Featured Exhibit: Documenting Diversity
Explore four floors of fascinating exhibits at the KU Natural History Museum, from small microbes to massive mosasaurs. Learn about the science of parasites, step back into deep time with ancient fossils including dinosaurs, and meet live insects, snakes, lizards and bees. Don't miss the Panorama, an expansive natural history exhibit depicting different biomes of the planet with a centerpiece showcasing the flora and fauna of the Great Plains, which dates to the 1893 World’s Fair. Plan your visit to the museum!
Want to add a new layer to your visit? Ask for one of our many Discovery Guides and Scavenger Hunts at the Visitor Services Desk. Teachers can use Exhibit Activities for a more in-depth exploration of museum exhibits, or access a variety of other Educator Resources, You can also book one of our educational School Programs in advance for your class during the school year.
3rd Floor
On our 3rd floor, you'll find fossils and so much more! Explore the living Paleo Garden, view the Kansas Silvisaurus dinosaur, step back millions of years in time to the Carboniferous or the Oligocene/Eocene, see KU Paleontology Up Close and discover live insects in Bugtown.
Map — Download a map of the 3rd floor (pdf)
Amenities: Water fountains and bottle filler station. Restrooms. Accessible entrance to elevator. Accessible ramp to/from 3rd floor galleries.
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4th Floor
View the renowned Panorama, created for the 1893 World's Fair — one room where you can visit the Midwest, the Southwest, canyons, a rainforest, and the Arctic! Don't forget to look up in the lobby at the famous 45-foot-long Bunker mosasaur, a marine reptile from the Cretaceous.
Map — Download a map of the 4th floor (pdf)
Amenities: Visitor Services Desk and Gift Shop.
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Comanche
5th Floor
Explore Evolution on the 5th floor, with a variety of interactive exhibits, including our newest, Documenting Diversity! You can also get a different perspective on the Bunker mosasaur.
Map — Download a map of the 5th floor (pdf)
Amenities: Restrooms. Accessible ramp into 5th floor gallery.
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Documenting Diversity
Explore Evolution
6th Floor
What's that buzzing?! On the 6th floor, learn about bees and see them in action at our live Bee Tree exhibit, view a variety of mammals skulls, our living microbes wall, living snakes and anoles, birds, dioramas, archaeological artifacts, and dive into the new Deep-Scattering Layer! Down the north hall and just around the corner, you'll find the original grotesques, created for Dyche Hall in 1902 and removed for preservation in 2017.
Map — Download a map of the 6th floor (pdf)
Amenities: Water fountains and bottle filler station.
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Live Snakes & Anoles
Several commonly found snakes and several species of anole lizards
A Spectrum of Red
Highlights the incredible biodiversity of our planet through the color red
Museum From Home
Want to explore more when you get home? Check out our Museum From Home, with fun activities and explorations!