List of museums in Montana
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This list of museums in Montana encompasses museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.
The six areas referred to in the "Region" column are explained in a separate section below.
Montana has an unusual number of paleontology museums and museums with paleontology sections, much of them filled with discoveries from within the state. These museums are listed again in a separate table below with more specific information.
Museums
[edit]This list is a sortable table. Click on the small boxes next to any heading title to reorder the list (in alphabetical order or reverse alphabetical order) by that category.
Name | Town/City | County | Region | Type | Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Computer & Robotics Museum | Bozeman | Gallatin | South central | Computer | History of computing, communications, artificial intelligence & robotics |
Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts | Helena | Lewis and Clark | Southwest | Art | Exhibitions of contemporary ceramic art |
Bair Family Museum | Martinsdale | Meagher | North central | Historic house | website, ranch home of Charles M. Bair family, features antiques, Native American and Western art, ranching display |
Beaverhead County Museum | Dillon | Beaverhead | Southwest | Local history | website, natural, physical and human history of Beaverhead County, includes fossils, military artifacts, textiles, household items, miniature railroad, mining and farming equipment, a general store, schoolroom and railroad pocket watch exhibit |
Belt Museum | Belt | Cascade | North Central | Local history | In the old jail building. Jail cell, coal mine reproductions, photos, local artists. |
Big Horn County Historical Museum | Hardin | Big Horn | Southeast | Open-air | website, includes over 25 historic buildings, farm equipment, horse-drawn wagons and antique vehicles, operated by the Big Horn County Historical Society |
Big Sandy Historical Museum | Big Sandy | Chouteau | North Central | Local history | Early pioneer ranching days, genealogy information |
Blaine County Museum | Chinook | Blaine | Northeast | Local history | website, local history, culture, Native Americans, dinosaurs and fossils |
Blaine County Wildlife Museum | Chinook | Blaine | Northeast | Natural history | website, open summer, over 200 animals on display, past and present Montana wildlife |
Brand Bar Museum | Ovando | Powell | Southwest | Local history | Local memorabilia, stories of settlers |
Broadwater County Museum | Townsend | Broadwater | Southwest | Local history | website, open seasonally |
Canton Church Historic Site | Townsend | Broadwater | Southwest | Religious | 1870s Catholic Church, first built in the area |
Carbon County Historical Society Museum | Red Lodge | Carbon | South central | Local history | website, Native Americans, cowboys, rodeo, mining, ranching and homesteading |
Carter County Museum | Ekalaka | Carter | Southeast | Multiple | Local history, Native American, homesteaders, dinosaurs, fossils, geology, natural history |
Cascade Senior Center and Museum | Cascade | Cascade | North Central | Local history | Photographs, business machines, military |
Castle Museum | White Sulphur Springs | Meagher | North central | History | Late 19th-century mansion with period furniture, minerals, textiles, historic artifacts, carriages and sleds, a bank, a schoolroom, a stagecoach, fire engines |
Central Montana Museum | Lewistown | Fergus | North central | Multiple | website, local history, culture, Native Americans, mining, petroleum, military history, dinosaurs, open seasonally[1] |
Cheyenne Indian Museum | Ashland | Rosebud | Southeast | History | website, located in St. Labre Indian Mission, artifacts and collectibles from the Plains Tribes |
Children's Museum of Montana, Inc | Great Falls | Cascade | Central | tactile exploration | website, focus is cognitive development through interactive exhibits to inspire a passion for lifelong learning. |
Children’s Museum Missoula | Missoula | Missoula | Northwest | Children's | website, interactive exhibits for children |
Children's Museum of Bozeman | Bozeman | Gallatin | South central | Children's | website |
Children's Museum of Northeast Montana | Glasgow | Valley | Northeast | Children's | website |
Clark Chateau | Butte | Silver Bow | Southwest | Multiple | website, 1898 mansion |
Clarks Fork Valley Museum | Fromberg | Carbon | South central | Local history | In railroad depot, replicas |
C. M. Russell Museum Complex | Great Falls | Cascade | North central | Art | Focus is the artwork of local "cowboy artist" Charles Marion Russell and art about the American Old West |
Conrad Mansion Museum | Kalispell | Flathead | Northwest | Historic house | website; 1895 Norman-style mansion built by trading and freighting magnate and Kalispell founder Charles Conrad; has 26 originally furnished rooms, Tiffany-style windows[2] |
Conrad Transportation and Historical Museum | Conrad | Pondera | North central | History / Transportation | Open seasonally, features a period drug store, general store, recreated homestead shack, exhibits about the development of the west through transportation, toys, automobiles and artifacts[3] |
Cooke City Montana Museum | Cooke City | Park | South central | Local history | website, Beartooth Pass, tourism, local communities |
Copper King Mansion | Butte | Silver Bow | Southwest | Historic house | Guided tours of the late Victorian mansion |
Copper Village Museum & Arts Center | Anaconda | Deer Lodge | Southwest | Multiple | Located in the Anaconda City Hall Cultural Center, exhibitions of art, local history and culture[4] |
Crail Ranch Homestead Museum | Big Sky | Gallatin | South central | Homestead | website The museum is housed in two original homestead cabins and displays artifacts, photographs and documents pertaining to the homestead era in the Big Sky area. Docents offer extensive information about the pioneer Crail and Creek families. |
Crazy Mountain Museum | Big Timber | Sweet Grass | South central | Local history | website |
Culbertson Museum | Culbertson | Roosevelt | Northeast | History | website, open seasonally, local history, historic room and business displays, tractors, horse-drawn equipment, cowboy pioneer and homesteader artifacts |
Custer Battlefield Museum | Garryowen | Big Horn | Southeast | History | website, Battle of the Little Bighorn, frontiersmen, military life, Plains Indian culture |
Daly Mansion | Hamilton | Ravalli | Southwest | Historic house | website, home of 19th century industrialist Marcus Daly, includes an arboretum and botanical garden |
Daniels County Museum & Pioneer Town | Scobey | Daniels | Northeast | Living history | website, includes over 30 historic buildings restored to depict a town in the early 1900s |
Darby Pioneer Memorial Museum | Darby | Ravalli | Northwest | Local history | Collection of pioneer home and work artifacts[5] |
Darby Ranger Station Visitor's Center and Museum | Darby | Ravalli | Northwest | History | website, open seasonally, history of the Forest Service and its evolving mission, located in the Bitterroot National Forest |
Dumas Brothel | Butte | Silver Bow | Southwest | History | Former brothel dating back to 1890 |
Earth Science Museum | Loma | Chouteau | North central | Local history, Natural history | Gems, minerals, fossils and Native American artifacts discovered in the area[6] |
Fly Fishing Discovery Center | Livingston | Park | South central | Sports - Fly fishing | Operated by the Federation of Fly Fishers, fly fishing ties, rods, reels, lines, float tubes, art |
Fort Benton Museums | Fort Benton | Choteau | North central | Multiple | website, includes Old Fort Benton, a reconstructed 1850s fur trading post; Starr Gallery of Western Art; Museum of the Northern Great Plains about homesteaders' lives and agriculture; Homestead Village, a 1900s period rural community including a church, bank, drug store, City Hall, one room school, a mercantile and three generations of prairie settler's dwellings; Museum of the Upper Missouri about area explorations, transportation and local history; and Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument Interpretive Center |
Fort Owen State Park | Stevensville | Ravalli | Southwest | Military | Partially restored fort and museum |
Fort Peck Interpretive Center | Fort Peck | Valley | Northeast | Natural history | Native fish and game species of Fort Peck Lake and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, construction of Fort Peck Dam and powerhouse tours |
Frank Derosa Railroad Museum | Havre | Hill | North central | History | Model railroad, equipment |
Frontier Gateway Museum | Glendive | Dawson | Southwest | Local history | website, open seasonally, dinosaurs and fossils, buffalo, Indians, homesteaders, cattlemen, settlers, railroad, Civil War, two country stores, a blacksmith shop, buggy shed, a fire hall, log cabin, a restored country school, and farm machinery |
Frontier Montana Museum | Deer Lodge | Powell | Southwest | History | website, collection of handguns, spurs, chaps and cowboy collectibles, open seasonally |
Galerie Trinitas | Great Falls | Cascade | North central | Art | Part of the University of Great Falls, religious art and the art of Sister Trinitas Morin[7] |
Garfield County Museum | Jordan | Garfield | Northeast | History | website, local history, culture, dinosaurs and fossils |
Gallatin History Museum | Bozeman | Gallatin | South central | Local history | website, operated by the Gallatin County Historical Society in a former jail, exhibits include jail cells and a hanging gallows, Native American history in the Gallatin Valley, clothing, a reconstructed log cabin, guns |
Glacier County Historical Museum | Cut Bank | Glacier | Southwest | Local history | Open seasonally, exhibits include homesteading, Lewis & Clark, the artist John Clark, community businesses, oil, and Cut Bank 1898 through the 1960, an oil worker's house, oil derrick, 1917 schoolhouse, 1980s caboose, replica homestead house and farm [8] |
Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum | Glendive | Dawson | Southwest | Religious | website, creationist view of dinosaurs and fossils, operated by the Foundation Advancing Creation Truth |
Granite County Museum & Cultural Center | Philipsburg | Granite | Southwest | Local history | website, open seasonally, includes the Ghost Town Hall of Fame, exhibits on area silver mining, located in the historic Courtney Hotel |
Grant–Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site | Deer Lodge | Powell | Southwest | Open-air | Tours of the working cattle ranch, 19th-century ranch house, historic bunkhouse, barn with collection of wagons and buggies, granary, draft horse barn, ice house and other outbuildings |
Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station | Malta | Phillips | Northeast | Natural history | Dinosaurs, fossils, hosts paleontology digs, open seasonally |
Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center | West Yellowstone | Gallatin | South central | Natural history | Exhibits and live bears and wolves |
H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum | Havre | Hill | North central | Local history | Local history, culture, dinosaurs, fossils[9] |
Headwaters Heritage Museum | Three Forks | Gallatin | South central | History | website, Lewis and Clark, mining, early settlers |
Heritage Museum | Libby | Lincoln | Northwest | Local history | website, open seasonally |
Historic St. Mary's Mission | Stevensville | Ravalli | Southwest | History | Mid 19th century mission complex |
Historical Museum at Fort Missoula | Missoula | Missoula | Northwest | Local history | website, city history |
The History Museum | Great Falls | Cascade | North central | History | website |
Hobson Museum | Hobson | Judith Basin | North central | Local history | [10][11] |
Hockaday Museum of Art | Kalispell | Flathead | Northwest | Art | website, housed in a former Carnegie library, permanent exhibit of Glacier National Park art and culture, changing exhibitions of nationally renowned and emerging artists |
Holt Heritage Museum | Lolo | Missoula | Northwest | West | Open by appointment, collection of cowboy and Native American artifacts[12] |
Holter Museum of Art | Helena | Lewis and Clark | Southwest | Art | website, exhibits of contemporary art |
Huntley Project Museum | Osborn | Yellowstone | Central | Agriculture | website, farming, ranching, and homesteading during the early 20th century |
J. Spencer Watkins Memorial Museum | Virginia City | Madison | Southwest | History | Pharmacy, 1st soda fountain in Montana, print shop |
Jefferson County Museum | Clancy | Jefferson | Southwest | Local history | website documents, maps, photos, rotating exhibits, rotating exhibits |
Jefferson Valley Museum | Whitehall | Jefferson | Southwest | Local history | Open seasonally[13] |
Judith Basin County Museum | Stanford | Judith Basin | North central | Local history | Open seasonally[14] |
Larue-Hot Springs Museum | Hot Springs | Sanders | Northwest | Local history | website |
Legacy Doll Museum | Billings | Yellowstone | Southeast | Doll | website, antique, collectible, and modern dolls and doll accessories |
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center | Great Falls | Cascade | North central | History | website, managed by the USDA Forest Service, history of Lewis and Clark Expedition as they portaged the great falls of the Missouri River and explored the 'unknown'[15] |
Liberty County Museum | Chester | Liberty | North central | Local history | Located in a former Episcopal Methodist church |
Little Bear School House Museum | Gallatin Gateway | Gallatin | South central | Local history | School house replica, Gallatin Gateway Inn, collections |
Livingston Depot Center | Livingston | Park | South central | Railroad | Open seasonally, housed in a 1902 Northern Pacific station servicing Yellowstone; railroad artifacts, photos, art |
Mai Wah Museum | Butte | Silver Bow | Southwest | Ethnic | History of Asian-Americans in the Butte area |
Makoshika State Park | Glendive | Dawson | Southwest | Paleontology | Montana's largest state park has dinosaur fossil remains, visitor center at the park entrance has exhibits explaining the site's geologic, fossil, and prehistoric significance |
Malmstrom AFB Museum | Great Falls | Cascade | North central | Aviation | website, history of Malmstrom Air Force Base and air park display of historic military aircraft, models of military aircraft[16] |
Marias Museum of History and Art | Shelby | Toole | North central | Local history | website, period rooms, industries, early settlers, toys, fossils[17] |
MBMG Mineral Museum | Butte | Silver Bow | Southwest | Geology | website, operated by the Montana Bureau of Mines & Geology, rocks and minerals from Montana, the world and meteorites |
McCone County Museum | Circle | McCone | Northeast | Local history | Area local history, over 200 birds and animals mounted and displayed in their natural settings, eight cement dinosaurs, a school house, church and homestead house, depot and caboose[18][19] |
Mehmke Steam Tractor Museum | Great Falls | Cascade | North central | Technology | website, open seasonally, antique steam tractors and agriculture equipment |
Milwaukee Depot Museum | Harlowton | Wheatland | North central | Railroad | Open seasonally[20][21] |
Mineral County Museum | Superior | Mineral | Northwest | History | website, logging, mining, Mullan Road |
Miracle of America Museum | Polson | Lake | Northwest | History | website, includes pioneer and Native American artifacts, collections of household items including vacuum cleaners, toys, antiques, guns, music items, military artifacts, military vehicles |
Missoula Art Museum | Missoula | Missoula | Northwest | Art | Culture of the American West with an emphasis on contemporary Montana artists |
MonDak Heritage Center | Sidney | Richland | Northeast | Art | website |
Montana Auto Museum | Deer Lodge | Powell | Southwest | Transportation - Automobile | website, located in a former prison, displays over 150 cars and trucks |
Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame | Wolf Point | Roosevelt | Northeast | Hall of fame - Cowboys | Proposed museum |
Montana Historical Society Museum | Helena | Lewis and Clark | Southwest | Multiple | Also known as Montana's Museum, includes fine art, history, archaeology and ethnological artifacts that pertain to Montana and the region |
Montana Law Enforcement Museum | Deer Lodge | Powell | Southwest | Law enforcement | Currently closed web |
Montana Military Museum | Helena | Lewis and Clark | Southwest | Military | website, located at Fort William Henry Harrison |
Montana Museum of Art & Culture | Missoula | Missoula | Northwest | Art / Culture | At the University of Montana; collection of 10,000 items includes American Impressionism, ceramics, works by Frederic Remington, Julius Seyler, William Merritt Chase, Joseph Henry Sharp, Alfred Maurer, Honoré Daumier, modernist or contemporary artists Andy Warhol, David Salle and R.B. Kitaj[22] |
Montana Natural History Center | Missoula | Missoula | Northwest | Natural history | website, flora, fauna and natural history of Western Montana |
Moss Mansion | Billings | Yellowstone | Southeast | Historic house | Early 20th century period mansion |
Museum of the Beartooths | Columbus | Stillwater | South central | History | website, artifacts, oral histories, replicas |
Museum at Central School | Kalispell | Flathead | Northwest | History | History of Northwest Montana, Native American artifacts, sculptures, original paintings, and photography, operated by the Northwest Montana Historical Society, |
Museum of Mountain Flying | Missoula | Missoula | Northwest | Aviation | website |
Museum of the Plains Indian | Browning | Glacier | Northwest | Ethnic - Native American | website, operated by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, history, arts and culture of the Northern Plains Tribal peoples including the Blackfeet, Crow, Northern Cheyenne, Sioux, Assiniboine, Arapaho, Shoshone, Nez Perce, Flathead, Chippewa and Cree |
Museum of the Rockies | Bozeman | Gallatin | South central | Multiple | Dinosaurs and fossils, natural history, Native American artifacts, area history, living history 1900s house |
Musselshell Valley Historical Museum | Roundup | Musselshell | Southeast | Local history | website, open seasonally, exhibits include cowboys and cattle drives, coal mines, one room country schools, a general store, life in the Old West, local art, fossils, guns, early medicine |
National Museum of Forest Service History | Missoula | Missoula | Northwest | History | website, proposed museum about the history of the United States Forest Service |
New Chicago Schoolhouse | Drummond | Granite | Southwest | Local history | In a restored schoolhouse from 1874 |
Ninepipes Museum | Charlo | Lake | Northwest | Native American and History | website, history and culture of the Flathead Reservation and early Montana, open seasonally |
North American Wildlife Museum | Coram | Flathead | Northwest | Natural history | Collection of taxidermy animals including grizzlies, wolves, elk[23][24] |
O'Fallon Historical Museum | Baker | Fallon | Southeast | Local history | website, history of Southeastern Montana and the Baker Montana area, railroads, homesteading, agriculture, natural gas and oil production |
Old Jail Museum | Thompson Falls | Sanders | Northwest | Local history | Operated by the Sanders County Historical Society in a historic jail, open seasonally[25][26] |
Old Prison Museum | Deer Lodge | Powell | Southwest | History | website, former state prison |
Old Trail Museum | Choteau | Teton | North central | History / Natural history | website, fossils, dinosaurs, Native American artifacts, grizzly bears, local history, open seasonally |
Original Governor's Mansion | Helena | Lewis and Clark | Southwest | Historic house | Late 19th century Queen Anne style mansion |
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art | Great Falls | Cascade | North central | Art | Collection focuses on contemporary art in many media from artists who live in Montana, the western United States and western Canada |
Phillips County Museum | Malta | Phillips | Northeast | Local history | website, dinosaurs, Native Americans, cowboys, pioneers and outlaws, open seasonally |
Piccadilly Transportation Memorabilia Museum | Butte | Silver Bow | Southwest | Transportation | website, includes highway and subway markers, license plates, vintage cars, advertising art, and assorted automotive memorabilia petroliana from around the world |
Pioneer's Pride Museum | Bainville | Roosevelt | Northeast | History | Replica of pioneer house, jail, open summer |
Polson-Flathead Historical Museum | Polson | Lake | Northwest | Local history | website, open seasonally, pioneers and homesteaders |
Poplar Museum | Poplar | Roosevelt | Northeast | Local history | in old Tribal Jail, frontier and Native American collections |
Powder River Historical Museum and Mac's Museum | Broadus | Powder River | Southeast | Local history | Open seasonally[27] |
Powell County Museum | Deer Lodge | Powell | Southwest | Local history | website, local history, mining, open in summer |
Prairie County Museum & Gallery | Terry | Prairie | Southeast | Local history | Focus is pioneer life, complex includes a homesteader’s house, restored Northern Pacific depot, caboose, steam-heated outhouse, the town’s 1906 “little bank” [28][29] |
Range Riders Museum | Miles City | Custer | Southeast | Local history | website, open seasonally, eastern Montana history including area Native Americans, pioneers of the range country, soldiers including General George Armstrong Custer and General Nelson A. Miles |
Ravalli County Museum | Hamilton | Ravalli | Northwest | Multiple | Local history, art exhibits, Native American collection, development of the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, period room displays |
Richey Historical Museum | Richey | Dawson | Southwest | Local history | website 6 historic buildings |
Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History | Missoula | Missoula | Northwest | Military | website |
Rosebud County Pioneer Museum | Forsyth | Rosebud | Southeast | Local history | Open seasonally[30] |
Rudyard Museum | Rudyard | Hill | North central | Multiple | website, operated by the Rudyard Historical Society, history in the Depot Museum, paleontology in the Dinosaur Museum, historic automobiles in the Hi-Line Vintage Automobile Museum, open seasonally |
Schoolhouse History and Art Center | Colstrip | Rosebud | Southeast | Multiple | website, local history and changing art exhibitions |
Seeley Lake Historical Museum | Seeley Lake | Missoula | North central | Local history | website, operated by the Seeley Lake Historical Society in a historic barn |
Sheridan County Museum | Plentywood | Sheridan | Northeast | History | Early 20th century items |
SpectrUM Discovery Area | Missoula | Missoula | Northwest | Science | Hands-on science activities, operated by the University of Montana |
St. Ignatius Mission | St. Ignatius | Lake | Northwest | History | Late 19th-century church located on the Flathead Indian Reservation, historic Mission and Native American artifacts |
Thompson-Hickman Museum | Virginia City | Madison | Southwest | History | From the 1860s, guns, geology |
Tippet Rise Art Center | Fishtail | Stillwater | South central | Art | Sculpture park/ranch and musical performance venue |
Tobacco Valley Historical Village | Eureka | Lincoln | Northwest | Open-air | website; includes a school, church, log cabin, general store, fire tower, and railroad depot from the 1880s to 1920s, all furnished with period artifacts, open seasonally[31] |
Treasure County '89ers Museum | Hysham | Treasure | Southeast | Local history | website |
Twin Bridges Historical Association Museum | Twin Bridges | Madison | Southwest | History | Native Americans, early pioneers, mining, agriculture |
Two Medicine Dinosaur Center | Bynum | Teton | North central | Paleontology | Includes baby dinosaur bones, Guinness Book of World Records largest, scientifically accurate dinosaur reconstruction, Seismosaurus halli, public, hands-on dinosaur research and education programs |
University of Montana Western Gallery/ Museum | Dillon | Beaverhead | Southwest | Art | Traveling exhibits, student art, and a permanent art collection[32] |
Upper Musselshell Museum | Harlowton | Wheatland | North central | Local history | website, includes fossils, bones, period room displays, historic schoolroom, historic military, medical, railroad and American West artifacts, open seasonally |
Upper Swan Valley Historical Society Museum and Heritage Site | Condon | Missoula | Northwest | History | website, open by appointment |
Ursuline Center Heritage Museum | Great Falls | Cascade | North central | Religious | History of the Ursuline Sisters, their lives, and how they helped shape the history of Montana, Native American artifacts, antique furnishings, musical instruments |
Utica Museum | Utica | Judith Basin | North central | Local history | Artifacts from the Homestead Era, including dishes, clothes, furniture, tools, and leather goods; pictures of local homesteaders[33][34] |
Valley County Pioneer Museum | Glasgow | Valley | Northeast | Local history | website, includes an Assiniboine collection, natural history, railroad and agriculture displays, the creation of the Fort Peck Dam, Lewis and Clark |
Victor Heritage Museum | Victor | Ravalli | Northwest | Local history | website, summer only, mining, railroads, people of the area |
WaterWorks Art Museum | Miles City | Custer | Southeast | Art | Exhibits of regional and national contemporary art, formerly Custer County Art & Heritage Center |
Western Heritage Center | Billings | Yellowstone | Southeast | History | Local history, culture |
Whitefish Museum | Whitefish | Flathead | Northwest | History | website, logging, railroad |
Wibaux Museum | Wibaux | Wibaux | Southeast | Local history | Early settler life |
Winifred Museum | Winifred | Fergus | Northeast | Local history | Includes a collection of over 3000 Tonka toys[35][36] |
Wise Wonders Science & Discovery Museum | Billings | Yellowstone | Southeast | Science | website, interactive exhibits and programming for all ages |
Wolf Point Museum | Wolf Point | Roosevelt | Northeast | Local history | website, settlers, Native American culture, heirlooms |
World Museum of Mining | Butte | Silver Bow | Southwest | Industry | Mining tools, equipment, photos, re-creation of an 1890s mining town |
Wright Zoological Museum | Missoula | Missoula | Northwest | Natural history | Research museum of the University of Montana, not open to the public. 14,500 mammalian, 7,000 avian, and 3,200 fish specimens. The largest collection of its kind in the region.[37] |
Yellowstone Art Museum | Billings | Yellowstone | Southeast | Art | Contemporary art |
Yellowstone County Museum | Billings | Yellowstone | Southeast | Local history | website, local history, natural history and culture of the Yellowstone Valley of Montana and the Northern Plains |
Yellowstone Gateway Museum | Livingston | Park | South central | Local history | website, includes native cultures, early expeditions including the Corps of Discovery and Lewis and Clark, area railroads, transportation, early settlers, a one-room schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, historic transportation vehicles and a caboose |
Yellowstone Historic Center | West Yellowstone | Gallatin | South central | Local history | website, located in a historic Union Pacific depot, area transportation, explorers, history of the nation's first national park |
Yesterday's Playthings | Deer Lodge | Powell | Southwest | Toy | website, open in summer, dolls, accessories, teddy bears, model trains |
Museums with paleontology holdings
[edit]This list repeats items in the above list, with more information on fossil dinosaur holdings. Each of the museums on the Montana Dinosaur Trail has "unique paleontology displays, interpretation, replicas or actual skeletons of dinosaurs and other fossils" found in Montana", according to the official Montana Dinosaur Trail web page.[38]
Name | Town/City | County | Region | On Dinosaur Trail? |
Education programs/ Guided tours? |
Associated Field Digs? |
Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blaine County Museum | Chinook | Blaine | North central | Yes | No | No | Website; paleontology department of this local museum has a dozen Judith River Formation exhibits including Hadrosaur, Gorgosaurus, and Ankylosaurus fossils from the area; has remains of gigantic marine reptiles Mosasaur and Plesiosaur, along with invertebrates from the ancient ocean that covered the area; a "Look, Touch, and Wonder" room where visitors can handle fossils of sea creatures, plants, and dinosaurs.[38] |
Carter County Museum | Ekalaka | Carter | Southeast | Yes | No | No | Collection, all collected from the nearby Hell Creek Formation, includes one of the world's five skeletons of Anatotitan copei, complete skulls of the three-horned Triceratops horridus, the dome-headed Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensisi, and Nanotyrannus lancesis (a tiny tyrannosaur)[38] |
Fort Peck Field Station of Paleontology | Fort Peck | Valley | Northeast | Yes | Yes | No | Website; associated with the University of Montana Paleontology Department, a working field station where paleontologists research, prepare, mold and cast fossils[38] |
Fort Peck Interpretive Center | Fort Peck | Valley | Northeast | Yes | Yes | No | Visitor center for the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, collection centerpiece is "Peck's Rex", claimed to be one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons yet found; in the lobby is a life-size replica model of Peck's Rex, and the exhibit hall displays a full-size skeleton cast; also a Cretaceous Sea display and several other dinosaur exhibits[38] |
Garfield County Museum | Jordan | Garfield | Northeast | Yes | No | Yes | website; open seasonally; dinosaur holdings include Cretaceous fossils from the Hell Creek Formation; a Tyrannosaurus rex skull, full-size Triceratops replica, a Pachycephalosaur skull[38] |
Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station | Malta | Phillips | Northeast | Yes | Yes | Yes | website, contains fossils and preparation lab; displays include Brachylophosaurus mummy dinosaur recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "best preserved" dinosaur; Jurassic Stegosaurs; a Sauropod; visitors can view the lab where dinosaur fossils are prepared[38] |
H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum | Havre | Hill | North central | Yes | No | No | Fossil displays include Judith River Formation dinosaur eggs and embryos believed to be laid by a Lambeosaurus ("duck bill" dinosaur); displays about archeological finds from the nearby Wahkpa Chu'gn buffalo jump site.[38] |
Makoshika State Park | Glendive | Dawson | Southeast | Yes | Yes | No | Montana's largest state park has dinosaur fossil remains, including Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops; visitor center at the park entrance has exhibits explaining the site's geologic, fossil, and prehistoric significance;[39] artifacts include a Triceratops skull; has a "touchy-feely" table allowing visitors to hold fossils and artifacts prevalent in the park[40] |
Museum of the Rockies | Bozeman | Gallatin | South central | Yes | Yes | No | Said to have "one of the largest collections of dinosaur fossils in the world", including the world's largest Tyrannosaurus rex skull, one of the first identified female dinosaurs in the world (an ovulating T. rex); rare fossils; part of Montana State University - Bozeman; state's official repository for both federal and state paleontological collections[38] |
Old Trail Museum | Choteau | Teton | North central | Yes | No | No | Website; displays finds from the area's Two Medicine Formation, including a Maiasaura skull, Einosaurus skull as well as nestling, hatchling and teenage Maiasaura skeletons and bones, a Sauronitholestes skeleton cast, dinosaur footprints, marine fossils, bones that can be touched, a preparation lab display, geologic information about the Rocky Mountain Front and Willow Creek Anticline[38] |
Phillips County Museum | Malta | Phillips | Northeast | Yes | No | No | Website; open seasonally; paleontology section includes fossils from nearby Judith River Formation; 33-foot long skeleton of "Elvis", a Brachylophosaurus, claimed to be "one of the best articulated dinosaur skeletons ever found"; a complete Tyrannosaurus rex skull; 28-foot skeleton of an Albertosaurus[38] |
Rudyard Depot Museum | Rudyard | Hill | North central | Yes | No | No | Displays include the "Oldest Sorehead", a Gryposaurus found nearby; a duckbill dinosaur and egg nest display[38] |
Two Medicine Dinosaur Center | Bynum | Teton | North central | Yes | Yes | Yes | Baby dinosaur bones; Guinness Book of World Records largest, scientifically accurate dinosaur reconstruction; Seismosaurus halli; public, hands-on dinosaur research and education programs[38] |
Upper Musselshell Museum | Harlowton | Wheatland | South central | Yes | No | No | Website; centerpiece is "Ava", a full-size Avaceratops skeleton replica from the Judith River Formation; Hadrosaur tibia and fibula, a cast of a Gypsonictops jaw; dinosaur leg bone and hip bone fossils; other fossilized ancient sea creatures[38] |
Defunct museums
[edit]- Desert John's Saloon Museum, Deer Lodge[41]
- Makoshika Dinosaur Museum, Glendive
- Museum of Fine Arts Butte
Regions
[edit]The six regions referred to in the above lists are based on those used by the Montana tourism authority[42] and the Montana Association of Museums.[43] The regions used here have the same boundaries but are renamed here:
- North central ("Russell Country"):
- Prominent communities: Great Falls
- Counties: Cascade, Chouteau, Hill, Judith Basin, Liberty County, Meagher, Pondera, Toole, Wheatland
- Northeast ("Missouri River Country"):
- Northwest ("Glacier Country"):
- Counties: Flathead, Glacier, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli
- South central ("Yellowstone Country"):
- Prominent communities: Bozeman
- Counties: Carbon, Gallatin, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Park
- Southeast ("Custer Country"):
- Prominent communities: Billings
- Counties: Big Horn, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Golden, Musselshell, Prairie, Powder River, Rosebud, Treasure, Wibaux, Yellowstone
- Southwest ("Gold West Country"):
- Prominent communities: Helena, Butte
- Counties: Beaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, Granite, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Madison, Powell, Silver Bow
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Central Montana Museum". Central Montana. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ Web page titled "Conrad Mansion National Historic Site" at Visit Montana state government website, retrieved May 12, 2008
- ^ "Conrad's Transportation and Historical Museum". Conrad Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Copper Village Museum & Arts Center". Visit Montana. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Darby Pioneer Memorial Museum". Visit MT. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Earth Science Museum". Travel MT. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Galerie Trinitas". University of Great Falls. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Glacier County Historical Museum". Visit MT. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum". Central Montana. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Hobson Museum". Russell Country.com. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Hobson Museum". Central Montana. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Holt Heritage Museum". Visit MT. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Jefferson Valley Museum". Visit MT. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Judith Basin County Museum". Russell Country.com. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center". Visit Montana. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Malmstrom Air Force Base Museum and Air Park". Visit Montana. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Marias Museum of History and Art". Central Montana.com. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "McCone County Museum". Visit MT. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Museum". McCone County, MT. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Facebook site". Milwaukee Depot Museum. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Milwaukee Road Depot". Upper Musselshell Museum. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ Web page titled "Montana Museum of ARt & Culture" Archived 2008-06-23 at the Wayback Machine at Visit Montana state government website, retrieved May 12, 2008
- ^ "North American Wildlife Museum, Coram, Montana". Taxidermy Museums of the Northwest. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "North American Wildlife Museum". Travel MT. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Old Jail Museum". Sanders County, Montana. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Old Jail Museum". Visit Montana. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Powder River Historical Museum and Mac's Museum". Visit MT. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Prairie County Museum". Prairie County Government. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ^ "Prairie County Museum and Evelyn Cameron Gallery". Visit Montana. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ^ "Rosebud County Pioneer Museum". Visit Montana. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Tobacco Valley Historical Village". Visit MT. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "University of Montana Western Gallery/ Museum". Visit Montana. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Utica Museum". Russell Country.com. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Utica Museum". Central Montana. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Winifred Museum". Only in Winifred. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Winifred Museum". Winifred, Montana. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum and Montana Comparative Skeletal Collection | The University of Montana | Missoula, MT | Collections Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Montana Dinosaur Trail Web page, retrieved May 11, 2008
- ^ Montana state parks Web page on Makoshika Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved May 11, 2008
- ^ Friends of Makoshika State Park Website Archived 2009-04-27 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved May 11, 2008
- ^ "Desert John's Saloon Museum". Powell County Museum. Archived from the original on 13 February 2003. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
Desert John's Saloon Museum is now closed and all artifacts removed. A new exhibit will be appearing here shortly.
- ^ Museums web page Archived 2008-01-20 at the Wayback Machine of the Visit Montana state website], retrieved May 11, 2008
- ^ Home page of the Montana Association of Museums, retrieved May 11, 2008
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Museums Association of Montana
- Visit Montana - Museums Complete listing of museums with facilities, contact info, directions.
- Montana Dinosaur Trail - museums with focus on paleontology in Montana