Aathal Dinosaur Museum — Attraction in Seegräben

Though their presentation might be a bit outdated and certainly not all of their exhibits are authentic, this is still possibly one of the more impressive non-regional private palaeontological museums I've visited, and definitely the most child-friendly. Not only does the museum host a number of well-preserved and excellently prepared exhibits - mostly from their dig-site at Howe Ranch - unique in Europe and world-wide, it also has a lot of activities to involve children. To begin with the giant dinosaur models in front of the museum, and continuing through a giant animatronic Brontosaurus to a playground and carousel at the back. The place also offers touch & feel activities, reflections of dinosaurs in pop-culture, as well as uniquely recognizes that not all visitors will likely be interested in the subject, making a succesful attempt to cater to those individuals as well. And then there are plentiful workshops that enlarge the museum societal engagement even further.

Apart from this unique character, highlights of the museum are the sauropod remains from Howe Ranch (including their seldomly preserved skulls), a great number of stegosaurs (generally rare exhibits), a megalodon skeleton, pieces with soft tissue preservation, and much more. Certainly...

The parking lot unfortunately is small, but that is ok because there is a second parking lot 50m further away on the other side of the mainroad. The entry fee is ok for swiss standards (53.- CHF for 2 adults and 1 child). The museum kept us busy for 4 hours straight, a lot of infotainment (videos, animations etc), 1 corridor was closed due to renovations and construction of a skeleton (but if you go upstairs to the cafeteria and then go right, you can actually have a look from above on the skeleton of the stegosaurus). The pricing of the little cafeteria is above and beyond, but i guess that goes hand in hand with the unfriendly stuff there, so ok.

All in all it was a great experience and we certainly will come back in a year or two when our child can read for herself and discovers the museum on her own, again.

The shop at the entrance has plenty of stuff to buy, unfortunately also stuff that doesn't have anything to do with dinosaurs,...

This place looks unassuming from the outside, but is unexpectedly large inside. Our 5-year old spent 3 hours here without getting bored. The exhibition is great and varied, and includes not just dinosaur skeletons, but also petrified wood and eggs, trilobites, dinosaur-inspired pop-culture items, insects in resin, as well as variety of rocks and asteroids. There is an outside area (spoiler alert: the sandpit covers a treasure) that serves both as a playground and a barbeque place. The souvenir store and the rock shop are also both really neat. Warning: no strollers allowed inside, and I am a bit skeptical about wheelchair accessibility. The major downside was the inside picnic area, where everyone is obliged to get a drink. It is very overpriced, and the staff there seemed a bit unwelcoming. Nevertheless, the overall experience from the museum was fantastic! Definitely coming back again...