They Think I Have A Big Head!

They Think I Have A Big Head!

What a great day yesterday. I had the pleasure of taking my beautiful wife and two of my daughters to the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. I wrote a post about this museum as one of the 5 Cool Oklahoma Museums for FREEthings to do this summer. This mini-trip is definitely one for the memory books.

The Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is a 200000 sqft, 2 story structure with galleries consisting of the Hall of Ancient Life, Hall of Natural Wonders, Hall of the Peoples of Oklahoma, Exploring Evolution, and a special exhibit this week consisted of Art and the Animal. The girls really enjoyed the afternoon as we explored each of these areas. The winner and star of the museum is the dinosaur exhibit in the Hall of Ancient Life. This section has various creatures throughout history both on land and in the waters. The centerpiece of the exhibit is the "Clash of the Titans", whose combatants include the world's largest Apatosaurus and Saurophaganax maximus, a fearsome predator unique to Oklahoma. The girls enjoyed this as we spent quite a bit of time in this one area. Another favorite of my middle daughter was the Pentaceratops skeleton, whose skull is recorded as the world's largest at over 10.5 feet tall! We also had the privilege of listening to young docents about 12 years old who gave a very interesting presentation about various dinosaurs and exhibits in this section.

Another exhibit my daughters seem to enjoy was the Hall of the Peoples of Oklahoma. This exhibit is dedicated to the Native American peoples of Oklahoma. The entrance to this area has walls covered with handprints of various sizes. My daughters first focused on finding a set that were close to their own, but a wonderful docent informed us that each set of handprints represented a different tribe. She shared how the handprints were made by members of each tribe and reverse cast upon the wall. It was quite amazing to see my youngest daughter place her hand in wonder of the people who it represented. Our docent also shared about the lifestyles of various tribes and focused on the children activities. We felt that she really made the natural history come alive.

Finally, another star of the Museum is the Mammoth sculpture in the rotunda. We had seen pictures of the mammoth and the girls were really excited to take what could be considered the required photo of lying under the "ready to crush you" foot. Ironically, it was not until we were on the 2nd floor of the rotunda did my daughters really grasp the size of this amazing creature. If you have the opportunity to visit the museum, my family would highly recommend it. The first Monday of each month is "free Monday" but the admission to the museum is only $5 for adults and $4 for kids. The experience is well worth the trip and admission. We wanted to share our experience and invite you to build your own memories because...What Matters To YOU, Matters To Me!