Beneski Museum of Natural History — Attraction in Amherst

I have rarely seen a small museum this refined. It is a real gem... The collection is varied and rather large (the walls are lined with pull-drawers filled with fossils that tell a story when opened in order), and while some sites labeled it as "not kid friendly", my 4-year-old was enchanted with the awe inspiring towering fossils of full dinosaurs, skulls and 2 gorgeous specimens of mammoth. He delighted in pulling open every single drawer, and asked for an explanation of every single one. True, it's not a "touchie feelie" kind of museum, but it's a museum that presents its collection in a kind of halo of awe and reverence for the countless eons it represents, and certain kids will pick up on this and become enthralled...! There are certain pieces that you can touch, especially in the very large "footprints" collection, which my kids loved pretending he was a...

What a great way to spend a couple of hours. The moment you enter the museum you’re greeted by staff and requested to ask them if you have any questions! So I did, and they knew their stuff. This is a free admission museum that’s not large but it’s big enough to keep you interested, and the models they have do a heck of a job educating and demonstrating how things happen(ed).

This is a very kid friendly museum and a great way to kill a couple of hours on a rainy day. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to share a couple of hours with a friend or a family member. Bonus in the museum is that they have a good dating back to 530...

We deeply enjoyed this museum! The specimen drawers were a special and intimate experience that made me feel like I was in the museum archives. The care and thoughtfulness in the displays and the science education aspect were superb. The dinosaur footprints were also fascinating and the QR code videos were an awesome addition! I also really enjoy the fact that so many of the specimens were collected by the college. Despite being a "small" museum, we looked at/read everything and spent four hours here and I would definitely go back and I cannot recommend this museum enough! And the mineral collection! So...