I have visited dozens of natural history museums all over the world— from LA to Houston, and North Carolina, Kansas, Utah, Arizona, Florida, Germany, and Austria. The Harvard Museum of Natural History is the worst museum I have been to by a mile. We expected so much more from Harvard.

If you come here expecting dinosaurs— just don’t. The paleontology section (including prehistoric mammals and reptiles) is one meager room in a giant museum. There is one complete dinosaur skeleton, a Triassic dino called Plateosaurus. The other specimens are prehistoric reptiles and mammals, and there are just a few of these.

Why no fossils? Well, 80% of this museum is taxidermied animals. And these animals have seen better days. Some of these poor creatures are quite literally falling apart at the seams. I could literally see the stitches falling out and the blow mold underneath. The cheetah looked quite pathetic, with her jaw hanging on by a thread.

Don’t expect to learn anything from this museum, either. Info cards on the animals and specimens are few and far between. It may say the species name and the location, but there is no other information (how they lived, what they ate, what they’re related to, etc). There wasn’t even a name card for half of the fossils, either. There are no interactive activities for kids, either. The museum is horribly disorderly, disorganized, and outdated. There is little thoughtful curation. And, Harvard has the gall to charge $15 a ticket.

If you’re looking for a wonderful natural history museum in Massachusetts, you should drive the 1.5 hrs to Amherst College. The Benieski Museum is spectacular. It is a fraction of the size with hundreds more fossils, minerals, and complete skeletons. It is also free admission. Harvard’s museum is a tiny speck of dust compared to smaller museums at less prestigious universities, like the University of Florida.

TLDR: The Harvard Museum of Natural History is the most pathetic museum of its kind I’ve seen. We expected so much more from Harvard, the #1 institution in the US. Go to literally any other natural history museum if you want see fossils. I strongly do not recommend going here.