BYU Museum of Paleontology in Provo, United States - reviews,open hours,photo spots,things to do

United States Utah ProvoBYU Museum of Paleontology

BYU Museum of Paleontology

84602-3300, 1683 N Canyon Rd, Provo, UT 84604

4.6(297)

Open 24 hours

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Phone

(801) 422-3680

Website

geology.byu.edu

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jonbaraljonbaral

(For licensing or usage, contact licensing@viralhog.com) fossil vending machine

fossilcratesfossilcrates

Now that’s a drumstick! If it looks like I’m having a lot of fun, you are correct! I love studying #sauropod #dinosaurs, and its casts like this that really bring home their enormity. This femur isn’t particularly large for a sauropod #dinosaur! It is a cast of an #Apatosaurus, which was a Late #Jurassic herbivore from western North America. Though robust, there are far larger femora known from the United States and especially Argentina. Apatosaurus is a #diplodocid, it had a long whip tail, huge hips, and a famously wide neck. The femur I’m holding would’ve had a tibia underneath it about 60% of the height of the femur, and then metatarsals and phalanges. As such, the limb in total would have been essentially as tall again as this femur, making it impossible to pat the belly of an adult beast. :-) Huge size seems to have been selected for sexually as sauropods as a lineage lack traditional osteological characters that signify sexual selection. Think horns, frills, knobs, spikes, etc. #Amargasaurus and its #dicraeosaurid relatives may be the exception with their wildly tall neural spines, but it seems across all sauropod groups the longest/heaviest beasts reproduced the most, leaving the most offspring. Those offspring attained a larger size than others of their ilk, left more offspring… and thus there was a race to max sizes. In collections that specialize in sauropods like the Brigham Young University Museum of Paleontology, a forklift is required equipment. As are heavyweight winches, chains, and pry bars. Getting big plaster jackets home is only half the battle, one still must get them into a building and opened for preparation. This cast is lightweight in comparison to the original bone, but still has some weight to it. Original bone is held on heavy duty pallets and sometimes placed way up high because space is a huge consideration. There is never enough room for 100’+ beasts! :-) Working with sauropod bones means one has to always be aware of where one’s appendages are, for should one accidentally roll or break you could be losing a finger or toe! This PSA brought to you by #FossilCrates, knowing is half the battle :-). #fossilfriday

fossilcratesfossilcrates

What genus? Two acceptable answers in this #paleontologist deep cut. Istanbul or Constantinople, heh! :-) Cricosaurus suevicus “ring lizard, northern” is a fully aquatic crocodilian from the Late #Jurassic and Early #Cretaceous of #Germany. It is a 7’ #mesoeucrocodylia #thalattosuchian #metriorynchid. Or something like that :-)! I grew up knowing this specimen as #Geosaurus, which always made me giggle as “Earth lizard” makes no sense for a fully aquatic critter. How do we know it was fully aquatic? The #heterocercal tail fin, present where my finger is pointing in the video. The vertebral column creates the base for one of the “fin lobes.” Such a fleshy tail is reminiscent of ichthyosaur tails. A neat thing I never considered is salt. Salt glands kept it from dehydrating whilst swimming in salty seas as the glands let them imbibe saltwater! I saw marine #iguanas eject salt from glands. Gross! The reason for the tubes? Mammal skin lets salt out (think of your salty sweat taste and feel after being outside exerting in the heat). #Reptile skin doesn’t excrete salt, thus the need for salt glands. As an aside, sharks have salt glads in their... rectum! If you are going to drink saltwater you need a desalination plan :-). Wagner 1858 named #Cricosaurus and Sommerring 1816 was Geosaurus. it wasn’t until fairly recently that Cricosaurus and Geosaurus were sorted out though! After reading the papers I pondered, “Why didn’t this happen sooner?” My guess? Simply another cool animal that hadn’t been deeply studied since shortly after being named. Today’s logic is the short-snouted ones are #Geosaurus, the long-snouted ones #Cricosaurus. Did they give live birth? Lay #eggs on a beach #turtle-style? I think it’d be cool to see them navigate a beach to lay eggs. I watched sea turtles in the #Galapagos scratch about on the beach. Not the most graceful of animals on land but oh my how they glide effortlessly through the seas! #Marine animals in their environ make humans look so ungainly. The Cricosaurus sacrum has researchers leaning towards live birth fyi. I suspect the tail, too. #FossilCrates

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Reviews of BYU Museum of Paleontology

4.6

(297)

4.0

This museum is curated very well and is well worth the visit. It is unique in the fact that it focuses on fossils and ancient life found specifically in North America, and many are from Utah. I only saw two or three fossils that weren't found in North America, so I felt it made it more real for me knowing what dinosaurs actually lived where I "roam." I gave it 4 stars because it was rather small, which I wasn't expecting because the building itself is quite large. Having said that, it is a research laboratory, as well, which I assume is what the extra space is used for. Also, be forewarned that there are not a lot of hands-on things for little children, to be fair their are things for them to touch it is just not as easy to find those things as you would hope. So although my 4-5 year old really enjoyed looking, it wasn't as easy to not...

4.0

I was pretty impressed with the museum, especially for what it was. Tiny, in terms of museums, it was packed full of bones and pictures and informational plates. There are several touch stations where you can handle the fossils and see how big and heavy they really are. There was quite a bit of diversity in fossil types too, from dinosaurs to plants to ice age creatures. Some of the informational plates had fallen down and I hope that someone goes through regularly to check on things like that. It's a donation sponsored museum, and because of that, I wish that there was an opportunity to sponsor an exhibit like zoos and aquariums do. I think that would increase the upkeep on some of the dated exhibits, although there were some additional plaques that included updated information, so there is some effort being made to...

5.0

I go to this museum often with my children and we love it! A few things to know before you go are: 1) it is a very small museum and if you rush through, you'll be done in 5-10 minutes. I recommend talking to your kids or guests about taking your time at every display. I ask my kids to look at the teeth or claws of each dinosaur, etc. This way your tour of the museum will take 30-45 minutes and may be more worth the trip. 2) There is no admission charge, but donations are helpful: $1 per adult and 50 cents per child, I think. 3) They also have some very cool rocks / minerals on display, a large window to watch the students work on bones, clean restrooms, water fountain, and an active Facebook page if...

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