Cleveland Museum of Natural History — Attraction in Cleveland

With this recent renovation, It feels as though the museum has sacrificed some of its sense of presentation, environmental ambiance, and its more intimate and simple layout for a more sterile and modern layout which feels both more open and more disjointed. Maybe it has to do with the large bright white central hallway, or the massive and upsettingly featureless environmental courtyard in its middle, but the museum feels a little empty. Most of the substantive exhibits are consolidated into two opposite wings connected only by the central hallway. Before this renovation, the museum funneled guests through a main loop of exhibits back to the lobby. But the path a guest now has to take in order to see the whole museum is a little less defined and maybe a bit more tedious. The wings themselves seem to lack a sense of space and identity. The best illustration of this is the constant presence of dunkleosteus. The Devonian fish is featured prominently in the visitor hall, the evolving life wing, the dynamic earth wing, and is the main subject in the Corning gallery on the second floor. And even though I’m a fan of dunkleosteus, it was a constant reminder that the entire museum felt a little repetitive both aesthetically and in terms of subject matter. As another illustration, you might expect for instance that the evolving life wing might feature animals and the dynamic earth wing might focus mostly on geologic processes, and yet you would be mistaken. Most of the dinosaurs are actually in the dynamic earth wing, acting as representatives or illustrative examples of different eras. There is so much overlap that the museum blends together, which is something that the old museum succeeded in avoiding thanks to it moving guests through smaller, more distinct environments.

There is however a certain elegance and logic to the exhibits that can be found after looking past their aesthetics. An incredible amount of effort has been taken to make each individual section easy to walk up to and digest quickly, giving a single clear idea. Questions are written prominently on the wall almost everywhere you look, and underneath each question is a relatively concise answer with physical examples, illustrations, and maybe one or two interactive elements. It’s a very effective motif that works especially well here precisely because the museum is not trying to create the aesthetic experience the older museum offered. The museum is more concerned with answering these questions well with a wide variety of examples than it is with creating areas with distinct spatial identities. This is why insects are featured throughout the evolving life wing instead of being confined to a specific area. Because bugs can be used as examples of unique adaptations to temperature in an environment, convergent evolution, adaptation to predatory stressors, etc, they are featured consistently in many spaces.

This philosophy seems to perfectly serve the purpose of a natural history museum, and at the same time makes the entire space feel more like a children’s museum than a natural history museum. Maybe there’s a balance that hasn’t quite been struck. But it’s clear that there has been a vast improvement in how efficiently and effectively information is conveyed to guests, and I think that’s worth celebrating.

The wildlife center is unchanged from recent years. It features river otters, bobcats, raccoons and coyotes just to name a few of the animals, and is a highlight of the museum.

There is also a planetarium and a theater, although they cost additional money on top of the $28 for a standard adult, nonmember, at-the-door ticket.

Also don’t forget to check out the stegosaurus in the front! It was featured in a Calvin and Hobbes strip, which is pretty...

We visited on a Friday morning in mid-April 2025.

It was first thing in the morning and we were waiting for the doors to open. There were maybe 5 other groups waiting with us but we didn't realize there were more than one entrances to the museum. I think the one near the parking area was more crowded. We were at the front where the drop off area was. We walked because we were staying close at the Glidden House.

We got in and show them our pre-purchase tickets. We are members of North American Reciprocal Museum Association (NARM). In order to use this discount here, your membership has to be purchased through a museum that is not in the local Cleveland Area. We have one back home just 10 miles from our house. It dropped the price dramatically but unfortunately it doesn't apply to any of the extras like the movies or planetarium. Only general admission is discounted. We are a family of 5 and the membership only gets you 4 free tickets so we had to pay for 1 youth. There are a number of different discounts you can find online on their website. Even buying regular admission online instead of in person had a discount.

We are given hand stamps after checking in and we honestly didn't know what to do next. We walked over to the left where the theater was and a nice staff lady gave us tips on what to do. We walked to the Dynamic Earth exhibit first. This was recently completely renovated and I think you can tell. It was amazing. There was some interactive elements which the kids really enjoyed and the displays were well done. There were staff walking around you could ask question too and many were interacting with the guests.

We then moved onto the Shafran Planetarium which had a small exhibit but we were limited on time and decided not to do the planetarium show. We instead did a 3D video in the theater.

We also spent some brief time int he Curiosity Center which had some interactive elements while we were waiting for our movie to start. We watched both Backyard Wilderness and T.Rex. Both had their pros and cons. I don't know if I could choose between the two. I think there was a missed opportunity by not having some of those dino comic strips as merch in the store.

After the movie we went to Evolving Life which was also a cool exhibit. We spent about 30 mins here before needed to leave to do the outdoor gallery with the animals. This was much larger area than we expected. There were many animals to look at so don't think it's a quick adventure. The weather was nice and overcast so it was perfect.

Lastly was the gift shop. The lady working there was amazing and helped us out quite a bit when we had question about merch.

There is a cafe next to the gift shop as well but we didn't eat here as we had other lunch plans and we needed to head over to the Botanical Gardens next. We spent 3 hrs here but could've spent many more.

Overall great experience especially for what we paid with our membership. We would probably visit again because we did feel rushed with our schedule. At least another hour or two...

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History was named one of the seven most beautiful museums in the world for 2025 by the Prix Versailles, a global architecture and design award program held annually at UNESCO. For further background, Prix Versailles is an independent program that collaborates with UNESCO. My BFF and I are museum people and have visited museums all over the world. We were in Cleveland from DC, one of THE most acclaimed museum cities worldwide, so of course, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History was a must-see.

First, the grounds and exterior of the museum are absolutely gorgeous - quite modern with areas to sit and take in the beauty. The large metal structure, we understand, lights up from within to display star formations at night, I believe. We couldn't stay for that so may have missed the most breathtaking aspect of the museum. If you go, I really encourage you to return after dark to see it.

My BFF and I visited the museum without a child/children in tow AND we are not the most avid Natural History buffs. I believe this museum is made for both. The Sunday afternoon we went, most of the visitors were children with their adult family members. It is a perfect museum for children with lots and lots of interactive displays, lots of dinosaurs and extinct and, if I recall, non-extinct animals and their bones displayed, many astrological displays, an area that simulates earthquakes that can be controlled by the "rider" or another person ... it is a truly captivating place especially for children. There are also many special programs for children and young people at the museum, special exhibits throughout the year, and special paid 3D movies, concert films, and other special "events" at the museum. While we enjoyed the museum, it was not really geared to us - hence the 3 stars. I imagine families with children and undergrads or people attending the special, additional cost programs and events would rate it much higher.

In DC most of our museums are free to visit. Not so at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Tickets purchased in advance, online are $3 LESS than tickets at the door. At the door, be prepared to pay $21 per child up to 18, for seniors 61+, undergrads, and veterans, $28 for adults, and children under 2 are free. People with SNAP benefits pay $1 for up to 4 guests, and during the weekends, Cleveland residents with proof of residency enter for FREE. Members of the museum and members of affiliated museums also enter free. The museum is open 10AM - 5PM every day, EXCEPT Monday and Friday when they are closed.

My BFF and I Uber'd to the museum from our hotel, but there is paid and discounted parking at the museum's lot. The most expensive parking is $18 for the day, but there are several tiers of discounts.

The museum also has a much visited gift shop with museum gift shop prices (not too bad), and I believe a cafeteria or...