Natural History Museum of Utah
add photos4 Reviews for Natural History Museum of Utah
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00 families found this helpful
"Good but Thanksgiving Point is Better"
The building is huge! The architecture is new, and fun to look at. The food area is decently priced, and is placed before the ticketed entrance. They do a few presentations throughout the day near the food. The flow isn't great and you often feel like you have to backtrack to see everything. The rooms don't have the biggest walkways, so it's a little more difficult to maneuver a stroller (especially a larger one). There is a lot to see--fossils, gems, and Indian artifacts. During the day they have some outdoor areas as well. I like the Thanksgiving Point Museum of Ancient Life better, but it's worth it to go at least once as there are some different displays.
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'10, '11, '12
1 family found this helpful
"An Amazing Place!"
The University of Utah has said good-bye to its old Utah Museum of Natural History and has opened the doors to a state treasure. Amazing does not even begin to cover it. As we ventured through the museum I was struck by the thought that what I was seeing easily compared to some of the amazing museums I had seen in large cities around the world.
We were lucky enough to visit the museum on a “Free Day” which was a bit worrisome as I have experienced free days before at other facilities. The nice thing about the setup of their free days is that ticket reservations can be made on line and they only allow so many tickets per time slot. It was busy, but everyone was spread out enough that it was enjoyable.
I went with my husband and our two children ages 2 & 4. I was a little curious to see how the museum would keep their attention. It did not fail. There are so many hands on activities that I could not count them all if I wanted to. We jumped to see how big of an “earthquake” we would make, put together a cell, saw erosion working, flooded the Salt Lake Valley, discovered bones, among many other things. I loved watching my two little ones scatter with excitement over what they were going to see (and learn!) next. Even my 2 year old was fascinated by what he was seeing. The museum is arranged in such a way that you start in early times with dinosaurs, move onto early people, learn about the earth and work your way to the top of the museum to learn about weather and the stars.
While the children were thoroughly entertained my husband and I agreed that it would be worth the trip to come back ourselves to really look at the amazing exhibits more in depth. The building is beautiful and almost worth the trip alone. Also there is a store and a café. Another thing to note is that it is a very short distance (walking) to Red Butte Gardens, which is also something worth seeing.
1 family found this helpful
"Hands on natural history"
I was invited to a special sneak peak of the Natural History Museum of Utah, so of course I requested that my 3 kiddos could tag along in order to give Trekaroo readers a perspective of whether this museum was worthy of 5 stars. Well, I easily give this museum 5 stars. The kids gave it only 4 stars, JUST BECAUSE we were on a press tour which didn’t enable them to spend as much time as they possibly could at their favorite hands on displays.
So here’s the lowdown. First, the building is amazing, an architectural green-lovers dream situated on Salt Lake City’s foothills. Second, the museum hosts plenty of hands-on displays for kids. Finally, adults will learn something new and be in awe of the artistic scientific beauty displayed. A visit through this museum is a visit through time, venturing through prehistoric periods and experiencing Utah at all of these varying times. A few of my kids’ favorite displays (of which we didn’t have enough time to explore but will definitely return on our own time): Erosion table where kids build in the sand and control the eroding water; Earthquake table where kids build a structure and see how historic earthquakes can destroy their creations; Flood table where we flooded the Salt Lake valley and experienced Lake Bonneville; Special room for the preschool crowd where boats can be floated and tunnels can be climbed through; Plenty of buttons to push and experience the smell of a particular display; Native American languages with a chance to repeat and record a new word; microscopic displays allowing kids to adjust, focus and experience life up close.
What to know before you go: Admission prices are $9/adult and $6/child aged 3-12. (The museum is offering one free entrance day per University semester.) The museum is only closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Parking might be a challenge on busy days with only two terraces of parking available. If you’re driving a fuel-efficient car, you may score a premium spot up front at a couple designated spots. A café and shop is provided, and available to visit without paying admission.
In all, we’ll be returning without a press escort and hopefully on a non-busy day. This museum has incorporated plenty of hands-on displays that require kids to take their time, experience natural history and learn something new.
1 family found this helpful
"Grand Opening November 18, 2011"
The museum opened to the public on Friday, November 18, 2011 at 10am. While I was visiting SLC in June, I drove past the museum. It looked amazing even during the construction phase! If you visit SLC, you'll have to plan a visit to this museum. Trekaroo's newest Destination Guroo, akieskel, will be updating this post. Please visit http://www.trekaroo.com/people/akeisel to learn more about our Utah Destination Guroo.
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