When you walk through the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University, you travel through more than four billion years in time. Visitors to one of Montana’s top ten tourist destinations experience the Northern Rocky Mountain region and life that emerged upon it from the beginning of time to the present.

Start your travels outside the Taylor Planetarium where a huge wall mural orients you to our place in the universe. Then test your knowledge of space at the interactive “space station.” Your next stop is Landforms/Lifeforms where you learn about the geologic formation of this region including the mountain building in Yellowstone, Glacier and Teton National Parks. Spectacular dioramas introduce you to the earliest life forms that lived here and show their fossilized counterparts. There’s also a video about the supercontinent, Pangea, a pinball game about extinction, and a number of artifacts and activities to touch or try.

Then it’s on to the Berger Dinosaur Hall. One Day 80 Million Years Ago takes you back in time to the Egg Mountain dinosaur nesting colonies near present-day Choteau, Montana. You meet Maiasaura peeblesorum and her babies and the other animals who lived there, and see skulls of T. rex and Gigantosaurus. You’ll also see Torosaurus, whose nine-foot skull was the largest of any dinosaur. Fossils from current research projects are on display on the balcony overlooking the hall and volunteers in the Bowman Fossil Bank will be happy to answer your questions about fossil preparation techniques. Moving on you encounter Mammoths and the Great Ice Age, featuring fossils of animals that lived at least 10,000 years ago.

At your next stop you discover the presence of humans in the Northern Rockies. Enduring Peoples: Native Cultures of the Northern Rockies and Plains traces the origins and development of Indians who have occupied Montana and other parts of the region for more than 11,000 years. The reasons fur trappers and white settlers came west and the life styles they carved out for themselves are reflected in Montana On The Move in the Paugh History Hall. Historic artifacts, photographic wall murals and pieces from the Museum’s extensive textile collection add to your understanding of Montana’s past. Here you’ll see evidence collected from the only Lewis and Clark campsite to ever be scientifically verified.

The Museum of the Rockies is also home to the world-class Taylor Planetarium. It is the only public planetarium in a three-state region and one of the few with a computer graphics system that can simulate 3-D effects and flight through space. In addition to its main features which change quarterly, the planetarium offers live narrated tours of the night sky, laser shows, and a children’s show on Saturday mornings. There’s a constantly changing schedule of exhibits, too, so there’s always something new to see at the Museum of the Rockies. You can see what’s currently showing and what’s coming next by logging onto the web site at museumoftherockies.org.

Your children will love the Martin Discovery Room, an interactive play area with dinosaurs, pioneers, a play station, earthquake table and a cozy reading nook with a huge plush teddy bear. Everyone will enjoy at stop at the Museum Store, one of the best places in the area for children’s activity kits, educational toys, books and unique gifts. During the summer months, you can lunch at the T.rextaurant on the Bair Plaza, where the menu includes Big Mike burgers and Dino nuggets for the kids.

The Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 12:30 to 5 p.m. From mid-June through Labor Day, hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. A $9 adult ticket and $6.50 student ticket for children 5-18 (children under 5 are free) gets access to the museum and planetarium. Admission to the museum only is $7 for adults and $4 for children; planetarium shows are $3 and laser shows tickets are $5. For information on current exhibits and programs, call (406) 994-2251 or (406) 994-DINO or check our web site at museumoftherockies.org.

The Museum is located on the Montana State University campus at 600 West Kagy Boulevard. The most direct route is via the 19th Street exit from Interstate 90. Travel through Bozeman on 19th Street until you reach the stoplight at Kagy Boulevard; turn left and follow the street signs.