for the Stephen Benedict Most Impactful Professor Award were announced on Saturday, May 17, 2025 during the Undergraduate Biology Program Recognition Ceremony.
U.S. News & World Report ranks 48 KU graduate programs in top 50 among public schools
KU has 48 graduate programs in the top 50 among public universities — including 10 programs in the top 10 — in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings.