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Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Hays, KS
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Sternberg Museum of Natural History

3000 Sternberg Dr · Hays, KS

Why you should go…

Fort Hays State University's natural history museum holds about 3 million specimens, many of them fossils from the ancient seaway that covered Kansas. The Fossil Gallery shows the state fossils Tylosaurus and Pteranodon plus the famous fish-within-a-fish, and a large diorama puts you on a Late Cretaceous shoreline. Other halls feature live rattlesnakes, Ice Age mammals and meteorites.

  • #natural history museum
  • #fossils
  • #dinosaurs
  • #kansas

Good to know

General museums guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Check the special exhibition separately

    Touring shows usually carry their own ticket and their own opening hours, listed apart from general admission.

  • Look for the free window

    Many museums run community days, member evenings, or discounted late openings. It is worth a look before you pay full price.

  • Travel light through the door

    Large bags and backpacks often have to go to a coat check, and lines for it move slowly at opening.

  • Weekday mornings beat weekend afternoons

    School groups clear out by early afternoon midweek, while weekends stay busy from late morning on.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Sternberg Museum of Natural History, ordered by straight-line distance.

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Hays

    Free

    A northwest Kansas city visitor bureau promoting local history, the Sternberg Museum, and Historic Fort Hays.

    1.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    Free Entry

    Hays Welcome Center

    Free

    City-run welcome center on Vine Street in Hays, Kansas, with maps, brochures, free coffee, restrooms and a gift shop for I-70 travelers.

    1.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Nicodemus National Historic Site

    Free

    Walk the streets of the oldest remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi, founded by formerly enslaved settlers in 1877.

    39 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Fort Larned National Historic Site

    Free

    Walk among 1860s sandstone army buildings around a parade ground where troops once guarded the Santa Fe Trail.

    49 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing