Museum of the Rockies

The Museum of the Rockies is a large regional museum in Bozeman, Montana, noted for its extensive paleontology collections and public science programming. It functions as both a research institution and a public museum serving regional natural and human history.

Exhibition spaces emphasize dinosaur fossils and paleontology, with multiple mounted skeletons and extensive fossil displays drawn from fieldwork across the Rocky Mountain region. Additional galleries cover Montana history and natural science topics, and an on-site planetarium offers astronomy shows and educational programs.

The museum developed from a regional natural history collection and expanded through active fieldwork and donations, becoming closely linked to Montana State University. Paleontologists associated with the museum have led excavations and research that have grown its vertebrate fossil collections.

Located in Bozeman, Gallatin County, the museum sits adjacent to the city and serves as a cultural and scientific hub for south-central Montana. Bozeman is the nearest city and the museum is accessible from local road networks and the nearby university campus.

• Research affiliation: Affiliated with a major public university and active in field-based paleontological research, with fossils recovered from across the Rocky Mountain region.
• Visitor tips: Combines large mounted specimens with hands-on and family-friendly exhibits; planetarium shows are a separate ticketed program that complement the fossil displays.

What to See #

• Dinosaur Hall: A permanent paleontology gallery with mounted dinosaur skeletons, fossil specimens and interpretive displays that reflect ongoing fieldwork and research.
• Montana galleries: Regional history and cultural exhibits presenting Montana frontier life, Native American material culture and local natural history.
• Planetarium: A public planetarium used for astronomy shows and education, serving as an additional science-education resource at the museum.