Natural History Museum at The University of Utah

I'm married to an architect. He is everything you think an architect would be; smart, creative, and handsome.  But here's what I didn't know when I married him...Is that our vacations would be planned around buildings. From the time we first started to plan vacations together as a couple, I very quickly realized that a vacation without architecture, was not intriguing to Q. He would rather spend an entire day walking around a interesting building and taking pictures than lay on the beach or go to an amusement park. And the best buildings to include in our trips are ones that are also interesting to the rest of the family.  With The Natural History Museum of Utah we hit the jack pot! Cool architecture with an awesome, interactive museum inside.  I loved it, my children loved it and my husband loved it. 

The Natural History Museum of Utah at the Rio Tinto Center (that's the name of the building) is AMAZING. Ok...I love living in Redding, but there are a few drawback's to living in a small town, one being that we don't have anything that can compare to this museum. On the other end of the spectrum, I have been to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and while that is probably the creme de la creme of Natural History Museums, this gem in Utah is quite impressive. 

The Stats: The Natural History Museum of Utah 

Location: Univeristy of Utah's Red Butte Gardens area (301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108)

Hours: 10am-5pm, Sunday - Tuesday & Thursday - Saturday, 10am-9pm Wednesdays

Cost: See how we got FREE admission HERE. Adults $13, Ages 13-16 & Seniors $11, Ages 3-12 $9, Age 2 and under FREE. Click HERE for info on the museum's FREE admission days.

With five floors of exhibits, around every corner there are interactive stations for the kids (and adults) to touch and play with. Buttons to push, levers to move, pages to turn, and screens to navigate.  I love that it is a hands-on kind of museum. 

The rotating exhibit while we were there was "Genome: Unlocking Life's Code". It was a fun interactive exhibit showing how genetics make up what we look like and how genetics play a role in our health and in many aspects of our lives.

My favorite part of the museum was the "Past Worlds" exhibition of dinosaurs (and other creatures). The website describes it, "In this gallery there are dozens of skeletal reconstructions on display, including a Gryposaurus (duck billed) dinosaur made of original fossil material, and the world's largest display of horned dinosaur skulls."

Watch out of the ancient crocodile. It might getcha!

Pro Tips:

• Upon entering, go to the top floor (5) and work your way down.
• Make sure you go out to the top lookout deck for a great view of the Salt Lake Valley.
• Don't be in a rush. Either plan for about 3 hours or plan for a second visit. (I can't wait to go back. We were there for about 2 hours and it wasn't long enough.)
• Even if you don't have time to go through the museum, a trip up there to see the building, walk around the grounds and eat at the cafe (no admission required for cafe and gift shop) is worth the stop.

Have you been to the Natural History Museum of Utah? I'd love to know what you enjoyed most.