Several species of North American mammals in the Panorama exhibit.

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.

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.
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
Dyche Hall, KU Natural History Museum

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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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Upcoming Events

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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

Reconstruction of Swaindelphys

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.
James Saulsbury

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.
Rich Glor, Robin Orozco, Eileen Hotze

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.
Two seated students listen to a standing student giving presentation.

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.
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