Natural history museums in Texas

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

Hey y'all! I'm starting a thread to celebrate the wide variety of natural history museums and similar educational paleo experiences in Texas. As the largest state in the continental U.S., there's quite a lot for a paleo enthusiast to enjoy! I live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and within just a couple hours drive I have access to at least 8 separate institutions.
Feel free to add any pictures of Texan museums you've visited! I'll start things off with my post at Dino Dad Reviews about the Whiteside Museum in Seymour, TX. If that name rings a bell, it's because the important reptilimorph Seymouria is named for the town, and it is one of the best places in the world to find Dimetrodon skeletons!

https://dinodadreviews.com/2019/07/08/the-whiteside-museum-of-natural-history/

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

Oh, and relevant to this forum, LOOK AT THIS SELECTION IN THE WHITESIDE MUSEUM'S GIFT SHOP!!!!!!!!!! 
It's been ages since I've seen such a good selection of Safari figures anywhere! They've even got a few leftover Carnegies in stock!

[Flaffy]

Those cryolophosaurus are really tempting

[Libraraptor]

That is  what I call a gift shop!

[Halichoeres]

I wish I had visited the Whiteside Museum when I was living in Texas, but Seymour is just so far from everything. Maybe next time I visit.

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

I wish I had visited the Whiteside Museum when I was living in Texas, but Seymour is just so far from everything. Maybe next time I visit.

Yeah, tell me about it. I've been looking for an excuse to go for ages, but it's basically the only thing out there. Their 5th Anniversary festival seemed like a good enough excuse, so I finally decided to just make the special trip out there. It was a 3 hour drive each way, and I ran afoul of a speed trap, but it was worth it anyway!

[ceratopsian]

I found Whiteside on Facebook by accident a while back and follow them.  They seem a really lively and outgoing small institution.  What a gift shop!

[Halichoeres]

I wish I had visited the Whiteside Museum when I was living in Texas, but Seymour is just so far from everything. Maybe next time I visit.

Yeah, tell me about it. I've been looking for an excuse to go for ages, but it's basically the only thing out there. Their 5th Anniversary festival seemed like a good enough excuse, so I finally decided to just make the special trip out there. It was a 3 hour drive each way, and I ran afoul of a speed trap, but it was worth it anyway!

Oh, I didn't realize it was so young! It opened long after I left Texas, so I feel a little less bad. Still would be a worthwhile visit next time I'm in the Dallas area.

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

Another in my ongoing series on Texas natural history! This time it's Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, about an hour southwest of the Dallas area. This is the location of the famous Roland T. Bird quarry, which saw the discovery of the first known sauropod footprints. This should have cleared up what their feet looked like right away, but for some reason paleoartists didn't take notice for the longest time, even though the discovery was well publicized. Somewhat infamously, this is also where creationists claim human footprints were found along dinosaur tracks, though these days even Ken Ham disavows them, and only the fringiest of creationists still try to cling to the idea.
Another factoid of interest; this park is also the final resting place of the famous Sinclair "Dinoland" Tyrannosaurus and Brontosaurus models from the 1964 World's Fair!
Read my full review here:
https://dinodadreviews.com/2019/11/09/dinosaur-valley-state-park/

[Tecovas]

Hey y'all! I'm starting a thread to celebrate the wide variety of natural history museums and similar educational paleo experiences. As the largest state in the continental U.S., there's quite a lot for a paleo enthusiast to enjoy! I live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and within just a couple hours drive I have access to at least 8 separate institutions.
Feel free to add any pictures of Texan museums you've visited! I'll start things off with my post at Dino Dad Reviews about the Whiteside Museum in Seymour, TX. If that name rings a bell, it's because the important reptilimorph Seymouria is named for the town, and it is one of the best places in the world to find Dimetrodon skeletons!

https://dinodadreviews.com/2019/07/08/the-whiteside-museum-of-natural-history/

You should check out the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History in Bryan! They have some very cool fossils and is just a really interesting museum. I also recommend the Comanchero Canyons Museum in Quitaque. Very cool local Triassic and Cenozoic fossils. Unfortunately, Quitaque is not very close to anything just like Seymour.

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

You should check out the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History in Bryan! They have some very cool fossils and is just a really interesting museum. I also recommend the Comanchero Canyons Museum in Quitaque. Very cool local Triassic and Cenozoic fossils. Unfortunately, Quitaque is not very close to anything just like Seymour.

Thanks for the tip! I'll keep those in mind.

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

Some might question my giving this place the time of day, but I figured it was important to feature anyway on the off chance anybody got confused and visited by mistake. The Discovery Center for Science and Earth History is anything but, operated as it is by ICR, or the "Institute for Creation Research".
I held my nose and visited so you don't have to: check out my review of the place if you're curious to see what's inside. Spoiler: the only fossils in the entire place are in the lobby.
https://dinodadreviews.com/2020/02/01/institute-for-creation-research-discovery-center/



It's hard to see in this picture, but I was a little cheeky and wore Samantha Turner's "Birds Are Dinosaurs" t-shirt while I was there. It's a great design! I recommend purchasing it for yourself.    https://www.redbubble.com/people/frostdragon/works/42850921-birds-are-dinosaurs

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

Also, when I was taking pictures of the only fossils in this entire creationist attraction, I inadvertently captured instant meme material:

[suspsy]

The only way I would ever visit a creationist museum would be if I was sitting at the controls of a Caterpillar D11.

[MLMjp]

The only way I would ever visit a creationist museum would be if I was sitting at the controls of a Caterpillar D11.

May I join you if that ever happens?

[ITdactyl]

1. I agree with the sentiment and 2. that Caterpillar is one sexy piece of equipment...

But to stay on topic, thanks @Stuckasaurus  for the tour.  Those facilities look good, so I guess those interest groups really have gold-filled pockets (so to speak).  We have struggling museums too reluctant to part with their meager funds to pay for fossil replicas, and we have creationist funded facilities with a Sophie replica.  The irony of the situation is astounding.

[Loon]

Someone, please, rescue those dinosaurs! Also, "Discovery Center for Science and Earth History" is the museum name equivalent of "Global Capital Asset Advisers & Partners Services LLC."

We have struggling museums too reluctant to part with their meager funds to pay for fossil replicas, and we have creationist funded facilities with a Sophie replica.  The irony of the situation is astounding.

I've lived in the United States my entire life; this situation has stopped shocking me by now.

@Stuckasaurus have you ever considered visiting the Houston Museum of Natural Science? I know Texas is a really big state, so, I'm unsure of it's distance from you. But, it's definitely worth checking out.

[CityRaptor]

Well, never noticed that in movies the evil cults are always filthy rich?

Someone, please, rescue those dinosaurs!

Step 1: Save the Dinosaurs

Step 2: Send in those guys:

[Loon]

Well, never noticed that in real life the evil cults are always filthy rich?

Fixed that for you.

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

We have struggling museums too reluctant to part with their meager funds to pay for fossil replicas, and we have creationist funded facilities with a Sophie replica.  The irony of the situation is astounding.

I've lived in the United States my entire life; this situation has stopped shocking me by now.

@Stuckasaurus have you ever considered visiting the Houston Museum of Natural Science? I know Texas is a really big state, so, I'm unsure of it's distance from you. But, it's definitely worth checking out.

Indeed, it is unfortunate. The really depressing part is that a not-insignificant-portion of this particular creation museum's cost was crowd-funded.

The Houston museum is absolutely on my list! I'm up in Dallas though, and the highway between the two cities is one of the most reviled in the state. I'll be more likely to visit the museum in Austin and maybe even Oklahoma City before I make the trip to Houston. I do have a few more places in this area to keep me occupied in the meantime, however! There's of course the Perot, which currently is showcasing special exhibit with the original holotype material of Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi! I've got pics, so this will probably be my next museum review. The next closest large institution is the one in Fort Worth, which rivals the Perot in material, I'm told. There's a couple more small museums nearby as well; the Heard Museum in McKinney, and the Texas Through Time museum in Hillsboro.
If I'm feeling particularly self-flagellatory, there's another creationist museum just a mile down the road from Dinosaur Valley State Park which I've featured earlier in the thread. That one is a little more... backwoods, so it might be more humorous at least.